Softball: Kaneland takes down Rosary for regional crown

With the heart of Kaneland's order struggling to solve crafty Rosary senior left-hander Sarah Willman, the bottom three provided the necessary spark.

No. 7 hitter Natalie Kraemer delivered a clutch two-out, 2-run, bases-loaded single to give the Knights a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning of Saturday's Class 3A Kaneland softball regional final.

Kaneland tacked on some needed insurance runs as Katie Kurzrock followed with an RBI single and Hailey Roach belted a 2-run double to left-center.

Krystal Cortes launched a 2-run homer for Rosary in the seventh, but the top-seeded Knights survived for a 6-4 victory.

Kaneland (23-12-1), which won its third-straight regional title, will take on No. 3 seed Belvidere (22-9) on Wednesday in the Sterling sectional semifinals.

Kraemer, Kurzrock and Roach combined for 6 of Kaneland's 9 hits to make a winner out of freshman Emilee Erickson, who tossed the final 5 innings in relief of starter Aly Jesionowski.

"The first two at-bats I swung at bad pitches and got myself out," Kraemer said. "I knew we needed a hit the third at-bat and the ball couldn't be more perfect. I had to just trust my swing and go for it."

"We got some production out of the lower half of the order and that's was huge," said Kaneland coach Mike Kuefler.

While there was jubilation on the home side, it was bitter defeat for the No. 6 seed Royals (21-10), who made solid contact throughout and played airtight defense.

"We were the better team today and had the momentum, but things just went on their side. Sometimes that happens," said Rosary coach Megan Tracy.

Rosary grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first as Anna VanGundy and Cortes delivered consecutive singles and Mikayla Cassidy stroked a two-out RBI single to left.

Cassidy belted a long drive to center with two runners on in the third, but Donny Sommesi made an outstanding grab just before crashing into the fence.

Kaneland tied the score in the bottom of the frame as Sommesi's fielder's choice plated Kurzrock, who led off with a double.

Rosary moved back in front in the fourth when Riley McCue blasted a towering solo homer down the left field line.

It looked like that might be enough support for Willman, who needed 50 pitches to breeze through the first five innings.

"Sarah did a good job keeping us off-balance," Kuefler said. "We were a little undisciplined early on and we chased her off-speed instead of waiting for more velocity."

Down to their final five outs, the Knights placed the ball in exactly the right spots.

Lexi Abruzzo's slow roller trickled right over the first base bag and Hannah Theobald blooped a single into right. Jesionowski's infield single loaded the bases.

Willman got the second out on a force-out at home, but couldn't escape the jam as Kraemer lined a solid single to left to put the Knights in front to stay.

"Even after one out, we knew this was going to be our inning and our intensity was super high in the dugout," Roach said,

After Jesionowski allowed 4 hits in the first two innings, Kuefler turned the game over to the left-hander Erickson.

Despite giving up a pair of homers, Erickson allowed just one other hit and fanned 6 in her 5-inning stint.

"Our two pitchers compliment each other real well," Kuefler said. "We wanted to see how Aly got through the first part of the lineup and we decided to go with Emilee the second time around."

"I knew if I just pitched my own game and stayed calm our defense would give me the outs." Erickson said.