Rain Doesn’t Dampen Serena Spirit
Lady Huskers Put United's Bertelsen To The Test But Finish Fourth ...
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At EastSide Centre (6/5/10)
East Peoria
Class 1A Consolation
Alexis United 7, Serena 3
(5 inn.)
United (7) – Long 2b 4-1-2-1,
Foster c 1-0-0-0, K. Winkler rf
3-2-2-2, Bertelsen p 3-0-1-0,
A. Winkler pr 0-1-0-0, Kenny
ss 2-1-1-0, Chandler 1b 3-0-
1-1, Kaywood lf 1-0-1-2,
Ravel ph/lf 2-0-0-0, Fell 3b 3-
0-1-0, Kenney pr 0-1-0-0,
Patterson cf 2-1-0-0. Totals
24-7-9-6.
Serena (3) – Kat. Huss ss 3-
0-1-0, Kar. Huss p 3-1-1-1,
Petersen cf 3-0-0-0, Leannah
rf 3-0-2-0, Murphy 2b 2-0-0-0,
Mauer dp 3-1-1-0, Castelli 3b
2-1-1-0, Norman 1b 2-0-0-0,
Gunier c 2-0-1-2, Smith lf 0-0-
0-0. Totals 23-3-7-3.
United 322 000 – 7 9 2
Serena 020 01 x – 3 7 2
LOB – United 6; Serena 6. 2B
– K. Winkler, Kat. Huss. 3B –
Long. HR – K. Winkler, Kar.
Huss. SB – Foster, Kar.
Huss. CS – Murphy. HBP –
Murphy (by Bertelsen).
United ip r er h bb k
Bertelsen (W, 29-6)
5.0 3 1 7 0 8
Serena
Kar. Huss (L, 17-11)
5.1 7 6 9 4 0
Records: Serena (20-14),
United (31-6).
East Peoria
Class 1A Consolation
Alexis United 7, Serena 3
(5 inn.)
United (7) – Long 2b 4-1-2-1,
Foster c 1-0-0-0, K. Winkler rf
3-2-2-2, Bertelsen p 3-0-1-0,
A. Winkler pr 0-1-0-0, Kenny
ss 2-1-1-0, Chandler 1b 3-0-
1-1, Kaywood lf 1-0-1-2,
Ravel ph/lf 2-0-0-0, Fell 3b 3-
0-1-0, Kenney pr 0-1-0-0,
Patterson cf 2-1-0-0. Totals
24-7-9-6.
Serena (3) – Kat. Huss ss 3-
0-1-0, Kar. Huss p 3-1-1-1,
Petersen cf 3-0-0-0, Leannah
rf 3-0-2-0, Murphy 2b 2-0-0-0,
Mauer dp 3-1-1-0, Castelli 3b
2-1-1-0, Norman 1b 2-0-0-0,
Gunier c 2-0-1-2, Smith lf 0-0-
0-0. Totals 23-3-7-3.
United 322 000 – 7 9 2
Serena 020 01 x – 3 7 2
LOB – United 6; Serena 6. 2B
– K. Winkler, Kat. Huss. 3B –
Long. HR – K. Winkler, Kar.
Huss. SB – Foster, Kar.
Huss. CS – Murphy. HBP –
Murphy (by Bertelsen).
United ip r er h bb k
Bertelsen (W, 29-6)
5.0 3 1 7 0 8
Serena
Kar. Huss (L, 17-11)
5.1 7 6 9 4 0
Records: Serena (20-14),
United (31-6).
Photo by Bill Lidinsky
By Bill Lidinsky
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
EAST PEORIA - A little rain usually never hurts anyone.
But in the case of the water-logged Class 1A third place contest between Serena and
highly ranked Alexis United, incessant drizzle gave way to steady showers which seemed
to at least frustrate one of the top pitchers in the state while the underdog Lady Huskers
used the soggy condition as somewhat of a motivator.
Coming into the state finals, United all-state hurler Katie Bertelsen proved to be almost
unhittable at times. Posting a 28-5 record, the junior tossed 20 shutouts, while striking out
420 batters and allowing only 18 earned runs and 79 hits. These stats were the primary
factor in the Red Storm attaining their No. 2 ranking in Class 1A entering the post season.
But Serena didn’t seemed phased and actually excelled at hitting the ball throughout
Bertelsen’s discomfort in the rain to post three runs and seven hits against a pitcher that
normally doesn’t give that up in a week’s worth of games. So what the Lady Huskers did
against her on Saturday at EastSide Centre in East Peoria, in one of the biggest (if not
wettest) ballgames of the year, was quite impressive and notable.
