Waukegan’s Mia Carani kept thinking about something other than hitting during her sixth-inning at-bat on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs had finally scored a run to tie the game against Glenbrook North, and Carani was at the plate with runners on first and second. But her mind wandered a bit, she said.
“I was thinking mainly that I’m missing my wristband,” Carani said, smiling. “Nothing was really going through my head. I was just trying to make contact and was feeling confident. But I was freezing.”
Well, it worked. On a cold and blustery afternoon in Northbrook, Carani came through with a timely run-scoring hit as Waukegan pulled away for a 7-1 win.
The junior third baseman’s RBI single up the middle was part of a five-run sixth inning that propelled the Bulldogs (1-1) to their first win of the season.
Waukegan coach Amy Ramsey said Carani is quickly building a reputation for clutch hits.
“Mia made varsity in her freshman year but missed that season because of COVID,” Ramsey said. “She missed three or four games last year. But when we put her right in, she was already getting hits.”
Ramsey said Carani’s placement in the lineup is ideally suited for her. Slap hitters Gicel Rodriguez, who had four steals and two runs, and Ava Burke are followed by the powerful bats of Green Bay recruit Viviana Guzman and Maggie Webster. Carani hits fifth.
“She’s a difference-maker on the field,” Ramsey said of Carani. “She’s strong and confident and has the ability to look a stressful situation in the eye and not back down from it. That’s why I love her in the five-spot in the lineup.
“She will hit those little shots, and I want the base runners on base when she’s up. I expected that hit from her in the sixth. She’s very tough.”
Carani’s hit opened the floodgates.
“I like later in the game better,” she said. “The beginning of the game is not really my thing. I’ve always been like that.”
Guzman, the 2021 News-Sun Softball Player of the Year, provided some insurance by smacking a two-run double down the left field line in the top of the seventh.
Guzman also got the start in the circle and struck out six in two innings. Webster (1-1) then held the Spartans (0-3) to one run the rest of the way. The junior allowed three hits, struck out eight and walked one. She worked her way out a jam in the seventh.
“Maggie came in tough and set them down,” Ramsey said.
Webster said Carani’s hit provided welcome relief, especially after the Bulldogs failed to score a run in the first five innings.
“I was just thinking about our team finally coming through and all the hard work in practice paying off in the sixth,” Webster said. “When I saw everyone hitting, I was getting more hyped up and excited to go back out on the mound. Mia always comes up clutch with her hits, gets them at the perfect times.”
The best might be yet to come for Carani, who said she played travel softball from third to eighth grades but gave it up when she reached high school.
“I regret stopping travel softball, but I plan on going back to it as soon as I can,” Carani said. “I’m a little rusty now, but I’m working hard. I missed softball.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
