Warren sketches itself into sectional final scene

There is some actually thought behind the drawings.

Warren center fielder Michelle Vasen has a mustache drawn, naturally, on her lip.

Batman appears on catcher Jodie Hurd's face.

But what, exactly, was winning pitcher Jana Wagner wearing on Tuesday afternoon? Well, it's kind of a mixture between a leopard and tiger.

All of which serves to illustrate that Warren isn't just your average softball sectional finalist.

For much of the game between the Blue Devils and New Trier, it looked like it might be the Trevians advancing.

New Trier and gifted right-hander Allison Quigley seemed to have the Blue Devils right where they wanted them. This Stevenson sectional semifinal had the top-seeded Trevians up 2-0 heading to the sixth inning. Quigley had fanned seven and needed just six outs to advance to the final.

It didn't happen. Warren knotted the game up in the sixth, and the game ended up in extra innings. It took a full 9 innings to decide a winner.

That's when designated player Sabrina Trevino tripled off Quigley. Hurd drove in the game-winner with an infield hit.

Warren will play again Saturday morning for the sectional crown at Stevenson. The 3-2 win propels the Devils into a game against either Lake Zurich or Libertyville; both teams pinned two regular-season losses on the Devils.

"It's tough to beat a team three times,'' Hurd noted.

Savino, a sophomore, was not a strikeout victim of Quigley. Her sacrifice fly chased home the tying run in the sixth inning, and she came up with one out in the ninth and drilled a ball in the right-center field gap.

"Sabrina is a really good hitter,'' said Warren softball coach Bryan McNulty. "By the time she is a senior, she will be a big-time hitter in the county."

Trevino batted sixth for the Devils and clearly played a big role in this victory.

"We all can do this, one through nine,'' Trevino said.

And the name Sabrina?

"My mom didn't want a name that would have a nickname,'' she said. "Still, there were nicknames."

Hurd followed Trevino's triple with an infield single.

"Sabrina got the big hit,'' Hurd said. "I knew my job was to hit the ball to the right side."

Hurd was a big supporter of her pitcher on this day.

"She was on,'' Hurd said of Wagner. "The umpire wasn't calling her drop for strikes. But I knew Jana would come through."

Wagner scattered 8 hits and struck out eight with no walks.

"This is Jana time,'' McNulty said. "She's just a really good pitcher."

Both pitchers went all nine innings.

"I was getting them with the high stuff,'' Wagner said.

The Trevians threatened in the home half of the ninth. With one out, both Laura Bogan (3 hits) and Claire Grossman singled. Wagner battled back to retire the last two hitters on pop outs to the infield.

"My goal was to get that first out of the inning,'' Wagner said. "I wanted them to pop it up so I put the ball in on their hands."

After the first two Warren hitters struck out to open the game, shortstop Shannon McKeon slammed a triple in the gap. And now comes word that McKeon will play softball in a warm climate next year, at the University of San Diego.

"Shannon is very, very consistent,'' McNulty said. "She's just not a big rah-rah girl."

Warren (24-9) knotted it up in the sixth. Vasen's infield hit started the rally. After Vasen stole second, McKeon singled her home.