Softball: Elk Grove knocks out St. Charles East in 8
The unflappable Elk Grove Grenadiers were at it again Saturday.
Their resiliency this time may have been at an all-time high.
The No. 5-seeded Grenadiers recovered for a dramatic eight-inning 4-3 victory over No. 3 St. Charles East in the championship game of the Class 4A Schaumburg softball sectional.
Elk Grove (28-6) will face Oak Park-River Forest at the Ballpark in Rosemont on Monday night in the Leyden supersectional.
Game time is 6:30 p.m., following a Class 3A supersectional between Montini and Nazareth Academy at 4:30 p.m.
On Saturday, the Grens rebounded after losing a lead for the third straight state tourney game (first two games against No. 4 Fremd and No. 1 St. Charles North).
"Talk about taking a lot of punches," said EG hall of coach Ken Grams. "But this was a real haymaker."
Grams was talking about the bottom of the seventh, when St. Charles East was down to its final strike.
Pinch hitter Cat Crossen, a senior, hit a 2-2 pitch over the right-center field fence for a game-tying 2-run homer that made it 3-3.
"I had a million things running through my head," said Grens ace pitcher Kylie Thomsen, who improved to 18-4. "Honestly, I have the best teammates and they just pick me up after anything. They tell me to just go out and do what you have to do."
Thomsen went out and made sure the game remained tied.
Then it was senior Sarah Pauscher's turn to step into the limelight again.
Just two days earlier, her 16th homer was the difference in a 3-1 win over the other high school in St. Charles (North).
With one out in the top of the eighth, Grens second baseman Haley Itzenthaler registered her fourth hit in 5 at-bats, a single to left field.
After Saints senior pitcher Jordan Hall got a strikeout, Pauscher went to work with two outs and delivered the game-winning RBI.
Pauscher's double to the left center allowed Itzenthaler to race home and beat the throw for her second run of the game.
Pauscher also doubled in the seventh to the same spot, and ended up scoring on Carly Crothers's bases-loaded groundout to short with one out for the 3-1 lead.
"It's amazing," Crothers said of the Grens' state tourney run. "We thought we had it won in the bottom of the seventh. But obviously, that home run was a great hit for them. We knew we had to come back and get it together."
They've done it before.
A home run by Julia Wacker in the regional championship gave Fremd a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning before the Grens made their winning rally in the Larkin regional final.
"Congratulations to Kylie (Thomsen)," Grams said. "She was able to come back and shut them down (after Crossen's home run). I'm not that smart or anything, but for some reason I had a feeling we would come back and score a run."
That feeling came true and allowed Grams to celebrate his fifth sectional title in a 36-year career of 883 wins - the second highest total in IHSA softball history.
"They've got some very good hitters," said Crossen, whose homer was her first of the season. "Their whole lineup is strong. And they have a lot of speed so their small ball kind of hurt us. But I'm proud of our season."
Crossen's blast, which came after Paige Ligocki's two-out single to center, had Saints fans hoping the season would be extended.
"That was amazing to see," Hall said of the Crossen's blast that breathed new life into the Saints. "She came in ready to hit and that was incredible."
The Grens left multiple runners on base six times and stranded 14 for the game.
Joining Itzenthaler as multiple hitters for Elk Grove were Thomsen (2-for-5, RBI), Pauscher (2-for-4, RBI) and catcher Alex Masnica (2-for-5), who made a putout at the plate and caught a runner trying to steal second base.
But Masnica's biggest role maybe have been as counselor.
"After the home run. I had some doubts," Thomsen said. "But Alex came out and told me, 'We've got this.' "
"Kylie and I are like one person," Masnica said. "We think together. I'm trying to keep her calm out there. We just work in tandem."
Things finally worked out for Elk Grove's first run in the third inning when Thomsen singled home Itzenthaler with two outs.
Back-to-back doubles by Jordan Hieber (2-for-4) and Maddie Candre (2-for-4) helped lead to the Saints' run in the bottom of the fourth. An RBI groundout by Ligocki made it 1-1.
EG went back ahead in the sixth when Crothers drew a one out hit-by-pitch (her eighth of the season) and scored on Itzenthaler's two-out single to right center.
The Grens got their insurance run in the top of the seventh setting up Crossen's drama in the bottom of seventh.
"It was a great season," said Saints first-year coach Jarod Gutesha. "The girls have to reflect on that fact."
The Saints finished at 32-5.
"We knew it would be a great season," said Kelly Rinker, who had some big assists with her strong arm and glovework at shortstop. "We had such talented players and we were such a family. We played our hardest. That was awesome when Cat gave us that big push at the end to keep us in the game."
Saints leadoff batter Katie Kolb went 2-for-2 with a double and 2 walks.
"We put up a good fight," Kolb said. "I believed in Cat. What she did is so tough with two outs and two strikes in the last inning. She really pulled through for the team.
"We have a lot of tradition here in softball and we took it a long way. We had tons of baserunners (eight left on base) but we couldn't seem to get the big hit. We had the momentum at the end but we just couldn't finish."
Hall finished the season with an 18-5 record.
"She really had a good change-up," Masnica said of the Saints right-hander. "She kept us off balance. And she got ahead in the count which made it harder."
Hall struck out four.
"I'm really proud of my team," she said. "We fought to the end. We were together as a team. They had a really good hitting lineup and you had to pitch around them. I wish the best of luck to Elk Grove."
Thomsen struck out five.
"For Kylie to come back from that homer was just phenomenal," Masnica said. "Some pitchers might have folded. But she came back stronger and finished the game."