Audrey Jamriska had an offensive day to remember for the North Riverside softball 11-and-Under all-stars in the District 9 championship game against Riverside, Friday. After a home run, two doubles and six runs batted in, Jamriska was even more excited that she wasn’t alone. North Riverside beat Riverside 20-2 in four innings at Veterans Park in North Riverside to capture the 11-U district title for the second straight year.
“It’s probably one of the best games (for us). We were all hitting, making plays on defense. Everyone was just playing their best,” Jamriska said.
North Riverside team members are Penny Hermsdorf, Eli Favela, Tre’sur Griffin, Jamriska, Mabel Maloney, Isabelle Mauban, Thalia Medina, Willow Merrill, Grace Runquist, Scarlett Santos and Ella Sotelo. Willie Merrill is manager with assistant coaches Jesse Favela and Monica Parker.
Riverside team members are Mila Caputo, Joey Cheatem, Nora Faust, Olivia Galindo, Caroline Hickey, Elena Kasperek, Julia Knox, Winnie Moore, Olivia Roman, Aggie Tokarz, Molly Wojtowicz and Mae Zalewski. Nick Caputo is manager with assistant coaches Rodney Knox and Missy Wojtowicz.
North Riverside had a 3-0 record in the four-team bracket. Riverside was 2-2 with both losses to North Riverside.
Favela, Jamriska, Merrill, Runquist and Santos also were part of last year’s 11-U district championship run.
“I think this one is funner because we had more energy during the games,” Willow Merrill said. “We did last year, but I feel like there was more during the championship game. And I think that we played better. We dropped something, I think we kept with it. We kept going. We didn’t stop.”
North Riverside prepared for a battle after only beating Riverside 8-5 in the July 13 opener and losing Maloney to a broken left wrist during the 9-4 victory over Brookfield July 14.
Batting first Friday, North Riverside opened with a six-run first inning and added two runs in the second, four in the third and eight in the fourth.
“Every year is a little bit different. Five returning but we also added six more girls,” manager Merrill said. “Coming out in the first inning (like that), it gave us a little buffer. We did a little extra hitting before the game, trying to foreshadow a little better hitting game, and that’s what we got.”
Winning pitcher Favela allowed just four hits and had five strikeouts with no walks after a five-hitter in the first meeting with eight strikeouts and seven walks. The team’s only pitcher got an extra day of rest when the game was rescheduled from Thursday because of poor air quality.
“I was calm because I had good defense behind me,” Favela said. “I was a little nervous (also) because I had to come through. I also think we did better because we knew we had to do it.”
Jamriska doubled in the first run after Runquist was hit by a pitch. Jamriska then hit a two-run homer over the left-field fence in the second and had a three-run double in the third.
“Today I showed up and put the barrel on the ball and I was just hitting better than other days,” Jamriska said. “I feel like I’ve been making better contact with the ball and it’s been going somewhere instead of just what I used to do on offense.”
Runquist, Favela and Medina also had two hits. Runquist, who also walked in the fourth, scored four runs.
“(The highlight was) probably seeing Audrey’s home run go over,” Runquist said. “I think (winning) was better this year because we (won in 4 innings) and we were all hitting the ball and making the plays.”
“I feel like everybody had positive energy,” added Griffin, who homered against Brookfield. “Maybe everyone was nervous and kind of scared but we held them down.”
Riverside reached the finals by beating LaGrange Park 13-4 July 13 followed by a dramatic 7-6 victory over Brookfield July 15. Brookfield, which finished 1-2, opened with a 12-4 victory over LaGrange Park July 13.
Playing up in age, Caputo, Galindo, Kasperek, Tokarz and Wojtowicz were part of Riverside’s 2024 team that also finished second in 11-U.
“I told the girls they did a great job in getting to this point and hopefully next year we can take another step,” Nick Caputo said.
Roman and Hickey singled and scored in the second Friday. Against Brookfield, Riverside held a 7-5 lead into the sixth but Brookfield scored and had runners at third and first. Pitcher Knox caught a popup to end the game.
“I told their coach after the game that was a one-play game either direction. The greatest takeaway for us was how we finished,” Nick Caputo said. “It was an incredibly pressure moment for both sides and we were able to get that final out. We put a lot of work into this.”
At the four-team 11-U state tournament, Riverside reached Monday’s championship game against Clarendon Hills after going 2-1 in pool play.