More winning numbers for Schaumburg

Their pitcher's record went to 19-0.

Their winning steak advanced to 28 in a row.

And their the home run total increased to a state record-tying 65.

But the Schaumburg Saxons were hardly fazed by any of those rare accomplishments on the softball diamond.

All they are concerned with is their next game in their own regional championship on Saturday at 11 a.m.

The top-seeded Saxons (29-1) got there with an 8-2 victory over No. 16-seeded Glenbard North on Wednesday.

That 19-0 pitcher - junior Paige Alt - tossed a 4-hitter with 8 strikeouts and also was the reason the Saxons tied Benet's state record of 65 home runs set last year.

She belted the team's 64th and 65th on Wednesday, giving her 14 on the season, second only to team leader Elaine Walker (23).

"Paige had another outstanding day on the mound and solid performance at the plate," said Saxons coach Ellen Abreu. "Our team just kept its composure and played its game."

Schaumburg (29-1) will face the winner's of Thursday's semifinal between No. 8 Willowbrook and No. 9 Lake Park in Saturday's championship game.

The visiting Panthers (9-22) got on the board first with an RBI single by Kayla Quanstrom.

"We just stayed calm and played our game," said Alt, who went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI. "We just had to get the jitters out in the first inning. We cleaned things up and we came back and scored 4 runs in the bottom of the inning."

Those four included a leadoff double to right center by Walker (2-for-4, 2 doubles) followed by RBI singles by Sarah Schwind (2-for-3) and Shannon Felde and a 2-run homer by Alt which she lined over the center field fence off a 0-1 count.

Alt led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run over the center field fence, as Schaumburg tied Benet for most home runs in a singles season. The Redwings hit 65 a year ago.

"You don't really think about something like that (home run) record at the beginning of the season," Abreu said. "But the girls have been performing and getting solid at-bats and making solid contact. We always preach singles, and then everything happens after that."

After Schwind led off the fourth by reaching on an infield error, the Saxons added 2 more runs in the inning on an RBI single by Christina Candotti and an RBI double by Michelle Birkholz to the right center gap for a 7-1 lead.

Walker led off the fifth with a double to center and made it to third on an error before scoring on Felde's sacrifice fly to center for the 8-1 lead.

Roxanne Kakareka also doubled for Schaumburg while Natalie Napier made her return from an ankle injury two weeks ago and flied out deep to left as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning.

The Panthers scored the game's final run on a home run to center by No. 9 hitter Abby Paragon, one of eight seniors on the team, the most coach Josh Sanew will graduate in his eight seasons.

"I'm proud of the way our kids played," said Sanew, who got at-bats for all of his seniors in their final game. "We came out and played for seven innings. The last time we played them they beat us pretty good in six innings. Our goal was to 'let's play seven.'

"They're (Schaumburg) a great team. From one to nine, they can hit the ball. There are no easy outs in the lineup."

Senior Sarah Petzhold also hit safely for the Panthers, going 2-for 3 and reaching base in all 3 at-bats.

"Casey (Bolan) threw a great game," Sanew added of his senior pitcher. "She did a good job of mixing it up and keeping us in the game."