After a tough conference loss, the IC Catholic Prep softball team picked up three recent wins against St. Francis, Rosary and Westmont.
In a 12-11 Girls Catholic Athletic Conference White Division win against Wheaton St. Francis, the Knights racked up 14 hits.
Leilani Mendez went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a home run and two RBI. Lexi Russ went 4-for-5 with four runs scored, a homer, three RBI and two steals. Kelly Cahill went 3-for-3 with a run, a home run and four RBI. Ari Zito went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a double.
Maddy Dinino was the winning pitcher. She struck out four in seven innings of work.
ICCP then downed Rosary 15-0 in five innings in another GCAC White contest. Freshman Sophia Deoudes went 2-for-2 with three runs scored. Sophie Schaeffer was 1-for-2 with two RBI. Sofia Bucaro scored three runs, while freshman Arianna Vega went 1-for-2 with an RBI. Lexi Hoffman also was 1-for-2 with an RBI. Freshman Leilany Gomez was 2-for-2 with two RBI, while Russ was 1-for-2 with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Zito scored two runs.
Dinino and Zito combined to throw a five-inning no-hitter. The duo struck out a combined eight and only a Rosary batter who was struck by a pitch reached base.
The Knights then defeated Westmont 19-2 in four innings in a non-conference game. ICCP had 22 hits. Sophomore Ema McMillen went 2-for-2 with two runs scored. Senior Aniella Talluto went 1-for-1 with a double and three RBI. Dinino was 4-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Deoudes went 3-for-3 with a double, a triple and two runs scored. Bucaro went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Hoffman went 1-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI. Russ went 2-for-3 with a run and a double. Cahill went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI, while Zito went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, four RBI, two triples and one double.
Mendez pitched the first two innings and fanned four, while Zito pitched the final two innings and struck out three. The three wins pushed ICCP to 15-3 overall and the victories against St. Francis and Rosary moved the Knights to 6-1 in GCAC White action. ICCP’s lone loss in the league was to Chicago De La Salle (4-3).
Chicago St. Ignatius College Prep was leading the GCAC White at 7-0 through late last week, while the Knights were in second at 6-1 and De La Salle was third at 6-2.
The Knights were slated to host St. Ignatius earlier this week and will head to Chicago for the second game of the series May 9.
