In 1948, Boston Post sports editor Gerald Hern wrote a poem that helped create the famous line, “Spahn and Sain and pray for rain” which would forever link the Boston Braves’ dynamic pitching duo of Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain in baseball folklore.
Fast forward 59 years later on an overcast Saturday afternoon in Oak Park, and Huskies softball fans along with team skipper Mel Kolbusz similarly could have waxed poetic about, “Stillson and ‘Hutch’ coming through in the clutch.”
The Huskies’ talented pair of junior hurlers, Seana Stillson and Sara Hutchinson, collaborated on a perfect game outing, including striking out 10 of 18 batters they faced during a 10-0 win over visiting Ridgewood to win the Oak Park Regional title on Saturday.
“They’re both very good,” Kolbusz said. “Seana was pitching a perfect game, but Sara had not pitched in 10 days so she needed to throw against some live competition. It doesn’t matter who pitches really. We’re going to do what’s best for the kids, but more importantly what’s best for the team.”
Against Ridgewood (16-10), Kim Grimes led off bottom of the second inning with a towering home run over the center field wall to stake the Huskies to a 1-0 advantage. With Stillson and Hutchinson mowing down the Rebels’ hitters in efficient fashion, one run would prove enough to beat the visiting Rebels and threatening skies.
“Our team played great [today],” Stillson said. “We played a good game defensively and offensively. Kim (Grimes) started us off with that big home run which was awesome. We’re a very confident team, but we also can’t afford to take anybody lightly.” OPRF (30-6, 11-1 West Suburban (Silver) Conference champs) kept the pressure on Ridgewood by scoring two runs in the third and three more in the fourth to extend the lead to 6-0. Molly Sinnott and Mattie Prodanovic each provided a key hit and collected a pair of RBIs during the scoring burst.
“Right now, our pitching is really amazing,” said Grimes, who also scored two runs. “Our offense is definitely increasing. Today, we were hitting bombs by the third inning. We’re also working on our base running and getting better at that as well.”
With Hutchinson taking over for Stillson in the fifth inning, the Huskies culminated their steady scoring output on the day with two runs each in the fifth and sixth frames to impose the slaughter rule.
“We did what we had to do to be successful in this game,” Kolbusz said. “We used two pitchers and received good innings from both of them. After the first inning or so, once we saw their pitcher throw a few, we started to hit the ball. We were also able to get almost everybody into the game which was a goal.”
Earlier last week, the Huskies kicked off their postseason campaign with a 13-0 regional semifinal win over Prosser. Junior Carolyn Luta (5-0), another outstanding OPRF pitcher on a loaded, junior-laden staff, struck out eight batters in three innings of work. Sophomore Rachel Gillet offered two scoreless innings in relief while fanning six batters to complete the no-hitter.
Mary Zinni (2-for-2, four RBIs), Mara Blesoff (2-for-3, two runs, two RBIs), Grace Shirreff (2-for-3, RBI) and Sinnott (2-for-3, two RBIs, two runs) led an 18-hit offensive attack.
“It’s going to get tougher as progress through the playoffs,” Kolbusz said. “We’re on the right road. Hopefully, we can just keep moving along.”
The Huskies, in search of a sixth consecutive trip to the Elite Eight and second state title in three years, will take on area-rival Trinity today (4:30) p.m. at Lyons Township in the semifinals of the LT Sectional. The Huskies have a chance to return home on Monday for the Oak Park Supersectional (4 p.m.).