Manteno earns baseball, softball series sweeps over Herscher

“The ICE conference is a grind, and there’s a lot of good teams within the conference,” Manteno head coach Josh Carlile said of his squad earning second place in the ICE. “We feel like we are one of those teams, and I think it’s a testament of the girls just grinding it out every single day ... to continue to improve.”

Ava Pequette and Macy Iwanus were both red-hot at the plate, totaling eight RBIs off a combined seven hits in 10 plate appearances to help lead Manteno’s offense. Pequette went 4-for-5 with two doubles, three RBIs and four runs scored, and Iwanus added three hits, five RBIs and two runs scored.

“I think our lineup is tough up and down the lineup. ... It’s tough to pitch to because all the girls can hit, but Ava and Macy really squared the ball up, and they had a lot of gap shots tonight,” Carlile said. “Obviously, they ended up with a lot of RBIs and runs scored on the book tonight.”

Alyssa Dralle surrendered four runs (three earned) on 13 hits and one walk with three strikeouts in seven innings to claim the win on the mound, which improved her record to 11-3 on the rubber.

“Dralle did a really nice job,” Carlile said. “Herscher definitely hit the ball, and one of the things we noticed yesterday when we were watching them hit was that they are very similar to us.

“Everybody in their lineup can hit, and you can’t take a breather on any of their hitters. ... They had a lot of hits tonight, but Dralle was able to control the tempo of when those hits happened, and our defense did a good job of shutting them down, so we didn’t give up a lot of runs although we gave up 13 hits.”

Kayna Nelson put the Tigers on the board in the bottom of the first inning with a two-RBI double to help the home squad jump out to a 2-0 lead, but then Herscher would go on to be outscored 13-2 during the final six innings despite out-hitting the Panthers 13-12.

The Tigers second loss to Manteno in back-to-back days puts Herscher at 20-8 overall and 10-4 in the ICE, which solidifies them for third in the conference with five noneconference games left remaining on their regular season schedule.

Pequette and Iwanus combined for seven hits to collectively lead Manteno with the sticks. Lily Bivona went 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Jaz Manau had a double, drawn walk and one RBI.

Mary Kanak paced the Tigers with three singles and one run scored. Addie Whitaker went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Emma Powers contributed one double, a single and a run scored. Zoey Fleischauer went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Anniston Hackley tossed three innings in the start on the bump, giving up nine runs (four earned) on seven hits and two walks, striking out three.

Panther baseball makes it a double sweep

Much like its softball team, Manteno’s baseball team also completed the sweep against its Illinois Central Conference foe Herscher with a six-run road win that followed a 4-0 shutout win Monday to help improve to 18-6 overall and 9-5 in the ICE.

“It’s always nice when you can get a big win over a good program like Herscher,” Panthers head coach Matt Beckner said. “Coach [Eric] Regez does a great job with his guys and his team, and so hopefully, that can help propel us into next week and into regionals.”

Manteno’s starting pitcher Grant DeRose remained in control on the bump during all of his five innings pitched, allowing one unearned run on three hits and one walk with nine strikeouts to help claim the win and lead the Panthers.

“I thought DeRose did an exceptional job,” Beckner said. “Today was the first game this year where he extended his innings since he’s mostly been a relief pitcher for us this season. ... He was willing to step up and be that guy that we need going into the postseason.”

Both teams were held scoreless during the first three frames before the road squad scored a pair of runs in the fourth off a passed ball and an RBI single by Sevin Keigher.

The Tigers quickly responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the fourth off a defensive miscue by Manteno, which allowed Herscher to cut its deficit to 2-1 heading into the fifth.

Despite allowing the Tigers to cut their deficit to one run, the Panthers managed to score at least one run of their own in each of the final three innings of action, including a three-run seventh inning to help break things open to a point in which Herscher couldn’t formulate a comeback victory at home after Wes Dwyer locked things down in relief action. Dwyer relieved DeRose in the sixth, allowing just one hit and zero runs in the final two innings.

“Manteno was outstanding in all three phases,” Regez said. “They hit the ball well, pitching was dominant, and they made some great plays on defense.”

Ryan Young led Manteno at the plate with two hits, including one double to help tally two runs scored. Jeremiah Renchen and Keigher each had a single and an RBI. Jace Nikonchuk went 1-for-1 with an RBI.

Jace Holt, Paul Azzarelli, Clay Schultz and Travis Jones each had a single to collectively pace the Tigers’ offense. Cam Baker claimed the loss in the start, allowing three hits and three runs (two earned) with three strikeouts in five innings of work.