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NEW LENOX – Anyone who thinks that Lincoln-Way Central‘s softball success begins and ends with Lisabella Dimitrijevic is in for a rude awakening.
Yes, Dimitrijevic, a Florida State recruit as well as the reigning Herald-News Player of the Year and Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year, is certainly a large part of the Knights’ team. But she is in no way a one-person team.
Central (29-1) proved that point Thursday in a 7-6 win over Lincoln-Way East that allowed it to finish the SouthWest Suburban Conference schedule unbeaten at 16-0.
Although Dimitrijevic threw five innings, striking out 11 and allowing four hits and three runs, it was the top of the batting order that provided the spark for the victory.
Leadoff hitter Ellie McLaughlin and No. 2 hitter Kayla Doerre were both 3 for 4, with McLaughlin delivering a double, an RBI and two runs scored. McLaughlin got the Knights off to a good start, doubling to deep center to lead off the bottom of the first and coming in to score on a sacrifice fly by Jaimee Bolduc. She delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the second, then singled and scored in the fifth, when the Knights put up five runs.
“Getting on base is what the top of the order is supposed to do,” McLaughlin said. “It’s always fun when we play against East, and I knew I could hit their pitcher pretty well. I was able to get one over their heads and get us going.
“We can hit pretty well. When we get going, it’s contagious. The energy gets going, and it’s a lot of fun. When Bella is pitching and striking a lot of people out, we need to stay focused and make the defensive plays when they come to us.”
After Central took a 2-0 lead after two innings, the Griffins (24-6, 11-5) cut the lead in half in the top of the third. With two outs, Mia Balta singled and Maddie Henry followed with a double to left, scoring Balta. In the top of the fifth with reliever Brooke Seppi in the circle, East tied it with another two-out rally. Mackenzie Bacha, Balta and Henry all singled, with Henry’s hit driving home Bacha with the tying run.
Central responded with five in the bottom of the fifth, getting an RBI fielder’s choice from Dimitrijevic, an RBI single by Mia Degliomini and a two-run single by Carly Karales for a 7-2 lead.
“Ellie McLaughlin has been up with the varsity since she was a freshman,” Central coach Jeff Tarala said. “It was a pretty big learning curve for her the first two years, but this year I have been very proud of her. She never got down on herself when she struggled the first two years, and this year she has just taken off. And Kayla Doerre just does Kayla Doerre things, hitting the ball hard and being very competitive. They are the tone-setters for our offense, and we are a better offensive team this year because of that.
“We knew we had to score some runs today because Lincoln-Way East can hit. They showed that today, and it’s not just a few hitters. It’s everyone 1-9, and it’s a fun atmosphere when we get together.”
East didn’t go quietly after the big Central inning. In the top of the sixth, the Griffins scored twice, getting an RBI single from Audrey Bullock and a sacrifice fly by Bacha. Dimitrijevic came back in to pitch the seventh, but the Griffins threw a bit of a scare into the Knights when Zoey Bullock reached on an error and Cassidy Jagielski homered to right-center to make it 7-6. Dimitrijevic then struck out the next two batters to end the game.
“I’m very happy with our performance today,” East coach Elizabeth Hyland said. “We came ready to play and had good, aggressive at-bats. We had the one inning where we didn’t play that great, and Central took advantage.
“But the girls kept fighting and playing the game they have played since they were 5: softball. We looked a lot better against Bella then we have in the past, and we had a lot more confidence in the box. We may see them again. We are in the same sectional, and you want to play the best.”