MILL CREEK
One bad inning sunk Shorewood’s hope of pulling an upset of league-leading Jackson.
A slow-starting Jackson offense battered Thunderbird freshman pitcher Olivia Jacobs for five runs in the fourth to bust open a close game as Jackson defeated Shorewood 9-0 in a Western Conference South Division match-up April 17 at Jackson High School.
“Except for one inning I thought we played them pretty tough,” Shorewood coach Tom Rizzuto said. “They hit the ball well that one inning. They had four or five solid base hits in the fourth inning that broke the game and took a little bit of the steam out of us.”
Wolfpack starter Morgan Frost kept the Thunderbirds in check for most of the game, scattering two hits and striking out nine.
Jackson took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when sophomore Carli McEachran hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Jenna Mohrweis, who had led off the inning with a single to center field. The senior second baseman had stolen second and moved to third on a ground out.
Shorewood had the opportunity to answer back in the third when they had runners on first and second with one out. But Frost retired the next two Thunderbirds to end the threat.
In the fourth, senior Nena Slocum led off with a triple to right field. McEachran then flew out to center field. Senior Taryn Pearce laid down a bunt back to the pitcher that scored Slocum.
“That was a called squeeze,” Jackson coach Mike Moran said. “It was a 1-0 game and she’s a good bunter. We have good bunters.”
Moran wanted to score one more run in what up until that point was a close game.
Junior Ashley Todd followed with a triple to left field to drive in Pearce from first base. Frost smacked a single to center field to score Todd. A double by junior Brooklynn York advanced Frost to third. Senior Kristin Cole then laid down a bunt to score Frost. York then came home on a single to center field by senior Crystal Kummerfeldt as Jackson extended its lead to 6-0.
“I think they kind of timed our pitcher,” Rizzuto said. “She’s a freshman. We’re playing this year with six freshmen and only one senior. We knew it was going to be a real learning experience for us.
“We have 14-year-olds playing against 18-year-olds. That’s a pretty big jump. It bodes well for the future.”
Jackson added two more runs in the fifth on a two-run home run by McEachran. The Shorewood left fielder appeared to make the catch but the ball came out of the glove and dropped over the fence. A conference by the umpires resulted in the play being declared a home run.
In the sixth, a double by Mohrweis scored Cole for the Timberwolves’ ninth and final run.
Jackson improved to 7-0 in the league and 9-1 overall. Shorewood fell to 3-4 and 4-6.
“We’re just about where I thought we’d be,” Rizzuto said.
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