Softball: Zion-Benton's quick start finishes Warren
A rough first inning was all it took to turn the tide against No. 3 seed Warren on Thursday afternoon in the Class 4A Buffalo Grove girls softball sectional semifinals.
Second-seeded Zion-Benton jumped out to a 3-0 lead over the Blue Devils in the bottom of the first, and the Zee-Bees never looked back in the pitchers' duel as they captured a 3-0 victory.
After winning its fourth straight regional crown last weekend, Warren closed out its season with a 24-13 record while Zion-Benton (26-10) advanced to the sectional championship game against top-seeded Libertyville on Saturday.
The sectional title game is scheduled for 11 a.m., but it could be moved up to 10 a.m. to help avoid potential rain delays if the two teams and umpires agree to the new starting time.
Zion-Benton leadoff hitter Tori Williams opened the bottom of the first with a walk before scoring all the way from first base on teammate Morgan Wade's RBI double over the left fielder's head for a quick 1-0 advantage.
Zion-Benton junior pitcher Makena Creekmore took over from there in a dominant performance, finishing with a 2-hitter and 13 strikeouts.
Zion-Benton added to its lead against Warren pitcher Hannah Nommensen in the bottom of the first as Samantha Cunningham drew a two-out walk and Destiny Alvarado was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Then Wade scored on a wild pitch before courtesy-runner Sariah Monk also scored on a wild pitch to stake the Zee-Bees to the early 3-0 advantage.
"Unfortunately we had one bad inning, and they didn't have any," said Warren coach Jenna Charbonneau, whose team had beaten Zion-Benton in both regular-season games. "Our bats weren't coming alive like they did all season and we hadn't seen their pitcher (Creekmore) too much this season."
The Blue Devils looked like they would get a rally going in the top of the second as No. 5 hitter Crystal Pennell and teammate Sarah Finkel led off the inning with walks.
A fielder's choice groundout by Caitlyn Britton put runners on second and third with one out. But Creekmore struck out the final two batters of the inning to end the threat.
"We jumped out on them in the first inning right away and that put pressure on them," said Zion-Benton coach Tina Meyer, who had previously coached at Warren. "Their pitcher struggled a little in the beginning of the game and we scored on a couple of wild pitches. In the last month she (Creekmore) has definitely picked it up and gained confidence, and she's doing a great job."
Nommensen was solid after the first inning as she only allowed 3 hits overall while recording 9 strikeouts. Nommensen worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the fifth as two errors did not hurt Warren with Alvarado lining out to second baseman Claire Swedberg to end the inning.
A two-out double to left-center by Finkel in the top of the fourth gave the Blue Devils some hope. But once again Creekmore got a strikeout to end the inning.
"She (Creekmore) was getting that high strike and we couldn't get on top of it so that really hurt us today," said Charbonneau, whose team started off the season with a 5-5 record. "I think the end of the season showed how much we've grown since the beginning of the season, and they really played together."
Nommensen struck out the side in the fourth and the sixth while the Zee-Bees turned an inning-ending 4-3 double play in the sixth after Jules Egofske had singled to open the inning.
Zion-Benton also came through with a huge defensive play in the fifth as the Zee-Bees threw out a Warren runner trying to advance to third base on an infield error which would have put runners on first and second with one out.
The Zee-Bees reached the sectional finals and lost in 2009, but they have never won a sectional. Zion-Benton and Libertyville split two games in the regular season.
"We just need to come out fired up (on Saturday)," said Meyer. "They (Libertyville) are a good team, and anything can happen on any given day."