Softball: Montini defeats Kaneland
On paper it was just a leadoff bunt for a hit, but in the Montini dugout it was so much more.
The top-seeded Broncos opened the bottom of the fifth inning of Wednesday's Class 3A sectional semifinal trailing Kaneland by a run but still liked their chances with the top of the order coming up. When speedy leadoff hitter Bell Alexander put down a perfect bunt for a hit, Montini really liked its chances.
When the next five batters reached safely, the Broncos had a 3-run inning that powered them to a 4-2 win in Glen Ellyn.
"We were in a good spot," said Montini shortstop Amy Bukovsky, who walked and scored what proved to be the winning run in the fifth. "We had confidence all throughout the game, but as soon as Bell got on our confidence level rises because our middle of the order can do everything."
The middle of that order came through again on Wednesday. Cleanup hitter Alyssa Sclafani singled home the team's first run in the third and then was hit by a pitch to drive home the tying run in the fifth.
No. 3 hitter Nikki Cuchran singled her first two trips and then walked and scored in the decisive fifth. Fifth hitter Emily Lezcano had a pair of singles and Naomi Alonzo had a pair of doubles, including an RBI gapper in the fifth, from the No. 6 spot.
A baserunning mistake kept Montini (30-3) from having a chance to score even more than three times in the fifth, but pitcher Bri Clifton and the Broncos defense made the lead hold up.
"I knew our top was coming up and we got a couple runners on with Bell and Amy, and then Nikki did her job," Montini coach Mike Bukovsky said of the start to the fifth. "We still made a little mistake that inning but still we come out with some hits and some runs, and we made it hold up."
Clifton, who has lost just once this spring, allowed single runs to the Knights (23-12) in the third and fifth innings but worked out of a couple jams and struck out 8 hitters along the way. Sclafani helped by picking off a runner at second to end the fifth, and right fielder Emily Alexander made two big plays in the top of the seventh to protect the lead.
"Bri just battles," said her coach, whose team will play in the sectional final Saturday morning at Glenbard South against either the host Raiders or St. Francis. "She made her pitches and did a very good job. She likes those (tight) situations and we kind of like her in those situations."
Cuchran admitted that last year's sectional loss to the Knights was fresh in the team's minds.
"I think the intensity was high the whole game and our energy was so up … we really kept the pressure on them. Definitely that (loss) was something driving us."
Kaneland, which was third in the state last spring, manufactured the game's first run after a bunt single by Alexis Abruzzo was followed by a single from Meg Cohrs to put runners on the corners. The two runners then pulled off a double steal for a 1-0 lead.
The Knights went ahead 2-1 in the fifth after Abruzzo reached on a bloop double and scored on a groundout off the bat of Hannah Theobald.
But Montini's 3-run fifth proved to be too much to overcome.
"It was a great game. I enjoyed coaching it and I enjoyed watching it," Knights coach Mike Kuefler said. "They capitalized on a few things that we weren't able to … and they got it from us. Offensively, we didn't take advantage of some of the base runners we had on there."