Wauconda turns back Vernon Hills
There was an upset in rainy Wauconda on Saturday.
They played a softball game.
Even Bulldogs coach Tim Rennels was surprised.
"We have a great crew," Rennels said. "They were out early with (athletic director) Andy Lambert."
There was nearly a second upset.
Vernon Hills, which lost to Wauconda twice by a combined score of 22-1 during North Suburban Prairie Division action, had Rennels' squad down to its final three outs in the bottom of the seventh. But Kayla Wedl's 3-run homer tied it, and Mallory Carver's walk-off single in the 10th gave Wauconda a dramatic 8-7 win in its own Class 3A regional final.
Despite allowing 11 hits and 4 earned runs, UIC-commit Wedl struck out 17 batters, walking one, in earning the win.
By surviving a scare against the sixth-seeded Cougars, No. 3 Wauconda (25-11) advanced to Wednesday's 4:30 p.m. sectional semifinal at Grayslake Central. The Bulldogs will play the winner of the game between No. 2 Antioch and No. 10 Resurrection. That contest was postponed until Monday at 4 p.m. at Antioch.
Saturday's game at Wauconda was played in a drizzle, which never became severe enough to stop the game.
"The field was in pretty good condition at the end," Rennels said. "(The weather) wasn't a positive factor for anybody, but it definitely didn't play a big role in the game."
Instead, Rennels credited Vernon Hills, which lost to his Bulldogs by the scores of 9-1 and 13-0 during the regular season. The Cougars took advantage of a couple of Wauconda miscues and got a clutch 2-run double from Sami Saliba against Wedl to grab a stunning, 5-3 lead in the top of the fifth.
"It took the girls a little bit to shake out of that," Rennels said.
After Wauconda cut its deficit to 5-4 in the sixth, Vernon Hills responded with a pair of runs in the seventh to go up 7-4.
In the Wauconda seventh, with one out, Taylor McCarthy, making her first start since suffering a knee injury last month, lined a single off the leg of Cougars pitcher Carly Stern, who went down in pain. Stern stayed in the game, though.
"She showed a lot of grit and got back up," Rennels said of the opposing pitcher.
Paige Motley then walked, putting two runners on base for Wedl. Wedl drove a pitch well over the fence in left-center field for her 12th homer of the season and the Bulldogs' 31st. Rennels didn't even have to watch the ball land, choosing instead to enjoy the reaction of the crowd.
"It was almost by will," Rennels said of Wedl's blast. "She was like, 'We need a 3-run home run. I'm going to do it.' Boom. It's done.
"It energized us, because we all had our doubts. Our back was to the wall."
In the Wauconda 10th, Wedl led off by racing to third base on an infield error. Brooke Sefcik and Alexandra Steffens then walked to load the bases with none out for Carver.
Carver singled up the middle, scoring Wedl and giving Wauconda its third regional championship in a row.
Carver (2 RBI), Sefcik (2 doubles), Wedl (double) and Hayley Redmann each had 2 hits for Wauconda, which also got a double and 2 RBI from Sarah Ricci.
Dana Meline was 3-for-4 with a double and 2 runs scored for Vernon Hills. Saliba finished 3-for-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI, and Sara Lenzi went 2-for-5 for the Cougars.
"I'm empathetic (for Vernon Hills)," Rennels said. "They played their hearts out."