Lorenzatti and the Bobcats Beat the Panthers at the Beecher Regional

By Dennis Bowling

Manteno coach Josh Carlile, who is a very good pitching coach, had heard many great things about Beecher’s freshman hurler Ava Lorenzatti.

Carlile got to see the Bobcats ace, Lorenzatti, first hand, and he tossed plaudits of praise at Lorenzatti on May 20.

Lorenzatti, was on her game, allowing four hits and fanned ten batters. With the bat, she was mighty, going 3-for-3 and driving in two rbi, to help Beecher beat Manteno 8-1 to win the Class 2A title game of the Beecher Regional in Beecher.

With the win, the Bobcats 30-4, and winners of seven games in a row, were to advance to play in the first semifinal round of the Class 2A Pontiac Sectional against the hosts (23-12) on May 23rd at 4 p.m. Pontiac advanced by beating McNamara 2-1.

Lorenzatti has a 0.63 era, and is 11-3. The Bobcats are 14-0 at home.

“Beecher is tough,” said Carlile. “They did execute. We had to play a clean game. Ava is just fantastic. She made the ball spin.”

Lorenzatti, who is poised beyond her years, had no trouble at all dealing with the pressure of pitching in her first ever regional title contest.

“I have been dealing with pressure since I was nine or ten years old,” she said. “It is always around me. To win this game gives me a great deal of confidence for the next round of post season play. Manteno was a good team. I do like to bat leadoff. That way I can set the tone for my teammates.”

Beecher scored one run in the first inning. The Bobcats Lorenzatti singled to left field. Kylie Cook’s infield ground out moved Lorenzatti to second base. Elena Kvasnicka single plated Lorenzatti for the first run of the game.

The Bobcats scored three runs in the second inning for a 4-0 advantage. Kvasnicka singled to left field. Kendall Kasput and Ava Olson each had infield groundouts which moved Kvasnicka to third base. She scored on a wild pitch for the second run. Lorenzatti smashed a single, which plated Makenzie Johnson and Tayiah Scanlan for the 4-0 lead.

Beecher scored three runs in the third frame to make it 7-0. The Bobcats’ Kamryn Koontz single drove in Kvasnicka for the fifth run. Koontz scored on a wild pitch for the sixth run. A Johnson single knocked in Ava Olson for the seventh run.

The Bobcats Emma Tiltges praised Lorenzatti’s pitching performance.

“Ava was able to keep her composure,” she said. “She was able to hit her spots around the plate. She did very well in this pressure situation. She has lots of experience. She did very well with her hitting. It feels great to be able to improve over last season. Winning this regional is just great.”

Beecher coach Kevin Hayhurst was pleased with Lorenzatti’s effort against the feisty Panthers.

“While Ava did not have her best game,” he said. “Her defense backed her up. She has a great bat speed. She has a short swing.”

For three innings, Lorenzatti held the Panthers to no hits. In the fourth frame, Manteno’s Lily Bivona’s single broke up the no-hitter. In the fifth frame, the Panthers loaded the bases. Manteno’s Syd Sosnowski’s fly out plated Ava Peterson for a run, which made the score 7-1. The Bobcats Kasput, a right fielder, made a great diving catch, to end the inning.

In the sixth inning, the Panthers had two runners on base but could not score.