Softball / Lake County roundup
Antioch's softball team earned coach Anthony Rocco a homecoming.
Freshman Jill Foote went 3-for-4 with a 3-run double that iced the Sequoits' 9-5 win over host St. Viator in a Class 3A regional final in Arlington Heights on Saturday.
The win lifted fifth-seeded Antioch (18-16) into Tuesday's 4:30 p.m. sectional semifinal against No. 1 Wauconda (27-8) at Ridgewood, where Rocco spent three seasons. In his two seasons as head coach, Ridgewood won two regional championships.
Saturday's win over No. 4 St. Viator gave the young coach his second regional title in three years at Antioch.
"Our bottom of the order really came through," Rocco said.
Foote, batting in the No. 7 spot, cleared the bases with her sixth-inning double that hiked the Sequoits' lead to four runs. Seventh-place hitter and fellow freshman Ashley Stephens was 2-for-3 and started Antioch's 5-run third with a single and stolen base.
Juniors Jessica Pedersen (2-for-4, RBI) and Jessica Tyrell also doubled for Antioch. Freshman Hannah Cook went the distance in the circle for the Sequoits, allowing 8 hits and 3 earned runs.
Wauconda 1, Resurrection 0: At Elmwood Park, Lauren Nee's RBI single in the bottom of the third gave Kayla Wedl the only run she needed in the Class 3A regional final.
Wedl struck out 16 batters, didn't walk anyone and scattered 2 hits in improving to 22-6. Top-seeded Wauconda (27-8), which had earned coach Tim Rennels his 200th win in the semifinals against Johnsburg, moves on to face Antioch (18-16) in Tuesday's 4:30 p.m. sectional semifinal at Ridgewood. Wauconda swept Antioch during North Suburban Prairie Division play.
Against No. 8 Resurrection, Alyssa Wagner led off the Wauconda third with a walk. Freshman Taylor Lambert, running for Wagner, stopped at second when Taylor McCarthy reached on an infield error. Nee then singled into left field, and the speedy Lambert slid home just ahead of the tag.
Wauconda couldn't add to its lead, however, as Resurrection turned a pair of double plays in the later innings.
"It was a little more tense than I would have liked," said Rennels, whose Bulldogs won a regional title for the second year in a row. "But not on the defensive side with Kayla taking care of business."
Grayslake Central 8, Fenton 2: The Rams used a team effort on their home field to eliminate the No. 7 seed and capture their first regional championship since 2009.
Brittany Brown struck out 10 and allowed just 2 hits in a complete-game effort, as No. 2 Grayslake Central (22-12) earned a berth in the Class 3A Ridgewood sectional. The Rams will play No. 3 Lakes in a semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Rams got 8 hits from eight players - Shelby White, Katie Strickland, Jamie Brew, Brandy Heraty, Juliana Frusolone, Kaleigh Snyder, Theresa Curtis and Teagan Truskowski. White's double accounted for the only extra-base hit for the home team, which scored a run in the first and added three in the third to go up 4-0.
Fenton pulled within 5-2 in the fifth, but the Rams put the game away with a 3-run sixth.
Brew, Skyler Long, Snyder and Curtis each had an RBI. Brown improved to 14-8.
Lakes 10, Ridgewood 0: At Vernon Hills, the third-seeded Eagles captured the regional championship.
Lakes will play Grayslake Central at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Ridgewood sectional semifinals.
McHenry 2, Grant 1: At McHenry, the top-seeded Warriors scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.
McHenry pitcher Kristin Koepke struck out 11, walked one and gave up only 3 hits. Alex Martens doubled twice for the hosts.
No. 3 Grant finished 24-10.
McHenry will play DeKalb in the Class 4A Jacobs sectional at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.