Softball: Erickson sparks Kaneland into sectional final
STERLING - If you don't have a Kaneland softball roster and you sit down to watch the Knights when left-hander Emilee Erickson is in the pitchers circle, you'd never know she's a freshman.
Showing all the confidence and moxie of a seasoned veteran, Erickson put her team on her young back Wednesday and the end result has the Knights playing for a sectional championship.
Erickson took over in the circle for Aly Jesionowski with her team down 4-0 and one out with a runner at third base in the top of the third inning to Belvidere in the semifinals of the Class 3A Sterling sectional. She proceeded to retire 14 of the Bucs' final 17 batters, allowing only a harmless run in the seventh, and the Knights' bats came to life in a 10-5 win.
Kaneland (24-12-1), which lost a sectional final to Montini last year after taking third in the state finals in 2015, will get a shot to come home to play in its own supersectional next week when it takes on Marengo (31-6) at 4:30 p.m. Thursday for the sectional title. The game has been moved up from Saturday due to the pending weekend weather forecast.
Not only did Erickson (8-3) stymie the Bucs on 1 hit, striking out 5 and walking 1 in her 4⅔ innings, she also used her bat to open up a close game in the bottom of the sixth and give herself and her team some breathing room going into the final inning. Her RBI single up the middle with the bases loaded gave the Knights a 6-4 lead and started a 5-run inning that ended with Kaneland taking a 10-4 lead into the seventh.
"I was just thinking I have to be confident in my skills and trust myself," Erickson said of her mindset entering the biggest moment of her short high school career. I was just going out there to have fun. Eventually the season will be over and I just want to take in every moment."
As for the big hit?
"I just took a deep breath, trusted my skills and hit the ball," Erickson said.
Kaneland coach Mike Kuefler knows he has a potent 1-2 combo with Jesionowski, a right-hander, and Erickson.
"Emilee came in today and just did a great job," Kuefler said. "She's unflappable. Nothing bothers her on the mound. Nothing gets to her. She's a lefty pitcher and she and Aly compliment each other really well.
"And for her to get that hit was huge. That was a big confidence builder for the team."
After getting just 1 hit off Belvidere (22-10) senior Madison Gibbons in the first two innings, Kaneland's bats came alive in the third, and the Knights scored 10 runs on 7 hits and 4 Buc errors in the final four innings.
Natalie Kraemer had a 2-run single in the third that helped Kaneland get to within 4-3. The Knights tied the game in the fourth when Hailey Roach, who had singled, scored on a wild pitch. Then Morgan Weber (3-for-4), who had also singled, came home on a groundout by Lexi Abruzzo to make it a 5-4 game.
It stayed that way into the sixth when the Knights exploded for 5 runs on 5 more hits.
After Erickson's RBI single scored Abruzzo (2 hits) to make it 6-5, Kraemer drove in Hannah Theobald (single) with a sacrifice fly, Jesionowski (2 hits) scored on an error, courtesy runner Cassidy Motyka came home on a squeeze bunt by Roach and Weber drove in Kaitlyn Kurzrock with another single to give Kaneland a 10-5 lead.
"Anytime you allow a team to take runs on you, for us to come back from that it's a good day," said Kuefler. "We're a real disciplined team offensively. We lost that discipline early but we got it back."
And now the Knights have to make a quick turnaround if they are going to get a chance to play on their own field one more time this season.
"We have to come back more disciplined at the plate," Kuefler said. "Hopefully we can carry this momentum into (Thursday)."