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Benedictine Night: Hornets take series over Red Devils
Hinsdale South's Kerry Just and Hinsdale Central's Erin Smith collide attempting a header. | Jon Langham~for Sun-Times Media
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Updated: May 27, 2012 8:22AM
Hinsdale South freshman Sarah Leganski competed in her first Benedictine Night Friday.
The Hornets didn’t win, but the experience might be hard to forget for Leganski, who played under the lights on a college field for the first time.
“It was pretty excited playing on Benedictine’s field,” Leganski said. “It was a fun experience, especially as a freshman. We played hard as a team. It was a lot of fun.”
The event ended its fifth year with Hinsdale South winning 2-of-3 games over District 86 sister school Hinsdale Central. The event features three games between the two schools in baseball, softball and girls soccer being played at the same time at Benedictine University’s Lisle campus.
“It took a little bit (to adjust). It’s just another game, but it’s nice to play under the lights,” said Leganski, who scored her first varsity goal in a 3-0 win over Willowbrook earlier in the week.
Hinsdale Central picked up goals by Lauren Shroyer and Alison Cerny to produce the Red Devils’ only win of the evening — a 2-0 victory in girls soccer. The Red Devils (4-5-2) won for the fourth time in their last five games after losing to Waubonsie Valley 2-1 Thursday in the Naperville North Invitational. The Hornets dropped to 3-8-1.
Hinsdale South won in the batting sports as the baseball team rallied for an 8-6 victory and the softball team had a shutout spoiled in the seventh inning, but won 8-2 behind starting pitcher Jess Buckridge’s six shutout innings.
“I actually feel confident. I know I’ve got a great defense behind,” said Buckridge.
Buckridge (9-5) played in her second Benedictine Night after playing for the varsity her freshman year, but she was on the JV last season. The Hornets (12-7) scored the game’s first eight runs and the Red Devils (8-9) scored twice in the seventh on an error and sacrifice fly.
The Hornets baseball team won for the first time in the Benedictine Night series by scoring seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. P.J. Schuster banged a three-run home run over the right-field fence and Sean Beesley added a two-run double in the inning. South (14-4-1) meets Central (8-11) again in a doubleheader at 10 a.m. Saturday in Hinsdale in a rare three-game series between the district schools.
Schuster’s homer, the fifth of the season, tied the game at 5-5. Adam Dressler hit a two-run triple to lead the Red Devils to three runs in the second inning.
Central used three different pitchers in the fifth as Matt Reschke scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.
Schuster appeared in his fourth Benedictine Night, but Hornets coach Paul Hoel made his first appearance after previously coaching the team several years ago before the Friday night series began.
“Four years ago was our best game. In the last three years, we’ve been down,” Schuster said.
