Brookfield swept a pair of games last week to win the girls Second Annual District 9 Overholt Tournament.
In the semifinals, Brookfield cruised to an 11-1 victory in four innings over Lyons-McCook. Winning pitcher Lyndsey Hoyd allowed no hits and struck out eight over three scoreless innings.
Tenley Bozzi worked the final frame, giving up one run. Conversely, Lyons-McCook struggled on the mound issuing 10 walks/hit batters to benefit Brookfield’s offensive attack. Sophia Spirios went 2-for-2 and knocked in three runs for Brookfield.
“Our pitching was better than [Lyons-McCook],” Brookfield manager Gary Hoyd said. “Since there weren’t too many balls put in play, our defense wasn’t really tested. Overall, our players made the plays they had to make. Everything we had been talking about with them all season came together [at Overholt].”
In the championship game, Brookfield defeated defending champion LaGrange 10-0 in five innings. The impressive Hoyd again set the tone by throwing a one-hit, 12-strikeout complete game gem. She also assisted on the other three outs LaGrange made during the game. Over two games, she pitched eight scoreless innings yielding just one hit and fanning 20 batters.
“I just wanted to hit my spots and throw some changeups,” Lyndsey Hoyd said. “We all hit well and played great defense. Everybody on our team gets along well. We have fun playing together.”
Hoyd (2-for-2, walk), Bozzi (1-for-2) and Brenna Mangan (2-for-3, two runs) led Brookfield offensively. Gary Hoyd also praised the community support for Overholt.
“The crowd was large and very supportive for both towns,” he said. “A lot of people from Brookfield came out to support our team, even though they didn’t have a kid on the team. Girls from the opposing regular season [Brookfield] teams were there to cheer for us.”
The Brookfield players are: Hadley Diforti, Lexi DiNatali, Marissa Cruz, Amanda Lopez, Tenley Bozzi, Belinda Andrade, Teagan Bozzi, Sophia Spirios, Monica Schmidt, and Lyndsey Hoyd. Gary Hoyd, Dave Schmidt and Mike Bozzi are the coaches.
“It feels great to win Overholt, because we are the first girls Brookfield team to win the tournament,” Lopez said. “LaGrange has some pretty good hitters, but we played great defense.”
Teammates on the 12-under Oak Park Windmills travel team, the Brookfield battery of Hoyd and Lopez traveled to Montgomery, Ala., this week to compete in the American Softball Association National Championships.
“It’s really exciting to be part of a traveling team,” Lopez said. “I like being on the Windmills and playing with Lyndsey.”
