Oak Park and River Forest High School graduate Emily Richardson was a star player for the Huskies’ state championship softball team in 2016, gaining First Team All-State honors following her senior season.
Upon conclusion of her playing career at Valparaiso University, Richardson entered the coaching profession. She is in her fourth year as head coach of Amundsen and brought the Vikings to Ridgeland Common, April 11, for a non-conference game against the Huskies.
“Emily is wonderful. She’s done an amazing job with that program,” said OPRF coach J.P. Coughlin following Amundsen’s 3-2 victory. “They came ready to play today, and they deserved to win.”
Amundsen (8-4) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Lydia Hulliberger walked with one out and scored on a two-run homer by Ashley Ellevog off OPRF starting pitcher Caroline Rainey. The Vikings added what ultimately proved to be the decisive run in the third on a fielder’s choice RBI by Allie Reynolds, who was strong in the circle as well, going the distance and allowing two runs on three hits and posting 13 strikeouts.
OPRF (11-4) scored twice in the bottom of the sixth. A pair of Amundsen errors allowed Julia Henderson and Georgia Godellas to reach base with one out, and Avery Lane (2-for-3) cashed in the gifts with a double to right-center that plated both. But Lane was stranded as Reynolds struck out Gabriella Chesney and Cecy Piper to end the inning.
“[Reynolds] was fabulous, all credit to her,” Coughlin said. “We’re averaging about 10 runs per game and if it weren’t for those errors, she would’ve shut us out.”
But Coughlin added that the loss doesn’t take away from what’s been a strong spring so far, and he’s confident OPRF will bounce back.
“We’ll be OK. We’re having a great season,” Coughlin said. “I’m happy with this group and how they’re playing. We’ll get back at it.”
OPRF baseball
The Huskies (9-6) split a doubleheader against visiting Maine South, April 11. OPRF prevailed 4-2 in the first game but fell 5-2 in the nightcap.
“Any time we can get a good team like Maine South scheduled for a Saturday and play two, it’s something that’s going to make us better,” said OPRF coach Kevin Campbell. “I thought we swung it pretty well today, and in the first game, Cam Barnes pitched one of his better games in the last two years. We talked about bringing in a lot of energy and Cam set the tone for us.”
Barnes went six innings in Game 1 and allowed a run on four hits while walking two and striking out five. Owyn Edwards allowed a run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly but got the save. Zach Goldberg, Sam Kalina, Robert Kolovitz, Xavier Martin, and Johnny Nelson each had a single, and Kalina and Liam Moroney each drove in a run.
In Game 2, a two-run single from Julian Garcia-Bariel (3-for-4) in the second gave OPRF a 2-0 lead. But Maine South rallied in the third for four runs (three earned) off starting pitcher Seth Osta, who lasted just 2.2 innings. Walks were the biggest culprit for Osta as he allowed five.
Julian Collazo relieved Osta and allowed one hit in 2.1 innings. Augie Sterritt finished up, allowing one run in two innings.
“We got a chance to see some guys we haven’t seen a lot in the last week and a half,” Campbell said of the second game. “Some of them really showed us that they’re going to compete, whether it’s for a starting job or coming in late in games for pinch-hitting or defense. We’ve got a lot of competition, and we’re excited about that.
“We’re right where we want to be,” he added. “We were in a little bit of a rut this week (OPRF lost two of three to West Suburban Silver rival Lyons Township); we weren’t ourselves. We needed to bring the energy and get back on track, and I thought we did that today.”