On Friday, April 7, the Panthers Girls Softball Team came away with a big win, as Manteno knocked-off state-ranked Pontiac, 8-6. For the Panthers, they scored 8 runs, on 15 hits, while committing 2 errors. Pontiac was kept to 6 runs, on 9 hits, along with 1 error.

Panther pitchers did a fantastic job keeping a good hitting lineup off balance. Alyssa Dralle started the game and was credited with the win, with Macy Iwanus pitching the middle innings, and Ava Peterson coming in to close. According to Coach Josh Carlile, there were some spectacular plays behind the pitchers, including a diving catch by right fielder Ava Pequette, who then doubled-off a runner trying to advance to third.

The team’s hitting was solid up and down the line-up, with eight-of-nine starters collecting at least one hit. Ava Peterson had an RBI double, Syd Sosnowski an RBI triple, and Drew Hosselton belted her second home run of the year.

Tuesday, April 11, had the team traveling to Coal City for another conference game, but the tight game ended with a Coaler win, 2-1, in seven innings. What a difference 24 hours can make. Ava Peterson pitched a fantastic game, giving up two runs on only 6 hits. The team put themselves in a good position to win in both the sixth and seventh innings, getting runners in scoring position with less than 2 outs, but they just didn’t get the big hit to push a run across. Ava Peterson, who pitched six innings, took the loss. She currently is 2-2.

“I was happy with our energy and performance tonight, and this type of game will help us in the long run,” Coach Carlile commented after the game.

The next day, Wednesday, April 12, the team was on the road again for a non-conference contest at Homewood-Flossmoor. The results were similar to Tuesday’s game, with the Panthers losing in a close contest, 9-10. It appeared the game was evenly matched when looking at the stats. Manteno scored 9 runs, on 15 hits, but committed 3 errors. The Vikings crossed the plate 10 times, on 18 hits, with 4 errors. Alyssa Dralle, whose record is 5-3, got the loss.

According to Coach Carlile, “We need to learn how to close games out. We’ve had leads late in the past two games and surrendered that lead. We did some fantastic things tonight, and we are getting better. These close games against solid teams are forcing us to grow.”

For the Panthers, Macy Iwanus had quite a day at the plate going 3-for-5, including two double and 5 RBIs, while several other hitters recorded a multi-hit game. Gabby Monterastelli, who came off the bench, sparked the late inning rally with a leadoff double.

Finally able to play in front of the hometown fans, on Thursday, April 13, the Panthers unfortunately lost a non-conference game to Morris, 0-3. Manteno scored no runs, on 5 hits, along with 2 errors. Morris was able to score 3 runs on 6 hits, and also committed 2 errors. Ava Peterson was the pitcher of record and took the loss.

“What a week. We played some really good teams, and while we didn’t win any games, we know these games are making us better. Tonight, we lost to a talented Morris team that is ranked in 3A. We pitched well and played pretty solid defense. We just couldn’t string hits together,” stated an optimistic Coach Carlile.

The Panthers finished the week with a huge win, 14-0, against Bloom on Saturday, April 15.

“We played a solid game today, and it was nice to get the “W.” We were led by Alyssa Dralle’s no hitter, in addition to solid hitting up and down the line up, with four girls recording multi-hit days. After a tough week against good competition, it was nice to see our growth today,” noted Coach Carlile.

The Panthers overall record is 8-6 and 4-2 in ICE.