By Dennis Bowling
Beecher coach Kevin Hayhurst always plays a very demanding nonconference schedule. The Bobcats battled Indiana power Illiana Christian. They were able to muster a heart stopping victory on April 19th.
The Bobcats senior Kylie Cook, an outstanding third baseman, smashed a first inning single and that plated Ava Lorenzatti to help Beecher edge the Vikings 1-0 in a high drama contest with a real post season feel to it in Beecher.
Lorenzatti, who is mature beyond her years, surrendered a double and a walk in the second frame. With one out, Lorenzatti was able to settle down and get two Viking batters in a row, to quell the possible scoring threat.
Lorenzatti, found her groove, she was able to get twelve Illiana Christian batters in a row. In the top of the seventh inning, the Vikings were able to get a runner to third base. Lorenzatti got the final out of the inning, to secure a very stressful win.
Lorenzatti allowed two hits and struck out 16 batters. In 152 innings pitched, she has an outstanding 145 strikeouts. She is 9-0 overall, the Bobcats are 18-1 overall, and have won nine games in a row. They scored 186 runs. They’ve allowed a meager four runs.
Following the Bobcat win, Hayhurst had plaudits of praise for Lorenzatti.
“Ava just kept her composure,” he said. “That was a very tough situation for her. She has had a lot of success. She’s very confident.”
“Kylie’s very consistent,” he said. “She was able to hit the ball into the gap in the outfield. She plays good defense. She’s our senior leader around the infield.”
Cook praised Lorenzatti’s exceptional performance against the Vikings.
“Ava did an awesome job,” she said. “We really needed that. I trust her. She was able to do it in a very stressful situation. That was tough to do. They just gave us a great game.”
“I was aggressive at the plate,” she said. “We needed that run. I was able to get the job done. Our defense was very good.”
The Bobcats junior Emma Tiltges was very happy with Lorenzatti’s outstanding effort.
“Ava played a great game today,” she said. “She really came through when we needed her. We were able to get through it together. She displayed a lot of poise.”
“Kylie played very well,” she said. “She’s an all-around clutch player. She’s reliable in the field too.”
In the fifth and sixth innings, Beecher was able to get a runner to third base, they were unable to get that clutch hit.
The Vikings Mikayla Derks, took the mound loss, allowing five hits and fanned five batters.
The Bobcats on April 26 will travel to Cedar Lake, Indiana to play Hanover Central at 4 p.m. Beecher will play host to Grace Christian Academy on April 27 at 4 p.m.