Softball: Warren puts on winning regional show

Caitlyn Britton watched Warren win the school's first state championship in softball three years ago. She's a sophomore now and hoping to make alumni proud, as the Blue Devils attempt to get back downstate.

Several former Warren players were in attendance Saturday for the Class 4A Glenbrook North regional final.

"I loved coming to their games and watching them," Britton said. "I always wanted to play on varsity. It was really exciting to see them all here. It did make me a little nervous, but I knew I could do it."

Behind Britton's 2-hitter and Erika Jimenez's home run, No. 2 Warren best No. 10 New Trier 3-1 in Northbrook. It was the Blue Devils' fifth straight regional title.

Warren (26-7) will next play No. 3 Palatine in the New Trier sectional semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Britton gave up only an unearned run in the sixth inning. The two-year varsity player struck out six batters, walked only one and had good defense behind her.

"I came in positive and I knew that if I threw strikes, my defense behind me would have my back," Britton said. "I knew that my changeup was going to be 'on' and it helped a lot. The defense came up with big plays. A couple of errors didn't hurt their confidence. They just kept coming through with big plays that helped us a lot."

Jimenez broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the second inning with a smash over the fence in center field.

"I didn't think I hit it that well," Jimenez said. "I thought I hit it off the end of my bat. I think the home run really pumped us up and gave us a lot of confidence."

In the fourth inning, Jimenez (2-for-3) singled in another run. A few batters later, Ashley Kittler drew a bases-loaded walk for a 3-0 advantage.

New Trier got on the board in the sixth, as Gillian Gossard scored on an infield fielding error.

"I thought we played a great game," New Trier coach John Cadwell said. "Give Warren credit. We just couldn't solve their pitcher. We did put the ball in play, but just not well enough."

Trevians pitcher Eloise Trout suffered the loss but had 11 strikeouts with 4 walks and allowed only 1 earned run.

"We're just playing all together," Warren coach Jenna Charbonneau said. "The seniors definitely pick up the slack for us. It's great to see them leave a legacy for the sophomores, and it's great to see them play together and support each other."