West Softball Falls in Final At-Bat

The fly ball came one batter too late for West Aurora on Thursday afternoon.

Ensnared in a 2-2 tie with Glenbard West in non-conference softball action in Glen Ellyn in the top of the seventh inning, West High had the potential winning run on third base with one out.

But one batter after an infield pop out necessitated a base hit, Elizabeth Ronan had her drive to deep left-centerfield corralled for the final out.

It came back to haunt the Blackhawks when Glenbard West pinch-runner Molly McCray scored on an infield single with two outs in the Hilltoppers’ seventh to turn back West 3-2.

West High, which dodged several bullets throughout the contest largely courtesy of the brilliant play of centerfielder LaRi Mitchell, fell to 3-6 on the season with the loss.

“We held together,” said West coach Sara Nagy of the Hilltoppers’ repeated scoring chances over the course of the final five innings.

In the Hilltoppers’ fourth and fifth innings, Mitchell displayed a remarkable canniness in patrolling the outfield for West High.

In the first instance, Mitchell denied Glenbard West at least two runs with a bases-loaded, diving catch in right-centerfield with two outs.

The following inning, Mitchell outraced a Sarah Steinhilber drive to deep right-center, snaring the ball to prevent a sure extra-base hit with Glenbard West having the go-ahead run on second base with one out.

“I was like, ’I have to get to it,’" Mitchell said of her sprawling catch to rob Jacklyn Tyburk in the fourth. “The right-fielder (Dee Nelson) let me know that she wasn’t going to be able to catch it. I sprinted as hard as I could and dove for it.”

The twin Mitchell gems certainly attracted the eyes of the two managers.

“She is an amazing centerfielder,” Nagy said. “She is so fast.”

“A very fluid centerfielder,” Glenbard West coach Mary McGrane said. “Not only did she track those balls down, but she has a great first step.”

West opened the scoring in its half of the first when Alyssa Reimers, on board second with a single up the middle and a wild pitch, scampered home when Jamie Avery found the exact same hole she had two batters earlier up the middle.

Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, though, Dayle Comerford would make her considerable offensive presence felt throughout.

The senior slugger parked a tape-measure home run to tie the game in the Hilltoppers’ second inning.

Undaunted, Mitchell doubled with one out in the Blackhawks’ ensuing at-bat, ultimately scoring on Reimers’ relatively short fly to left field.

“I thought it was going to be a much closer play (at the plate),” Mitchell said of Reimers’ sacrifice fly.

Glenbard West tied the game again in its third at-bat as the Blackhawks’ lone error cost an them an unearned run with two outs.