Girls Softball

May 19, 2007

Camacho Plucks Taft Eagles at City Championship (semi-finals)

May 18, 2007, Chicago, IL … The Lane Tech Varsity Softball Indians, led by Sophomore pitcher Jazzy Camacho (#15), avenged last year’s city championship loss to the Taft Eagles with a 9-0 trouncing featuring spotless defense, spot-on pitching and aggressive base running that showcased a renewed, smart and aggressive team to last year’s city champs.

A powerful Camacho led the team with a solid game on the mound, limiting the scoreless Eagles and avenging an anemic 3-2 Indian loss. This year, Lane Varsity started with a rigorous pre-game warm-up, a three-run first inning, one walk and an awesome defense that led the Indians to the thrashing they waited a year to pull off.

And settle up they did. Daniela Torres (#35) opened the game with a walk, quickly advanced to third, where Denise Bilski (#6) drove in Torres and Rebecca Cavanaugh (#4), ending the inning by driving in two Indian teammates who scored from second and third.

When at bat, the Eagles never made it passed second base due to a team effort that included Indian defensive gems such as second basemen Bernadette Hanson (22) and right-fielder Brigette Mizcowiz’s (#1) errorless fielding. Jackie Manrique (92) also thwarted one of the limited number of Eagle scoring opportunities with an aerial diving catch from center field.

Along with pitching a complete game, Camacho’s (11K, 1W) defensive effort with catcher Bilski also defeated the Eagle’s at every theft attempt at second base, and Camacho speared a line drive to the mound then fired for an easy putout.

Other offensive highlights included a two-room homer over the left-field fence by shortstop Maria Joyce (#9) in the third inning. Stephanie Huber (#50) contributed to the Indian hitting frenzy with a double and additional base hits generated runs for the Lane Tech Indians by teammates Torres and Manrique.

The Taft Eagles and their howling fans may have had momentary solace when they didn’t allow Lane Tech to finish their championship rout over Taft in just five innings – extending the contest to the full seven innings – yet they still couldn’t rant loud enough to avoid the shutout.

The Varsity Lane Tech Indian softball team is coached by Brent Bradish, George Stavrakas, Howard Neumann and Xavier Manrique.

The final city championship match will be held on Saturday, May 19 at 3:30 p.m. at the University of Illinois Chicago field at Morgan and 14^th Street between Lane Technical and Schurz High Schools.

Maria Joyce is in a defensive position. Joyce, a sophomore, has been a power hitter for Lane this year. www.LaneTechFan.com photo