The Maroons made the drive out to the suburbs on Tuesday to cap off their season and take on the Elmhurst Bluejays in a doubleheader. The Maroons split both games in a tight fashion, winning the first game and losing the second.
The first game was marked by an exciting finish for the Maroons, an 8–6 comeback victory that set the tone for the afternoon. Chicago started fast with three quick runs at the top of the third inning. Second-year second baseman Anna Woolery knocked in an RBI single to get things going for the South Siders. Second-year outfielder Maggie O’Hara was not to be outdone as she followed up Woolery’s RBI single with a two-run double.
The Bluejays responded quickly in the bottom of the third with four runs of their own to leave the score 4–3 in favor of the home team. The Bluejays would continue to add to their lead, making it 6–3 going into the sixth inning.
Down 6–3 in the top of the sixth, the Maroons were looking to make a comeback and it came in the form of first-year outfielder Sara Koniewicz, who roped a two-run single to break things open. The Maroons would not look back as third-year outfielder Devan Parkison and Woolery added RBI to make the score 8–6 in favor of the Maroons.
First-year first baseman Alyssa Stolmack attributed the Maroons’ ability to come back in the first game to their resolve. “I think we put together a lot of great things and never gave up in the first game, especially when we were behind,” she said.
Game two would not end as well as the first had for the Maroons, as they lost a nail-biter to the Bluejays 4–3.
Elmhurst would jump out to a 3–0 in the second inning and would never look back from there. It took the Maroons five innings to get on the board as first-year Molly Moran knocked in an RBI single and Parkison hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 3–2 in the top of the fifth.
Elmhurst would respond with another run in the bottom of fifth, which proved to be the deciding run in a 4–3 loss for the Maroons.
The second game was highlighted by a major accomplishment by Parkison, who met school record for steals in a season in the sixth inning. Her 26th steal of the season tied with the 22-year-old record set by Kim Dennis in 1993.
As the season comes to a close, Stolmack reflected on their season with pride and optimism for the future, saying, “I am so proud of how hard my team battled through what was, at times, a pretty tough season in terms of schedule and injuries and other factors out of our control. We are really looking forward to an exciting recruit class for next season.”
The Maroons finished their season with a record of 15–19 and will look to start a new chapter next year in the spring of 2016.
