The Wonderlic Test is famously administered to college football players to assess their general intelligence prior to the professional draft.

The Wunderlich test has been administered to anyone unlucky enough to face Naperville Central pitcher Natalie Wunderlich in the playoffs.

So far this postseason, nobody has passed the test. Bartlett was the latest team to be stymied by Wunderlich, who yielded just one hit in the Redhawks’ 2-0 win over the Hawks in Monday’s Class 4A supersectional softball game at Benedictine University.

“Hats off to their pitcher,” Bartlett head coach Jim Wolfsmith said of Wunderlich, who extended her postseason scoreless streak to 40 innings. “She did a good job moving the ball around and hitting her spots.

“We have a good team, but she did a number on us today.”

Bartlett (22-15) looked to be in business when Elizabeth Kay took Wunderlich’s first offering up the third base line for a hard-hit single. Kay moved to second moments later, but she was left stranded there at the end of the inning, and the Hawks didn’t see second base again the rest of the game. Kay drew a two-out walk in the third, but was thrown out stealing second to end the inning. Bartlett went down in order the rest of the way.

“We were a little nervous when she got on base right off the bat,” Wunderlich said. “But my defense did good job all day and made plays behind me.”

Central (31-6) shortstop Kelsey Gonzalez assisted on three outs after the third inning (including a nifty play on a short hop followed by a strong throw), while third baseman Erin Graham handled a sharp line drive for the second out in the top of the seventh inning.

“We did hit the ball all game, and when we finally did square it up and hit it hard (later in the game) we hit it right at third base or shortstop,” Wolfsmith said.

Wunderlich received plenty of praise, some of which Bartlett starter Callie Dennison also deserved. She worked out of a first and third, two out jam in the second and a first and second, one-out situation in the fifth. Her only blemish came in the third.

Back-to-back one-out singles put Gonzalez and Stephanie Lynch on base for the Redhawks. Graham’s groundout moved each up a base before Megan Silke’s single plated both for the game’s only runs.

Pitching with a lead didn’t change Wunderlich’s mindset on the mound, especially against a Bartlett team known for scoring runs in bunches.

“Even with a 2-0 lead I kept telling myself it was a 0-0 game,” she said. “I had to keep fighting because they’re a good team.”

Naperville Central moved on to the Class 4A state finals while Bartlett’s season came to a close a lot longer after many thought it would have.

“I’m proud of the girls finished the season,” Wolfsmith said. “I don’t think a lot of people would have predicted a No. 7 seed in the sectional would be playing in the supersectional for a chance to go downstate.

“When the girls get done being upset they’ll realize they had a great season.”

--- In team sports like softball, a popular phrase says no one player can win or lose a game.

Callie Dennison tried her hardest to disprove that statement in the Class 4A Lake Park sectional championship game against St. Charles North on Saturday.

Facing the North Stars for the third time this season, Dennison helped the Hawks avenge two regular season losses with a 2-1 win for the sectional crown.

In the top of the first inning Saturday Dennison belted a two-run home run following Rachel Anello’s single to quickly put the Hawks ahead 2-0. Inside the pitcher’s circle, Dennison scattered three hits and yielded just one run.

Dennison’s homer was part of a 3-for-3 performance at the plate. On the other side of the ball she set the North Stars down in order through the first three innings, and after surrendering the one run in the fourth she retired 10 straight to up her record to 18-11.

Game breakdown
SCHOOL      RUNS    HITS    ERRORS
Bartlett             0           1             2
Naperville C.    2           6             0