Lady ‘Cats unable to match top-ranked Morris

By: 
Brent Sumner
Staff Writer

    The Wilmington varsity softball team ran into a tough opponent last week when they hosted Morris on Tuesday.
    Morris is currently ranked first in Class 3A by the Illinois Coaches Association polls, ranking above powerhouses like Stillman Valley, Providence Catholic and Bishop McNamara.
    The opposition showed just how formidable they can be, as they defeated the Lady Wildcats 12-4.
    Despite Morris being a powerhouse this year, Wilmington (2-3 overall) held with them for most of the game.
    Morris took the initial lead in the second inning, producing two runs, but Wilmington would cut the lead in half in the third, scoring one run off an RBI single from Kiley Sowa driving in Bella Egizio.
    Morris added to their lead in the top of the fourth with three more runs, jumping out to a 5-1 lead.
    The Lady Wildcats continued to respond though, recording three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame.
    Mickaela Tworek hit a fly ball, reaching base on an error, and drove in Jenny Kucharski for a run.
    Egizio recorded another RBI single, driving in Molly Beckman, and Emma Hafner drew a walk to push Tworek across the plate, diminishing Morris’ lead to only one run, 5-4.
    After the fourth inning though, Wilmington’s offense seemed to run out of gas, and Morris continued to pile on the runs.
    The opposition added seven unanswered runs over the remaining three innings, as they wound up running away with the game.
    Lorri Kucharski suffered the loss in the circle, putting in five innings of work.
    She surrendered six runs (five earned) off 11 hits, walked one and struck out one.
    Justine Reents pitched the remaining two innings, giving up six runs (three earned) off five hits and walking five.
    The Lady Wildcats were scheduled to face St. Anne on Tuesday, and will then travel to Kankakee on Wednesday.    
    Wilmington will enter conference action on Friday, when they travel to Sandwich.