The inclement weather wouldn’t give Serena the chance to find out how much more they
could’ve gotten to Bertelsen. With one out in the top of the sixth, the umpires called the
contest suspended with heavy rain soaking the ball diamond. About 40 minutes later, the
IHSA officials considered it final giving United a 7-3 victory and the Lady Huskers a fourth
place finish.
The rain-shortened affair deprived Serena of its last two at bats and a shot at Bertelsen in
the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings.
“I was trying my hardest to get us those last two innings,” said Serena coach Kelly Baker.
“But when safety’s an issue, there’s no arguing. I wanted them, because I thought we were
starting to chip away and we were finally starting to hit that pitcher (Bertelsen). Our girls
did a nice job against her even though we lost.”
“It was raining pretty hard and I was just trying to work through it. It was very muddy and
when it started to really rain hard, I just wanted to get it over with,” Bertelsen said. “I knew
they were going to be tough even though they had a big loss yesterday. I just didn’t have
my good stuff especially in this weather. But give them credit. They hit the ball hard today.”
United (31-6) jumped on the scoreboard first in the top of the opening frame as they
touched Lady Husker starting pitcher Karly Huss with three runs. Augusta Chandler’s RBI
single and Katie Kaywood’s two-run base hit gave the Red Storm a 3-0 lead after a half
inning. They would make it 5-0 in the top of the second on a two-run homer by Kaitlyn
Winkler.
But even though the Lady Huskers trailed by five in the bottom of the second frame their
bats came alive against Bertelsen as three hits led to a pair of runs where No. 9 hitter
Megan Gunier touched the right-handed fireballer with a solid two-run single to cut the
gap to 5-2 after two.
“We’d been working a lot in the cage against faster speed because we knew when we got
down to state that we’d see great pitchers like her,” Gunier said. “We knew we had to
come out swinging against her and I knew we needed those two runs to get back in the
game. The rain didn’t bother me. You’ve got to learn to play in bad weather sometimes
and I thought we played well in it today.”
The Red Storm added two more runs in the top of the third on a triple by Gina Long and a
Husker error to make the score 7-2.
Bertelsen would then surrender a couple of more Serena hits before Karly Huss got to her
for a rare home run and another Lady Husker tally. Huss’ round-tripper was only the fifth
allowed by Bertelsen all season.
“I haven’t given up many until yesterday against Cobden and then again today when
(Huss) hit one,” Bertelsen said. “It was getting really tacky with all the rain and the mud
was building up on my shoes. But that’s not an excuse because she hit the ball a long
way. They proved that they’re a good team.”
“Katie hasn’t given up many homers at all. She hasn’t given up many hits all year either,”
United coach Gary Eyler said. “It was very sloppy, but she’ll work through anything. She
managed to get through a bad weather situation against a tough ballclub.”
In the end, Mother Nature rendered the field unplayable as Bertelsen and company finally
prevailed adding some third place hardware to their pair of second place trophies from
2008 and 2009, while the Lady Huskers (20-14) finished their season with the first state
trophy of any kind in school history.
But it wasn’t before United was put to the test by the scrappy bunch from Serena. The
Lady Huskers seemed to revel in the bad conditions playing against one of the best
softball pitchers and one of the best softball teams in Class 1A.
“They play better in crappy weather. It seems like they do. I don’t know what it is. We’re a
cold weather team,” Baker said when taking about her squad. “It was getting nasty and I
knew both pitchers were starting to struggle a little bit. I’m just so proud of the girls for
playing so well in bad conditions against a great pitcher like (Bertelsen).
“I was pretty excited because some people said right before I hit (the homer) that she
hasn’t given up many. I knew I could do it,” Karly Huss said about Bertelsen. “We actually
play better in the rain. We had to come out here playing like we knew we could and have
fun with it. We knew this pitcher was faster than yesterday so we just met the ball with the
bat. It’s too bad we lost, but I think we gave them a very good game. It’s been a great
experience playing down here even in the rain. Hopefully we can do it again next year.”
Bill Lidinsky is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in care of
NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
EAST PEORIA - A little rain usually never hurts anyone.
But in the case of the water-logged Class 1A third place contest between Serena and
highly ranked Alexis United, incessant drizzle gave way to steady showers which seemed
to at least frustrate one of the top pitchers in the state while the underdog Lady Huskers
used the soggy condition as somewhat of a motivator.
Coming into the state finals, United all-state hurler Katie Bertelsen proved to be almost
unhittable at times. Posting a 28-5 record, the junior tossed 20 shutouts, while striking out
420 batters and allowing only 18 earned runs and 79 hits. These stats were the primary
factor in the Red Storm attaining their No. 2 ranking in Class 1A entering the post season.
