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SENECA — Entering Saturday morning’s nonconference clash between neighborhood rival Morris, the middle of the Seneca lineup had been struggling, according to coach Brian Holman.
The slump appears to be over, as the 3-4-5 hitters in the Irish lineup - Camryn Stecken, Lexie Buis and Audry McNabb - combined to go 5 for 11 with three doubles, a triple, four RBIs and five runs scored in a 9-1 win that allowed Seneca - currently ranked No. 3 in Class 2A by the Illinois Coaches Association - to remain unbeaten at 26-0.
McNabb had the biggest day, going 2 for 4 with two doubles and three RBIs.
“I was in a little bit of a slump,” McNabb said. “I have been working on just going up there and swinging and getting back to basics. I was trying to not overthink things and just see the ball and hit the ball.
“I was able to clear my head with all the extra work, and it’s nice to see when that work pays off.”
Morris (19-8) was gunning for its 20th win of the season and got off to a good start. It loaded the bases with one out in the first inning, but Seneca pitcher Tessa Krull got out of the jam with a strikeout and a popout. Morris got out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Devin Shenberg doubled with one out and Tessa Shannon followed with a double to bring home pinch-runner Ella Urbasek.
Seneca answered with a run of its own in the bottom half of the inning, With two outs, Krull (2 for 3, RBI) doubled and then scored when Graysen Provance (1 for 2, 2 RBIs) doubled. The Irish took the lead for good in the third. Alyssa Zellers led off with a double and went to third on a wild pitch. She was out at home on a grounder to third by Emma Mino (1 for 4, HR, 2 RBIs). An out later, Buis singled in Mino and McNabb followed with a double that scored courtesy runner Kylee Rowley.
Meanwhile, Krull sailed through the next three innings. She finished with five innings pitched, allowing six hits and striking out five. Reliever Hayden Pfeifer allowed one hit in two innings and also fanned five.
“This is a good win for us,” Seneca coach Brian Holman said. “It was good softball. Sometimes we get forgotten about, but we like to ramp up the competition as the season gets close to the end to get ready for postseason. Tessa didn’t have her best stuff early, but she bore down with runners on and got out of the innings.
“We hit up and down the lineup, which was good to see. The middle of the lineup had been struggling, but they have put in a lot of work lately and they broke out a bit today.”
Stecken led off the bottom of the fifth with a triple before Buis walked and a double by McNabb drove home Stecken and Rowley. An out later, Krull singled in McNabb and went to third when the throw home got away. Provance followed with an RBI grounder to second to make it 7-1. In the bottom of the sixth, Zellers led off by reaching on an error and rode home on Mino’s home run to center.
Morris got doubles from Shenberg, Shannon and Halie Olson and singles by Karson Dransfeldt, Cami Pfeifer, Addy Hackett and Mylie Hughes.
“Seneca is a very good team,” Morris coach Jen Bamonte said. “They would more than hold their own against most 3A or 4A teams. We started strong, we got the bases loaded in the first and scored in the second. It didn’t feel like a 9-1 game. We were only down 3-1 in the fifth.
“It’s fun to play Seneca because they are a good program and the girls know each other. We knew we had to limit our mistakes and, whenever we made one, they took advantage. This was a good way for us to get ready for the postseason.”