Kyli Dunn delivers in relief as St. Charles East wins pitchers’ duel with Downers Grove North

ST. CHARLES — St. Charles East senior Kyli Dunn didn’t know she was going in to pitch until the last second.

With one out in the fourth inning and with Downers Grove North just taking a 1-0 lead, Saints starting pitcher Makayla Van Dinther was suddenly taken off the mound, forcing coach Jarod Gutesha to give the ball to Dunn.

And while Dunn was definitely nervous to come in, she had a little help prior to the game to hopefully iron out

“In previous games this year, I haven’t been on my game,” Dunn said. “But my mom was here earlier and helped me with my little tweaks so I could make the corrections I needed to make and hopefully get the job done.”

Turns out, it was a mother’s touch that made the difference.

Dunn would toss 3⅔ scoreless innings in relief, allowing just two hits and striking out two, while also helping the Saints get two runs across in the bottom of the fifth to help them defeat the Trojans 2-1.

“She came in and did a wonderful job keeping us in that game,” Gutesha said. “She manufactured some ground balls and we made some plays. But really just a good job from both our pitchers.”

Before her abrupt exit, Van Dinther allowed no hits and no earned runs while striking out four batters.

Both of the Saints’ (4-2) runs came in the bottom of the fifth inning. After getting runners on second and third with no outs, Dunn put a bunt down the third base line with just the right velocity to help junior Taylor Grendzinski beat the throw to the plate, tying the game at 1-1.

“I’m not a bunter at all,” Dunn said. “I had one good one earlier in the season, so I was just trying to repeat what I did in that game. And I was just really glad that I was able to get the ball down and help my team.”

Senior Addy Wolf followed suit on the very next pitch, as she laid down a bunt single down down the first-line to score Morgan Beers, giving the Saints the lead, as well as their only hit of the game.

“We just turned around and said let’s do it again,” Gutesha said. “Addy can hit for power, but it worked for us once, we might as well do it again.”

The Trojans (2-3) had a chance to potentially tie the game in the top of the seventh after getting runners on first and second with no outs. But Dunn forced back-to-back ground balls, with the final one turning into a game-ending double play, to end the comeback effort.

Despite not getting the win, Downers Grove North senior Ashlynn Durkin tossed a gem on the mound, striking out 13 batters over her six innings. It’s the third time this season that the Florida Atlantic commit has finished with double-digit strikeouts.

“She always brings the ability to strike out people regularly, which is huge for us,” Trojans assistant coach Matt Dillard said. “She had four walks and one of those walks ended up coming around. But overall, she’s pretty dominant on the mound for us.”

Senior Sophia Barofsky gave the Trojans the lead in the third inning after scoring from first on a sacrifice bunt from Mia Havrilla and a throwing error. Sophomore Viktoria Czech had the team’s first hit of the game in the fifth inning, while junior Ella Bonk had the team’s only other hit in the seventh.

“We just need to hit,” Dillard said. “We had some decent contact that didn’t go our way, but we just took too many strikes and not putting the bat on the ball regularly enough to score runs. I think that’s the disappointing part, especially after Ashlynn went for 13 strikeouts.”