Iowa recruit Kiyah Chavez comes through in the clutch, unbeaten Oswego rallies past Minooka

OSWEGO – Kiyah Chavez exudes confidence in the batter’s box, even in unexpected and unfamiliar spots.

Like with two strikes.

On four occasions Wednesday, Oswego’s senior catcher and Iowa recruit found herself down to her last strike. No sweat, not with Chavez’s history.

Chavez did not strike out in 141 plate appearances last season, when she also broke Oswego’s single-season hit record. She hasn’t struck out in 51 times up this spring.

“I hate striking out,” she said. “I’m not down two strikes a lot of times, but today I was every at-bat. I take it personally. Are you going to strike me out? No.”

Chavez indeed had the last strike Wednesday.

She had four two-strike hits, the biggest a two-run tying double in the bottom of the sixth inning. Oswego scored four runs in the sixth to rally past Minooka 10-8 in a wild Southwest Prairie Conference game.

Oswego (15-0, 4-0) led 4-0 after two innings, got down 8-5 and came back to beat Minooka (10-7, 3-1).

No surprise to Chavez, not after Oswego beat Minooka in last year’s supersectional, also in comeback fashion.

“We knew they were coming in hot,” Chavez said.

Chavez is hot, hitting .545 after 15 games. She doubled in two runs in Oswego’s four-run second Wednesday and singled in a run in the fourth.

She came to bat in the sixth, Oswego trailing 8-6, runners at the corners and no outs after Adalynn Fugitt and Rhiana Martinez reached on bunt singles.

Like she had in previous at-bats, Chavez swung at the first pitch, chasing a high offering and fouling it away.

On the fifth pitch, Chavez drilled a drive to deep center, just beyond a diving center fielder and off the fence to score two, making it 8-8.

Aubriella Garza went on to bring in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly, and Jaelynn Anthony homered for the 10th run.

Oswego co-coach Annie Scaramuzzi, herself a former pitcher, recognizes how dangerous a hitter like Chavez is in those situations.

“Kiyah is the type of kid, she is not going to lay down for you,” Scaramuzzi said. “She’s going to make it hard, whether down 0-2 in the count or ahead 3-0. She will put a good swing on the ball. She stepped up. She’s clutch.”

Nothing about her at-bats surprised Chavez.

“I usually am one to swing at the first pitch; I’m always an aggressive hitter, that’s what makes me a good hitter,” she said. “Most of the time, even down two strikes, I just try to hit the ball, try to get on base, try to get singles. Sometime they turn into doubles.”

Minooka, trailing 4-0 early, came back with two runs in the third, two in the fourth and four in the fifth to lead 8-5.

Gracie Anderson doubled in the tying runs in the fourth. Karli McMillin’s sacrifice fly scored the go-ahead run, and Olivia Boyd - who was 4 for 4 - followed with a two-out, two-run double.

McMillin also had two hits, and Minooka had 11 even with power-hitting first baseman Addisonn Crumly out a week with strained tendons in her hand.

“Great fight,” Minooka coach Mark Brown said. “The bats, all year, we’ve been putting up runs, we can hit 1-9, they don’t get rattled. We know it’s a seven-inning game.”

Brown could bemoan two errors that led to three Oswego unearned runs, and indecision on a Panthers’ bunt in the sixth preceding Chavez’s hit.

“You give a team like that not only extra outs but extra bases, they’re going to make you pay. And they made us pay for it today,” Brown said.

“They have such a good lineup you have to pick your poison. We were trying to stay away from [Chavez] a little bit but even with that she’s such a good hitter she puts the bat on the ball.”

Fugitt had two hits and three runs scored and Martinez and Anthony two hits and two runs scored each.

Garza, who relieved Anthony with the bases loaded and none out in the fifth tied 5-5, did allow the go-ahead runs to score. But she came back to retire the last seven batters she faced, striking out three, allowing Oswego the opportunity to come back.

“My favorite part about Aubriella is she’s a competitor on the mound. No matter who she is going to go right at hitters,” Scaramuzzi said. “She’s going to fight like heck. She gets better in bigger games.”