Softball: Wheaton Warrenville South pitcher Maddie Pool too much for St. Charles East

ST. CHARLES – Wheaton Warrenville South senior pitcher Maddie Pool made life miserable for St. Charles East in a DuKane Conference game Tuesday afternoon.

Pool limited the Saints to a run on five hits in seven innings, striking out nine without allowing a walk.

The Illinois Wesleyan recruit, who threw a first-pitch strike to all 21 batters, also helped her own cause with a two-run home run.

Pool’s heroics lifted the Tigers to a 6-1 win.

“Maddie was dominant,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Jeff Pawlak said. “She was always in an advantageous count against the hitters. All her pitches were working.”

The hard-throwing right-hander only allowed an RBI double to the Saints’ Lexi Majkszak in the sixth.

“I was able to hit the corners with my rise and low drop,” Pool said. “This was a great win against a very good St. Charles [East] team.”

Pool’s two-run shot came in the fifth and scored Abby Mease, who doubled and gave the Tigers (13-6, 3-4) a 3-0 lead.

“It was an inside fastball and I had a good trajectory on the ball I hit,” Pool said. “I knew I made good contact.”

The Tigers took the lead in the first inning on a solo homer to center field by Alli Michalowski, her first of the season and career.

“That hit by Ali really got us going in the right direction,” Pawlak said. “She really crushed it.”

The Tigers added three insurance runs in the sixth keyed by a two-run single from Caroline Schulz.

Grace Hautzinger took the loss for the Saints (14-6, 4-3). She gave up sox runs on seven hits in seven innings of work. She struck out 10 and walked three.

“They strung the big hits together,” Saints coach Jarod Gutesha said. “[Pool] has done a nice job against us for four years. This team works hard and competes. They will stay together. The DuKane Conference is tough. We play a good Wheaton North team tomorrow. Every game is tough in the conference.”