Softball: Stagg Forces Mother McAuley to Double Over

Touching All the Bases: With their home turf too wet to play on, Stagg met Mother McAuley at St. Xavier on Monday, and the Chargers made right at home in a 4-3 eight-inning victory. The Mighty Macs broke out the bats first. But with a runners at second and third and only one away, Stagg pitcher Lea LaSota flashed some leather. She scooped up a bunt and gunned down Erin O'Donnell at the plate. McAuley's Kate Adent then was caught off guard for a rare 1-2-4 double play.

In the top of the third, the Mighty Macs had the bases loaded with one out, and LaSota forced Ali Raske to line out to Stagg third baseman Catherine Michaels. All Michaels had to do was step on third to end the inning. The Chargers took the momentum into their half of the third, scoring two runs on a Tatiana Sawosko RBI single. Mother McCauley took advantage of a rough inning for LaSota, scoring three runs on four singles and a walk.

The Chargers tied things up again in the fifth on a Jessica Arebalo sacrifice fly. And the two teams remained deadlocked at 3-3 until the eighth. With a runner on first and two outs, Mary Kate Fournier took 1-2 pitch into the right-center field gap for the game-winning RBI double.

Patch's MVP: Stagg's Tatiana Sawosko gets the MVP nod. She was 2-for-3 with two singles and two RBIs.

Stagg Leaders: Jessica Arebalo (1-for-3, single, sacrifice fly, 1 RBI, 1 run), Lea LaSota (winning pitcher, 8 innings, 7 strikeouts,  3 earned runs), Mary Kate Fournier (1-for-4, double, 1 RBI).

Mother McAuley Leaders: Emily Marousek (1-for-3, single, 2 RBIs), Kate Adent (1 -for-3, 1 single, 1 RBI); Erin O'Donnell (4-for-5, 2 doubles, 2 singles, 1 run).

Quotable I: Stagg coach Missy Mason: "We're so proud of our kids on defense. They did an excellent job throughout the entire game."

Quotable II: Mother McCauley coach Colleen Kilduff: "It was tough. We had all the opportunites in the world. We took ourselves out of the game by not executing. We're always going extras against Stagg. They always have a good program."

Team Records: The Chargers are 9-0. The Mighty Macs fell to 9-2.

What's Next: Both teams are in action Tuesday. Stagg will face Joliet Central on the road, and Mother McCauley hosts St. Ignatius.