The Chesterton softball team waited until the last possible second -- literally.

Fighting against archrival Valparaiso, the Trojans scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning and then survived mother nature in picking up a 4-1 Duneland Athletic Conference victory on Tuesday night.

“I have to give Valparaiso Coach Kathy Levandoski credit,” Chesterton coach LouAnn Hopson said. “She did what was right. There have been some coaches over the years that would have done everything they could to make sure we didn’t resume play and walked away with a win.”

Chesterton’s seventh inning rally started with a leadoff single by Sam Bozak. After a walk to Jessica McClellan, Taylor Harlow doubled to right field, scoring Bozak, tieing the game. Sam Gross singled to score McClellan with the go-ahead run.

“We had some great at bats in the seventh inning,” Hopson said. “McClellan was behind 0-2 and Taylor blasted the first pitch she saw. Gross had an 8-pitch at bat before delivering the go-ahead run.”

Alexis Paz reached on a fielder’s choice when pinch-runner Kelley Kulcyzk was thrown out at the plate. Paz and Gross scored on a two-run single by Amanda Gough.

“We didn’t hit the ball real well in the early part of the game,” Hopson said. “However, our six, seven and eight hitters came up big in the seventh inning and our power hitters were able to string some hits together.”

Things got interesting in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and a 2-1 count on the Viking hitter, when lightening flashed in the sky. Both teams were ordered to the dugout and had to wait during a half-hour delay due to an IHSAA rule.

The rain lasted for 15 minutes and after the last half of the delay, both teams hustled out onto the field to warmup. Chesterton pitcher Catie Armstrong ran the count to 3-2 before a line drive to Paz at third base ended the game.

“Catie had a nice outing,” Hopson said. “She had some trouble in a few innings, but worked her way out of it. It is great to see the improvement in everybody.

“Our defense was solid. We still make some mistakes on decisions because of our youth and inexperience, but they are learning on the job.”

Valpo’s lone run came in the fourth inning when the Vikings got a leadoff walk and advanced all the way to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch. The run scored on an RBI ground out.

Chesterton 4, Valparaiso 1

AT VALPARAISO

SCORING BY INNINGS

Chesterton 000 000 4 -- 4 8 1

Valparaiso 000 100 0 -- 1 1 0

2B -- Taylor Harlow (C). Pitching summary -- Chesterton -- Catie Armstrong (7 IP, 1 H, 8 K, 4 BB); Valparaiso -- Casey Crozier (7 IP, 8 H, 5 K, 2 BB). WP -- Armstrong. LP -- Crozier.

Posted 4/9/2008