#20 Metamora wins its eighth straight; run-rules #7 Canton

The 20th-ranked Metamora softball team huddles up after defeating 7th-ranked Canton on Tuesday afternoon. The Redbirds could tie East Peoria for first place with a win on Thursday.
PHOTO / ALEX STAAB

Metamora, Ill. - It was a tall task that stood in front of the #20 Metamora Redbirds (9-5, 5-2), as #7 Canton (11-3, 5-2) tried to snap the Redbirds seven-game win streak in a key mid-May matchup. A Redbird win and a #14 Washington win over #13 East Peoria would mean a four-way tie atop the Mid-Illini standings with the postseason starting in as early as 22 days. 

The Redbirds brought the bats early and often, including two home runs and a five-run second inning, in route to a five-inning mercy rule win by a 12-0 score. 

Metamora, however, is in the right headspace. In essence, they're playing Canton as opposed to #7 Canton. 

"The rankings don't matter that much. All that matters is where you fall at the end of the year, hopefully winning championships. Today gets us a step closer to a conference championship," said Coach Deric Linder.

It all got started when Alex Bishop, up for the Journal Star's Athlete of the Week, scored a two-run single to take an early 2-0 lead. 

Once Sydney Trentman held the Lady Giants scoreless in the circle, an onslaught ensued in the bottom of the second, powered by Kylie Hyde getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, then Kayla Pacha launching a 2-2 pitch well beyond the left field fence to blow the game open at 7-0. 

The Lady Giants were making solid contact on Trentman's pitches, but the Redbird defense had her backed up well, totaling just one error for the game. 

Metamora was far from done yet. After Kate LeMasters and Alyssa Russell got their second singles of the day in the third, and Hannah Tellor reached on a fielder's choice, a run of three striaight RBI followed - an RBI groundout from Hyde, RBI single from Katy Ramage, and RBI single from Pacha (her 5th RBI of the day). Just like that, it was 10-0. If the Redbird defense could keep it up, it could be an abbreviated game. 

The massive third inning was just a microcosm of what's happened the last while for the

Redbirds, according to Linder.

"We saw the ball well. Even when we got out, we hit the ball hard at someone. We're just hitting the ball really well right now. We're not trying to do too much."

They did. Canton was able to get their fourth and final hit of the game in the fourth inning, but that was it. 

The Redbird bats continued their prowess with extra insurance in the fourth, when Sydney Trentman helped herself out with a solo home run that just got out of reach of the center fielder, then Hannah Tellor set the final score of 12-0 with an RBI single. 

What leads to such consistent offense? Coach Linder explained that it has sprouted from the bottom of the lineup card, that being first baseman Alyssa Russell, rolling into the top four of three of the order. Russell plus the top three (Tellor, Hyde, Ramage) collected four hits and four RBI in Tuesday's win.

"The key is the #9 hitter. Alyssa Russell is playing so well right now. You've got four hitters in front of Kayla that are going to get on. Then, you don't have any place to put Kayla, so they kind of had to pitch to her."

Tuesday's win extends #20 Metamora's win streak to eight games. It can be easy to soak in a win of this magnitude, but the Redbirds don't have a lot of time to look around. Wednesday, they travel to 3A (RV) Streator, a matchup that could be critical in terms of postseason pairings in a few weeks. Then on Thursday, the Redbirds host #13 East Peoria. Coach Linder believes that the team is where they need to be as they continue down the home stretch of the 2021 regular season.

"I think when you're working with high school kids, you're working with a team that changes every year. You're always wondering how good you are. That does help us leading into tomorrow to say 'hey, beat a team that's really good'. That Streator game is a very, very big game." 

The Metamora - Streator game is scheduled for a 4:30pm first pitch on Wednesday. The complex is a few blocks away from the school building itself. See this LINK for the site.

For context, East Peoria did beat Washington today to stand alone in first. 

Batted-In Runs:

B1 | Alex Bishop | 2-run single

B2 | Kylie Hyde | RBI hit by pitch

B2 | Kayla Pacha | Grand Slam

B3 | Kylie Hyde | RBI groundout

B3 | Katy Ramage | RBI single

B3 | Kayla Pacha | RBI single

B4 | Sydney Trentman | Solo Home Run

B4 | Hannah Tellor | RBI single

Pitching:

Sydney Trentman (Complete Game; 5-1 record; 2.75 ERA)

-  48 pitches (37 strikes), 5 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts

Mid-Illini Standings:

First | #13 East Peoria Raiders | (6-1)

Second | #20 Metamora Redbirds | (5-2)*

Third | #7 Canton Lady Giants | (5-2)*

Fourth | Limestone Rockets | (4-3)**

Fifth | #14 Washington Panthers | (4-3)**

Sixth | Morton Potters | (2-4)

Seventh | Dunlap Eagles | (1-6)

Eighth | Pekin Dragons | (1-7)

* = Metamora holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with Canton at the moment.

** = Same thing. Limestone defeated Washington earlier this season.