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Sports

Lemont Softball Team Sweeps York

Lemont completes non-conference doubleheader sweep of York with solid pitching performances.

Erica Nagel is not your typical softball player.

The Lemont sophomore went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored in the Indians’ 9-0 non-conference victory over York Saturday at the LHS Sports Complex.

Nagel then used her versatility for the Indians’ second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Dukes, where the right-hander pitched four quality innings to earn the win.

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But it was Nagel's intangibles on the diamond that really stood out.

Nagel was at the center of three of the Indians’ four runs in the second game, reaching base with three singles, swiping four bases and scoring three times, including the go-ahead run that helped Lemont sweep the doubleheader with a 4-2 victory in game two.

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“Nagel is basically our table-setter,” Lemont coach Christine Traina said. “You have to give her credit for being in the spot.”

With the Indians (13-6) nursing a 3-2 lead heading into its half of the sixth, Nagel reached on a two-out infield single.

A stolen base and wild pitch later, Nagel crossed home for the fifth time Saturday when fellow sophomore Carli Jaworski, who also picked up her second save on the season with three innings innings, singled sharply to left.

“I just focus on trying to help out the team,” Nagel said. “I look for an opportunity to come home.”

Nagel personally staked herself to a 2-0 lead by scoring after leadoff hits in the first and third innings.

“Their leadoff hitter (Nagel) is really tough,” York coach Tom Babyar said.

After being shut out in their first 10 at-bats, the Dukes made Nagel pay for back-to-back mistakes.

Sophia Kelly followed a Danielle Kelly leadoff, fourth-inning double with a lined shot over the right-center field wall to tie the game at 2-2.

But the tie proved to be short-lived.

Alyssa Stube opened the Indians’ half of the inning with baseball's cardinal sin—a leadoff walk.

The junior was sacrificed to second and came all away around to score when the Dukes’ mishandled the throw at first on Jenna Halpers’ bunt single.

“We gave them that run,” lamented Babyar. “It was still a winnable game.”

Jaworski, with York runners at second and third and none out in the sixth, preserved the Indians’ precarious 3-2 lead with back-to-back strikeouts and routine grounder.

It was only fitting that Nagel would record the final out, a medium fly ball to left field.

“You have to put the bat on the ball, make something happen in that situation,” Babyar said. “We didn’t hit. They won the first game right off the bat.”

Jaworski would supply all the offense starting pitcher Becka Anderson would need with a 3-run blast in the bottom of the first inning.

“The first pitch (in an at-bat) I always let go by to see the spin,” Jaworski said. “(The contact) was on the sweet spot (of the bat).”


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