The OPRF softball team knows how to prep for an upcoming week of tough conference games and a doubleheader against a top-ranked Glenbard North squad: Rack up five shutouts in a row.
The Huskies (17-4, 5-1) kicked off the week with a 10-0 trouncing of West Suburban (Silver) Conference foe Hinsdale Central in five innings on Monday, blanking their fifth opponent in as many games. The team racked up a total of 40 runs in that span.
Holly Roadruck and Jane Nightengale combined to pitch a no-hitter against the Red Devils. Roadruck gave up just one walk in four innings and struck out five.
OPRF’s Seana Stillson tossed a no-hitter in a 9-0 shellacking of Willowbrook on Friday. The freshman hurler, who tallied 13 strikeouts, pushed her record to 3-1 on the season. The Huskies took a 5-run lead in the first as Aly Euler, Caitlin Morocco and Jessica Rigas all scattered RBI singles. Kealan Waldron’s double in the inning scored two runs.
Nightengale and Erika Rosenwinkel (2-for-4) drove in three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Nightengale scored two runs on a single, while Rosenwinkel drove in a run with a double.
The Huskies had come off two consecutive WSC wins against Downers Grove North and York. On Thursday, OPRF shutout the Trojans 3-0 thanks in part to Rosenwinkel’s 2-run homer in the first inning. Waldron drove in the Huskies’ final run with a single in the third. Ann Schraufnagel contributed to OPRF’s eight hits by going 2-for-3 in the game.
Roadruck (7-2) got the win, allowing just three hits in seven innings. She had six strikeouts on the day.
Nightengale pitched a two-hitter on April 27 in the Huskies’ 8-0 thrashing of York. The senior hurler fanned six batters in
seven innings, while the Huskies capitalized on three Duke errors in the fifth inning to take a 5-run lead.
The Huskies scored three more runs in the top of the seventh. Rigas and Annie Demas each had RBIs.
Kolbusz said he expected the competition to be light last week, in stark contrast to this week’s schedule.
“I told the team it would be an easier week, but things would change very quickly the following week. We have tough conference matchups and two [games] against Glenbard North, who always plays us tough,” he said.
The Huskies kick off the second half of the conference schedule at Lyons Township today (Wednesday, 4:30 p.m.). They return home on Friday to face fifth-ranked Glenbard West and then take to the road again for a doubleheader at fourth-ranked Glenbard North on Saturday.
“We’ll see where we are at the end of the week,” said Kolbusz.