But Serena didn’t seemed phased and actually excelled at hitting the ball throughout
Bertelsen’s discomfort in the rain to post three runs and seven hits against a pitcher that
normally doesn’t give that up in a week’s worth of games. So what the Lady Huskers did
against her on Saturday at EastSide Centre in East Peoria, in one of the biggest (if not
wettest) ballgames of the year, was quite impressive and notable.
The inclement weather wouldn’t give Serena the chance to find out how much more they
could’ve gotten to Bertelsen. With one out in the top of the sixth, the umpires called the
contest suspended with heavy rain soaking the ball diamond. About 40 minutes later, the
IHSA officials considered it final giving United a 7-3 victory and the Lady Huskers a fourth
place finish.
The rain-shortened affair deprived Serena of its last two at bats and a shot at Bertelsen in
the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings.
“I was trying my hardest to get us those last two innings,” said Serena coach Kelly Baker.
“But when safety’s an issue, there’s no arguing. I wanted them, because I thought we were
starting to chip away and we were finally starting to hit that pitcher (Bertelsen). Our girls
did a nice job against her even though we lost.”
“It was raining pretty hard and I was just trying to work through it. It was very muddy and
when it started to really rain hard, I just wanted to get it over with,” Bertelsen said. “I knew
they were going to be tough even though they had a big loss yesterday. I just didn’t have
my good stuff especially in this weather. But give them credit. They hit the ball hard today.”
United (31-6) jumped on the scoreboard first in the top of the opening frame as they
touched Lady Husker starting pitcher Karly Huss with three runs. Augusta Chandler’s RBI
single and Katie Kaywood’s two-run base hit gave the Red Storm a 3-0 lead after a half
inning. They would make it 5-0 in the top of the second on a two-run homer by Kaitlyn
Winkler.
But even though the Lady Huskers trailed by five in the bottom of the second frame their
bats came alive against Bertelsen as three hits led to a pair of runs where No. 9 hitter
Megan Gunier touched the right-handed fireballer with a solid two-run single to cut the
gap to 5-2 after two.
“We’d been working a lot in the cage against faster speed because we knew when we got
down to state that we’d see great pitchers like her,” Gunier said. “We knew we had to
come out swinging against her and I knew we needed those two runs to get back in the
game. The rain didn’t bother me. You’ve got to learn to play in bad weather sometimes
and I thought we played well in it today.”
The Red Storm added two more runs in the top of the third on a triple by Gina Long and a
Husker error to make the score 7-2.
Bertelsen would then surrender a couple of more Serena hits before Karly Huss got to her
for a rare home run and another Lady Husker tally. Huss’ round-tripper was only the fifth
allowed by Bertelsen all season.
“I haven’t given up many until yesterday against Cobden and then again today when
(Huss) hit one,” Bertelsen said. “It was getting really tacky with all the rain and the mud
was building up on my shoes. But that’s not an excuse because she hit the ball a long
way. They proved that they’re a good team.”
“Katie hasn’t given up many homers at all. She hasn’t given up many hits all year either,”
United coach Gary Eyler said. “It was very sloppy, but she’ll work through anything. She
managed to get through a bad weather situation against a tough ballclub.”
In the end, Mother Nature rendered the field unplayable as Bertelsen and company finally
prevailed adding some third place hardware to their pair of second place trophies from
2008 and 2009, while the Lady Huskers (20-14) finished their season with the first state
trophy of any kind in school history.
But it wasn’t before United was put to the test by the scrappy bunch from Serena. The
Lady Huskers seemed to revel in the bad conditions playing against one of the best
softball pitchers and one of the best softball teams in Class 1A.
“They play better in crappy weather. It seems like they do. I don’t know what it is. We’re a
cold weather team,” Baker said when taking about her squad. “It was getting nasty and I
knew both pitchers were starting to struggle a little bit. I’m just so proud of the girls for
playing so well in bad conditions against a great pitcher like (Bertelsen).
“I was pretty excited because some people said right before I hit (the homer) that she
hasn’t given up many. I knew I could do it,” Karly Huss said about Bertelsen. “We actually
play better in the rain. We had to come out here playing like we knew we could and have
fun with it. We knew this pitcher was faster than yesterday so we just met the ball with the
bat. It’s too bad we lost, but I think we gave them a very good game. It’s been a great
experience playing down here even in the rain. Hopefully we can do it again next year.”
Bill Lidinsky is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in care of
NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
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