Brooklynn Griffith’s big day helps lead Plainfield North past Minooka

MINOOKA — With two softball teams like Minooka and Plainfield North, both of which are known to be good hitting teams, and a wind blowing straight out to left field at 19 mph with gusts up to 30, it was a safe bet that Thursday’s Southwest Prairie Conference game between the two would be a high-scoring affair.

The teams did not disappoint.

In the end, it was a nine-run top of the sixth inning that provided Plainfield North with enough runs to outlast Minooka 14-12.

Catcher Brooklynn Griffith, hitting eighth in the lineup, went 4 for 4 with a double to lead a 20-hit attack for the Tigers (10-16, 7-7 SPC). Kaleigh Milet was 4 for 5 with a double, home run and three RBIs, while teammate Addison Conrad was 3 for 5 with two doubles, a home run and two RBIs. Abbey Mayes was 2 for 4 with a homer, double and two RBIs.

“We had a great day,” Griffith said. “We were able to score early, and then we kept scoring. When we get to hitting like that, it’s kind of contagious and no one wants to make the last out.

“This was a big win for us. Minooka is a No. 1 seed [in Subsectional B of the Normal West Sectional], so to beat them will give us a lot more confidence when the postseason starts.”

Plainfield North got on the board first in the top of the second inning. Griffith singled with two outs. Bella Nuccio (2 for 4, double, 2 RBIs) reached on an error on a grounder, and when courtesy runner Sydney Sullivan tried for third, the throw got away and Sullivan came in to score.

Minooka (21-7, 12-2) took the lead in the bottom half of the inning when Mayson Carr homered, scoring Cadence Murphy, who had walked, ahead of her for a 2-1 lead.

North tied it at 2 in the top of the third on an RBI double by Milet before Minooka erupted for five in the bottom half. The Indians scored on a bases-loaded walk by Addisonn Crumly, a two-run single by Jaelle Hamilton and a two-run double by Charlotte Robinson to move out to a 7-2 lead. The lead reached 9-2 in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run homer by Gracie Anderson.

Plainfield North crept a bit closer in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly to center by Mayes, followed by a two-run homer by Milet, to make it 9-5. Minooka, though, kept the runs coming in the bottom half, getting a two-run double by Payton Psinas and an RBI double by Anderson (2 for 3, double, homer, three RBIs).

Then came the sixth.

The Tigers started the inning with a single by Griffith and a bunt single by Nuccio. The throw to get Nuccio at first got away, and the runners moved up to second and third. Sophia Feminis reached on an error that allowed Griffith to score. Two outs later, Conrad homered to center to make it 12-9. Mayes followed with a home run to make it 12-10. Singles by Mayes, Grace Dynes and Griffith loaded the bases, and Nuccio slammed a double to left-center to tie it at 12. A wild pitch brought Griffith home, and Feminis followed with a single to plate Nuccio for a 14-12 lead.

North reliever Abigail Laube held Minooka scoreless in the final two innings to preserve the win.

“This is a heck of a win for us,” said North coach Julie Czerniakowski, a Minooka alumnus. “Especially coming back to my alma mater, it feels really good. We played them close earlier this year and only lost by a run.

“Our girls just don’t quit. Even if they are down, they have a lot of heart and they never give up. We kept hitting all the way through the lineup.”

Minooka is usually the team that outscores its opponent, but it didn’t happen. It cost the Indians a shot at the conference title Monday against SPC-leading Oswego, as the Panthers beat Yorkville on Thursday to improve to 14-0 in league play. The Indians’ defense was strong all game, turning a pair of inning-ending double plays.

“Plainfield North hit the ball well today,” Minooka coach Mark Brown said. “They are a good hitting team and they earned it. We didn’t really give them many runs. They barreled up some balls, and that got contagious and brought life to their dugout. It gave them momentum and made us start pressing.

“Hopefully we get a game like this out of our system before the postseason and learn the lesson that anyone can beat anyone else on a given day.”