Just when Thursday’s Mid-Suburban League championship between host Fremd and Elk Grove couldn’t get any weirder, along came Donna Werling’s routine fly ball to right.
After two rain delays, a lightning delay, extra innings, two wild pitches for runs and one for an out at the plate, Werling’s fly bounded out of the right fielder Krystle Loos’ glove to score Amanda Ciesla with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to give Fremd an unlikely 3-2 victory.
Sophomore hurler Rachel Pasdo (1-1) picked up the win in relief by recording the final out of Elk Grove’s top of the eighth in a most unusual manner. With two out and a runner on third, Pasdo uncorked a wild pitch that catcher Terry retrieved and threw back to Pasdo to retire Kristen Infusino.
Though the meeting between the two teams for the MSL title was nothing new, the third meeting in as many years was definitely more eventful than the last two one-run games.
With both teams fresh off shutouts in their last regional games, Fremd (24-10) made sure Megan Huitink (21-4) wouldn’t duplicate her 15-strikeout effort against Fenton two days prior.
While Huitink did fan 11, it was the fifth and last hit allowed, a long single by Rachel Terry to start Fremd’s eighth, that did in the junior fireballer.
Terry was replaced by pinch runner Ciesla, who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Michelle Fischer and, after a popup, stole third before Werling’s game-winning fly.
Fremd coach Jim Weaver had hoped to coax an overthrow out of Elk Grove catcher Bridget Hult because of the slick field.
“I tried to steal the game for us [by sending Ciesla to third],” Weaver said. “But Donna hit the ball hard.”
Fremd had tied it in the bottom of the seventh after Elk Grove (27-7) had taken a 2-1 lead on a wild pitch.
“That’s the most exciting game in terms of back and forth that we’ve been involved in in a long time,” Weaver said.
