Softball: Willman, Rosary battle past Freeport

One of only three seniors on Rosary's softball team, Sarah Willman performed like a true veteran Thursday afternoon.

Willman pitched a 4-hit complete game with 6 strikeouts and no walks while helping lift the Royals (21-9) to a 4-2 victory over Freeport (24-9) during Class 3A Kaneland regional semifinal action in Maple Park.

The Royals' ace left-hander changed speeds effectively and seemingly got stronger as the game progressed.

Willman retired 10 of the last 11 batters - the lone blemish coming on a 2-out infield single in the bottom of the fifth.

"That's typical of me," said Willman. "I usually get stronger as I play. My screwball was pretty good today."

With the win, No. 6 seed Rosary advances to Saturday's 11 a.m. regional championship showdown against top-seeded Kaneland (22-12-1), which knocked off Aurora Central Catholic 6-3 on Wednesday.

Against fourth-seeded Freeport, the Royals didn't hit a ball out of the infield until the sixth inning - yet still led 3-2 after 5 innings.

Taking advantage of some mistakes by the Pretzels' defense, Rosary grabbed an early lead with a 3-run second.

Willman reached on an infield error to start things off, then courtesy runner Kallista Capparelli advanced to third following a pair of wild pitches.

After a walk to Natalya Flowers and Xandria Olsen's bunt single loaded the bases, junior Anna VanGundy coaxed another walk to send Capparelli across with the game's first run.

A few moments later, Flowers scampered across on a wild pitch to make it 2-0 and Olsen scored the Royals' third run on a dropped third strike.

"They did a nice job," Rosary coach Megan Tracy said of her hitters. "They took the pitches that they should take and swing at the pitches that we should swing at."

The Pretzels chipped away at their deficit with single runs in the second and third innings, highlighted by Amaya Bouvia's solo home run and Taylor Murray's RBI single.

However, Freeport ran itself out a possible fourth-inning scoring threat as a runner attempting to steal third was called out for leaving the base too soon.

"Before that, I told them the momentum was in their (Pretzels) favor and we needed to grab it back," said Tracy. "It shifted back to us for sure."

Willman then recorded a strikeout on a change-up to retire the side.

"It's not even like today - it has been all season long," Tracy said of Willman's performance. "She has pitched all of our tough games and her record does not reflect how good she really is. She's a fantastic pitcher and she's a captain. We have a lot of success because of Sarah."

Rosary added an insurance tally in the sixth on an RBI double by VanGundy (1 for 2, 2 RBI).

Now, the Royals hope to eliminate Kaneland on its home field Saturday.

"Kaneland is tough but so are we," said Tracy. "This is what the postseason is about."

"I'm excited for the next game," said Willman.