Naperville North holds on, ousts Geneva
Naperville North walked a tightrope Thursday in the Class 4A West Aurora regional, somehow escaping a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning unscathed to hold onto a 4-3 win over Geneva.
Those were the final three of the nine runners Geneva left on base. Huskies shortstop Alexis Solak raced back and to her right to make a diving catch for the last out in the seventh inning, sending the ninth-seeded Huskies (19-14) into a matchup with No. 2 West Aurora for the regional title at 11 a.m. Saturday.
"That is one of the most intense ones I've been in," Naperville North coach Jerry Kedziora said. "They (Geneva) put the ball in play. We made some defensive plays."
The Huskies took a 2-0 lead in the first. Rachel Aiardo walked, and Solak and Rachel Martin singled to load the bases.
Dani Biesiada plated the first run with a sacrifice fly, and the second run scored when Geneva starter Rachel Fanella was called for an illegal pitch.
"They said she stepped up off the mound forward before she pitched for the first time in 80 innings this year," Geneva coach Greg Dierks said.
Geneva (23-9) got within 2-1 in the second inning on Rylie Porretto's home run.
With a runner at first in the third, Annika Radabaugh lined a shot off Huskies starter Alex Hanselman. The ball hit Hanselman in the ribs and left her on the ground for several minutes.
"I've gotten hit in my ankle and stuff but never hit above the waist," Hanselman said. "It didn't register. I almost went for the ball but I realized I couldn't breath so I just fell. That was a shot."
Hanselman ended up pitching 5 2/3 innings, improving to 13-11.
"The sound it made we thought it broke a rib," Kedziora said. "For her to come back and battle like she did, she was on empty when we took her out. That was one of the best games she pitched all year."
Both teams scored a pair of runs in the fifth. Martin's RBI single and a wild pitch put Naperville North up 4-1 before Geneva quickly answered with 2 runs.
The Vikings' rally was aided by the Huskies throwing a bunt down the right field line, then an RBI single by Emily Plocinski who took over for Fanella in the fifth and replaced her sister Kaitlyn in the lineup.
Trailing 4-3 in the last of the sixth, Geneva loaded the bases on a pair of infield errors and Anna Geary working a walk.
Sarah Baurer got ahead of Hanselman 3-0 in the count, a ball away from tying the game. But Hanselman came back to get a comebacker, and she threw home to get the force at the plate.
With 2 outs and Radabaugh coming up, Kedziora turned to Biesiada who quickly fell behind 2-0. Radabaugh lofted a fly ball to deep center on the next pitch that was caught at the warning track.
"I know they are an aggressive team," Kedziora said. "We just happened to throw a good enough pitch. She hits that ball any lower and it's out of here. She just missed it. We got the breaks today."
Kelsey Warren, Solak and Martin all had 2 hits for the Huskies who outhit Geneva 10-4.
"We had a half dozen balls that were outs that could easily have been hits," Dierks said. "I thought we had a good approach.
"From the first inning on we were playing catch-up the whole way which is stressful. I thought our girls got in the batter's box with confidence and put some good swings on the ball. Naperville North battled hard and did everything they could to protect the lead and they did it."
The Vikings return 7 of 9 starters but graduate Geary, a 4-year starter at shortstop, and their center fielder Maddie Keith.
"It's fun, they are nice kids, they took it hard," Dierks said. "It's hard to deal with. I knew they wanted to come to practice tomorrow."