Softball: Stevenson's postseason surge continues

No one saw this coming.

Not Stevenson leadoff hitter Vera Pflugradt, she of the 3 hits today.

Nor third-place hitter Taylor Koenigs, who blasted a pair of triples.

Certainly not anyone involved in deciding the postseason seeds.

But suddenly, the Stevenson softball team is on a major roll, with most recent victim New Trier. The Patriots sprung the most recent of their upsets, winning 6-4.

On Saturday, the 10th-seeded club struck early. Six runs went up on the board after two innings against the Trevians in the Class 4A Glenbrook South sectional final.

And then the offense took a major break. Only Pflugradt had a hit in the final five at-bats.

It didn't matter. Winning pitcher Myra Peterson battled a strong New Trier offense. An Amanda Fisher solo homer with two outs in the seventh brought the Trevians within 2 runs, but that's where it ended.

Stevenson (18-15) will play again Monday, against the host Fillies at 7 p.m. in the Barrington supersectional.

Just a few weeks back, this kind of finish didn't seem possible.

"We are just having a really good time,'' said first-year Stevenson coach Alex Vikartofsky. "We have such positive attitudes. We are not bothered by the pressure."

Clearly, that pressure thing didn't come up at least in the first two-at-bats for the Pats.

Pflugradt led off the game with a hit to left field. Koenigs hit her first three-bagger to easily get Pflugradt home.

"I really don't know why we are playing like this,'' Pflugradt said. "It's the playoffs. We are excited to play."

Kayleigh McGovern followed with a run-scoring double and the Pats were up a pair of runs.

To make matters better for Stevenson, Peterson had a one-two-three first inning.

"Myra has been pitching awesomely,'' Pflugradt said.

That, however, was the last time Peterson would face just three hitters.

Stevenson's second inning ended up deciding this contest. Koenigs had the big hit, a bases-loaded triple. McGovern chased Koenigs home with an RBI single and Stevenson led 6-0.

"We are taking a lot of pride in our offense,'' Vikartofsky said.

New Trier senior pitcher Dana Dollnko settled in after that and scattered 3 hits the rest of the way.

The Trevians scored a pair of runs in the home half of the second. An RBI double from ninth-place hitter Cindy Secaras cut the Stevenson lead to 6-3.

"I know their hitters were making adjustments,'' Vikartofsky said. "But our defense was solid and we still had some wiggle room."

New Trier was its own worst enemy. And again the Pats took advantage of some poor base running. Three double plays went up on the board for the Pats, and only the sixth-inning twin killing, started by third baseman Alyssa Pauly, was conventional. Pauly was also involved with a play that caught a Trevian off base.

And Trisha Porzycki and Hannah Epstein combined to get an out at the plate as New Trier had 3 hits in a row in the fifth inning yet did not score.

Pflugradt was concerned that her own team did not score after the second inning.

"I knew that we needed more runs,'' she said. "We can't just score in the first few innings."

Dollnko allowed an opposite field single by Pflugradt in the sixth, ending her streak of 10 in a row retired.

Stevenson, a team that was below .500 for much of the season, is one win away from the state tournament.