The Evanston Wildkits competed in the Niles West tournament this weekend. On Saturday at home, they defeated Whitney Young and Ridgewood to win the consolation bracket and take home a trophy.
Allie Managlia pitched both of the five inning wins, the second a no hitter.Allie Nortz was perfect at the plate as the leadoff hitter for the Kits and set the tone all day.
The Whitney Young Dolphins were kept in check in the first inning highlighted by two Managlia strikeouts.
Nortz started the first game offensively by getting on base, and after one out, Emily Mathyer singled to bring Nortz to third, then stole second. With second and third, Emma Maxwell singled to score Nortz and Maddie Reiches singled to score Mathyer.
In the second inning, Caroline Duke and Reiches each caught line drives to keep the Dolphins from scoring.
The Kits broke the game open in the bottom of the second, as they scored six runs on six hits. Caitlin Boer started the inning by reaching on error. Pitcher Managlia then singled, Jenna Ehrensaft singled, and Nortz singled to score Boer. Duke singled to left field and scored two more runs. After an out, Maxwell singled to center to score two runs, and Reiches capped the inning with a groundout that scored a run.
In the top of the third, Managlia struck out a batter and Ehrensaft and Nortz caught fly balls in right and center field. The bottom of the third brought one more run for the Kits as Ehrensaft and Nortz reached base, and Duke brought in a run.
In the top of the fourth, Nortz made a nice play at the centerfield fence, and Managlia struck out two more batters. The Kits were scoreless in the bottom of the fourth.
The Dolphins scored their one run in the top of the fifth when they put three singles together. However, they were unable to score any more runs as Jackie Kretchmer, Nortz, and Izzy Bergman all caught fly balls.
The Kits scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to end the game on the ten run rule. Boer and Managlia reached on error. After an out, Nortz singled to right, Boer scored and Managlia tried to score from second but was thrown out at home plate. Duke then singled to drive in Nortz and the game was over.
In the second game, facing the Ridgewood Rebels, Managlia set the tone once again by striking out the first batter. The second batter tried to bunt, but catcher Mathyer caught the ball before it could hit the ground for the second out. Freshman Jess Garcia then made a great play to catch the ball in right field to end the inning.
Nortz once again set the tone on offense for the Kits as she doubled off of the left field wall in the lead off position. Duke quickly gave the Kits the lead as she homered into the parking lot for her sixth homerun of the year. The Kits now had a 2-0 lead.
After an out, Maxwell singled up the middle, Reiches singled to left and Boer singled to right to bring in a run. Ehrensaft singled to right to bring in two runs, Managlia singled to left to bring in another run, and after an out, Nortz doubled to score the seventh run of the inning. Duke followed with a triple, and Mathyer doubled to give the Kits a 9-0 lead after the first inning.
In the top of the second, Duke caught a pop-up and fielded a grounder to keep the Rebels off the board once again. In the bottom of the second, Ehrensaft reached safely and was driven in by Cate Rudy.
In the top of the third, Managlia struck out the side. In the bottom of the third, the Kits were scoreless for the only inning in this game. The top of the fourth saw two more strikeouts by Managlia and a nice play by Ehrensaft in left field to preserve the no hitter.
The Kits scored six more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Kits loaded the bases with no outs. After a strikeout, Nortz drove in the first run. Duke then singled up the middle to bring in another run.
With the bases still loaded, Mathyer drilled the ball off the top of the centerfield fence to score all three runs. Duke did a nice job running the bases to score from first. Reiches singled to right center to score Mathyer and give the Kits a 16-0 lead.
The Kits held the Rebels in the top of the fifth, despite a walk and an error which took away the perfect game. With runners on second and third, Managlia got tough and struck out the last two batters to preserve the shut out and the no hitter for the Kits.