The Riverside Brookfield softball team upped its win-streak to six games last week with the help of Jaimie Duffek (.433 season batting average) and April Hutchens (.472).
The tandem was also ideal table setters for the Bulldogs’ power packed 3-4-5 hitters Lindsay Hayes (.509, 28 RBIs on the season), Fallon Ryan (.436) and Morgan Vogel (.392).
“Jaimie and April both run like lightning and have good on-base-percentages,” said RB softball coach Dan Hull. “Lindsay has 28 RBIs, which is unbelievable. One kid that doesn’t get mentioned as much is Fallon, and she’s playing great. Morgan has added a lot to the team as well since I brought here up to varsity.”
Since a 2-0 setback to Elmwood Park on April 16, the Bulldogs (15-3, 2-1 Metro Suburban Conference) have yet to lose.
“The kids are upbeat and ready to play every game,” Hull said. “We have three very good pitchers in (Emma) Forsberg, Hayes and Vogel. The games that we have lost have been because of some defensive miscues. If we can tighten up our defense, I think we can go from being a good team to a great one.”
Last week, the Bulldogs snagged three wins, starting with a hard-fought 3-1 victory against Evergreen Park on April 21. Tied at 1-1 in the sixth, Duffek and Hayes singled to spark RB’s offense. After a fielder’s choice advanced the runners to second and third, Vogel (1-for-3, 2 RBIs) slapped a single up the middle that scored Duffek, and brought Hayes home as well, courtesy of an errant throw from the Evergreen Park centerfielder.
“Evergreen Park is always tough,” Hull said. “They’re just like us because they can beat any team on a given day. It’s two well-matched teams.”
On the mound, Hayes (4-0) allowed no earned runs, three hits and fanned six batters.
Riverside Brookfield pulled off another close win by capturing a 2-1 decision over Mother McCauley on Thursday. The Bulldogs scored a pair of unearned runs in the second inning, which proved just enough run production for the non-conference win.
In the seventh, the Mighty Macs pushed home a run to make it 2-1; however, with the bases loaded and two outs, Duffek threw out a Mother McAuley runner at the plate to end the game in dramatic fashion.
Forsberg (6-2) tossed a no-hitter through five innings before Vogel came on in relief. The Bulldogs collected five hits on the afternoon while yielding six hits to Mother McAuley.
Riverside Brookfield capped off the week with a 4-0 win over Argo on Saturday. Hayes dominated the game by throwing a complete game shutout and striking out six, while also going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs.
