Softball: Patient Palatine delivers at end

Hawaii is the eighth smallest state in the United States.

The islands have been part of Palatine's motivational motto all season, and it was the eighth inning on Saturday when the Pirates were able to celebrate their biggest win.

After Palatine's dramatic 4-run bottom of the seventh tied the game, the No. 3 seeded Pirates defeated No. 6 Lake Zurich, 6-5, on Brittany Padden's bases-loaded single in the bottom of the eighth to secure the championship of the Zion-Benton Class 4A regional.

The Pirates (24-7) will face No. 2 Warren at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the New Trier sectional.

" 'Ohana' was our team word from the beginning," said Pirates sophomore center fielder Grace Huff. "It means family in Hawaiian. We said it to each other all year. We really showed it today and lived up to our word. We played like a family."

Trailing 5-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Amanda Stanczuk started the big rally with a stand-up double deep to the right-field corner.

"I wanted to be there for my team and just tried to do my best to give them some energy and rally like I knew we could," Stanczuk said. "I knew if I could start it, my teammates would keep it going."

She was right.

After Anna Selleck's deep fly out to center, No. 9 hitter Grace Seiffert singled to left field to give the Pirates two runners on. A single by Huff loaded the bases.

Maddie Craver, who has led the Pirates in hitting all season, then belted an 0-2 pitch off the right-center field fence for a 2-run double to make it 5-3.

"I was just thinking about seeing the ball and hitting the ball hard to drive in my teammates," Craver said. "I knew we had to get those runs in and this was the last inning to do it."

Huff then scored on Padden's ground out to the right side. Craver moved to third base and scored when Emily Parrott reached on an infield error to tie the game at 5-5.

Reliever Rhiann Dick then got of the top of the eighth and had 1 strikeout.

The inning was not without drama, as Dick and catcher Anna Selleck ran into each other while going for a high popup.

Selleck, who has caught every inning this season, came up injured but following a time out, she elected to stay in the game.

"I knew that I couldn't let my team down and disrupt our flow," she said. "So I just tried not to think about it and just focused on the game so we could finish out the win."

Which is exactly what the Pirates did in the bottom of the eighth.

Stanczuk led off with a single for the second inning in a row.

After an out, Seiffert reached on an error. Freshman Chase Friel entered to run for Stanczuk.

Huff then hit a hard single to left but it was too hard, and Friel was unable to score from second.

Moments later, with two outs and the bases still loaded, Padden worked the count to 2-2 and hit a hard line drive to left to score Friel and give the Pirates their first regional championship since 2011.

"I was just thinking about making contact so that we could score," Padden said. "I knew we didn't need a home run today, we just needed a single. It was a team effort. If it wasn't for everyone on the field, we wouldn't have pulled it off."

"When Brittany hit it that hard and the line drive went right past me, I knew we were good," Friel said of her winning run. "And it felt good scoring the winning run."

Lake Zurich scored all five of its runs in the top of the forth inning.

Brooke Bauer got the Pirates on the board in the bottom of the sixth when she belted a homer over the center field fence with two outs.

"I was just thinking that the game wasn't over yet and that one run could get it started," Bauer said. " I knew my teammates would do the rest."

Dick ended up getting the win with 4⅔ innings in relief of starter Sarah Grossman, who struck to seven.

"Going into the game, I knew they had a lot of power," Grossman said. "I knew if I hit my spots, my defense would back me up and I knew I didn't have to worry about striking them all out.

Dick, a freshman southpaw, improved to 8-6 with the win.

"I just wanted to hit my spots," Dick said. "And my defense stayed behind me to save me a few times."

Pirates assistant coach Kristen Proffitt called the pitches for Grossman and Dick.

"It's so fun calling pitches for these girls," said Proffitt, the assistant to head coach Nicole Pauly who won her first regional crown in three seasons. "They do a great job supporting each other on and off the field. It's definitely a luxury to have two pitchers of this caliber. Being able to split games keeps them both fresh and keeps the batters from getting too many looks at their pitch selection."

Leading the Pirates' offense were Padden (2-for-5), Stanczuk, (2 for 4, double, 2 runs), Huff (2-for-5, 1 run) and Bauer (2-for-3).