Steinhilber, Glenbard West oust South Elgin
Glenbard West senior Taylor Steinhilber threw South Elgin sophomore Sam Bolin a changeup in the second inning of Monday's Class 4A Elk Grove regional play-in game and Bolin promptly deposited the softball over the left-field fence.
When Bolin came up to bat in the top of the sixth inning with the game hanging in the balance, Steinhilber had no intention of duplicating the pitch.
Instead, with the potential tying run at third and go-ahead run at second, Steinhilber threw Bolin a first-pitch curveball, which Bolin popped up for the third out of the inning.
The Hilltoppers then added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth and Steinhilber retired the Storm in order in the seventh as Glenbard West held on for a 5-3 win at Memorial Field in Glen Ellyn.
"I was just thinking about what I threw her before and that I can't throw that again," said Steinhilber, who allowed 5 hits while striking out five and walking one.
"I just had to keep it low and not give her anything good to hit."
The 16th-seeded Hilltoppers (15-18) now get a date at top-seeded Elk Grove (31-4) at 4:30 p.m. today in the semifinals. Glenbard West stunned Elk Grove in regional finals the last two years, 2-0 last year and 1-0 in 2008.
"We're the kind of team (Elk Grove coach) Ken Grams doesn't want to see again," said Glenbard West coach Mary McGrane. "The one good thing about being a lower seed is that there are no expectations. If we play our game we can play with them."
The Hilltoppers broke on top 2-0 in the first inning Monday. Bolin, who finished her first varsity season in the circle 10-11, walked Brianna Wyatt and Rachel Hitzeman to open the inning and the two speedsters both scored when Michele Waggoner laced a single just inside the first-base foul line.
Bolin's solo homer in the second brought the Storm (14-19) to within 2-1 and they took a 3-2 lead in the fifth. Senior Alyssa Krause opened the inning with a double and Bolin walked. Sara Irving then sacrificed Krause and courtesy runner Danielle Susman to second and third. Krause scored on Victoria Watt's sacrifice fly and Susman came home on a Kara Rodriguez single to give the Storm a 3-2 lead.
But Hitzeman drew another walk to lead off the bottom of the inning and went to second and third on groundouts before South Elgin, which had won two regional titles in a row, made a costly infield error on Kelly Borneman's grounder that would have ended the inning. Hitzeman came home to tie the game, Borneman went to second on Colleen Jenner's single and then scored on Dayle Comerford's single up the middle.
"It was nice getting the two-run lead but to see us bounce back when we were down shows a lot of character for our girls," McGrane said. "This was a good win for us."
Steinhilber walked to lead off the bottom of the sixth and courtesy runner Emily Rooney stole second, went to third on Maddie Morris' groundout and then scored on a perfect squeeze bunt by Wyatt to make it 5-3.
"When you're 15, 16, 18 years old it's hard to understand you can play well and lose," said South Elgin coach Jason Schaal, who will return six starters next year. "I thought we played pretty well. Glenbard West got the hit when they needed it. But I'm very proud of this team. I think we exceeded expectations. Our 10 seniors have been great leaders for our program and we've got a good nucleus coming back. This is going to sting for a day or two but I'm looking forward to the future."