Just look what Mary Kolbusz and Amy Dressel have started.
Hoping to inspire Oak Park’s offense, the pair conjured up an imaginary entity they call “Sakelleris,” who is supposed to empower their bats with a special kind of magic.
Although Oak Park coach Mel Kolbusz and assistant Jim Dagostino only roll their eyes, this self-proclaimed Sak attack swept No. 6 Fremd 5-4 and 10-0 on Saturday in Palatine, with the second game ending after six innings with the 10-run slaughter rule.
For state quarterfinalist Fremd it was the second time it has been swept since 1997.
A new pitching machine and extra batting-cage work also have helped ignite an offense that had 10 hits in the opener against Fremd ace Ellen Stoddard, one of the top pitchers in the area.
Oak Park belted 22 hits in the sweep.
“This year is all about hitting, and Sakelleris is our inspiration,” said first-game winner Annie O’Brien, who limited Fremd (4-3) to one run in the first six innings before the Vikings scored three in the bottom of the seventh.
No. 9 Oak Park (5-0) opened the first game’s scoring with three runs in the second inning, highlighted by Allison Rosenwinkel’s two-run home run.
The Huskies added runs in the third and fifth.
“It was awesome,” Rosenwinkel, a DH, said about her homer.
“I’ve never hit one out of the park before. My other home runs came hitting a ball into the gap.”
Teammate Beth Price looked at Rosenwinkel and smiled.
“I have to hit mine over the fence because I’m a little slow,” said Price, who blasted a three-run homer to right-center in the first inning of the second game when Oak Park jumped to a 5-0 lead.
“It’s about time I started hitting. I came into today batting only .380.”
Kolbusz had five hits and four runs in the doubleheader, while Price had three hits and four RBIs.
Colleen McDonald had a double, two singles and two RBIs in the opener.
The offensive fireworks overshadowed the two-hitter tossed by junior Irene Weik in the second game.
