Softball: Brennan's walk off carries South Elgin past Glenbard North

South Elgin sophomore Casey Brennan did something on Thursday that every single player who has ever put on a uniform has dreamed of doing.

With no outs out in the bottom of the seventh inning, 2 runners on base and the Storm trailing 2-0 Brennan drove the first pitch she saw over the left field fence for a walk off 3-run homer that gave South Elgin a 3-2 win over Glenbard North in the Conant Class 4A regional softball semifinals.

"It's just an unbelievable feeling," Brennan said. "I can't even put it into words. Their pitcher had done a nice job of spotting pitches on the corner all game, but I got a fastball right down the middle. Everything after that happened so fast. The next thing I knew we were celebrating."

The Storm (18-14) takes on Conant Saturday for the regional title.

Glenbard North pitcher Kaitlyn Schietler had masterfully handcuffed the Storm on just 2 hits through the first six innings.

"She was dotting the corners and just owned the inside corner," South Elgin coach Brad Reynard said. "It was a big strike zone, but that's no excuse. We didn't make the adjustment."

However, a leadoff bloop single to right field in the seventh inning by Brynn Warrick breathed new life into the South Elgin squad. When the next batter, Alissa Hargett, reached on an error it gave the Storm even more hope and set the stage for Brennan's heroics.

"I knew it was gone as soon as she hit it," Reynard said. "We were thinking about stealing on the first pitch to her. But I told her I'm going to give you a chance at one pitch. Sure glad I did. There is a reason why she is one of our co-MVPs. She has carried us all year. She's a great athlete. The best in the school. She had been in a little bit of a funk at the plate lately, but you knew she was going to break out of it. She's too good of a player."

South Elgin starter Geneva Pollman went 6⅔ strong innings. She surrendered just 3 hits and the only 2 runs she allowed were unearned in the sixth inning. She was in a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning when reliever Sidney Strama came in to get the final out on a pop up to second,

The Panthers had two runners thrown out at home in the game - one on a failed suicide squeeze in the fourth inning. and another trying to score from second on a single.

Heather Anderson and Rushika Amin had RBI groundouts in the sixth inning for the Panthers.

"We let some opportunities get away and I take responsibility for those," Glenbard North coach Josh Sanew said. "This stings but I'm proud of what the girls were able to accomplish. We started 0-8 and finished 11-15. So we made a lot of progress."