Softball: St. Viator goes down swinging against Marengo
Marengo senior pitcher Mariah Dionne couldn't recall the last time she gave up a pair of home runs in the same game.
Despite 2-out home runs from St. Viator's Adeline Swiderski and Haley Robinson - the latter a 2-run shot in the third inning that put the Lions (19-15) on top 3-2 - the Indians (33-6) saved their best for last during Monday's 9-5 Kaneland Class 3A supersectional softball victory in Maple Park.
Dionne capped a 5-run, sixth-inning rally by belting a majestic 3-run home run, then pitched a 1-2-3 seventh as Marengo punched a ticket downstate for the fourth time in seven years.
Marengo, which placed second in the state during Dionne's sophomore campaign, will face Nazareth in Friday's state semifinals at Eastside Centre in East Peoria.
"That home run really sealed the deal there," said Marengo coach Dwain Nance, whose team battled back from a 5-4 deficit heading into the sixth. "Our kids are really resilient. Up and down the lineup, we had some great at-bats."
Sophomore Lauren Aubry (3 for 4) led off the Indians' sixth with a single before Rachael Jasinski slapped a slow roller that hugged the third-base line for an infield hit.
"That ball rolled foul the whole way and then it curved right over the white line," said Nance.
Following Hannah Ritter's sacrifice bunt, Riley Connell (2 for 4) delivered an RBI single to tie the game at 5-5. On the very next pitch, Leah Secor (3 for 4) gave Marengo the lead for good with a run-scoring single to left.
Two pitches later, Dionne's 3-run blast provided some much-needed insurance.
"That's been us the whole year," said Dionne, who struck out eight. "We never give up. We're always going to battle. My dad actually just bought that bat on Saturday because I broke my bat on Friday."
Making its first supersectional appearance, St. Viator gave Marengo all it could handle.
Trailing 2-0, the Lions sliced the deficit in half on Swiderski's solo home run in the second. An inning later, Robinson (2 for 4) launched her two-out, 2-run home run to give the visitors a 3-2 lead.
"They were a strong hitting team," said Dionne. "They came at us with their all."
After Marengo grabbed a 4-3 lead on an RBI single by Lauren Anthony (3 for 4, 3 RBI), St. Viator tied it in the fourth on Cece Kaiser's RBI double and took a 5-4 lead in the fifth on freshman Nicole Ardito's RBI single.
"We've come back a lot during the season so it was kind of a familiar position for us," said Lions coach John Scotillo. "The girls feel they can hit as good as anybody. This is a very good pitcher (Dionne) and I think they hit her pretty well."
St. Viator scored 5 runs in 5 innings against a Marengo team that had allowed a total of 4 runs in its first 4 postseason games.
"We're very proud of the girls," said Scotillo. "I'm happy to see that their hard work and dedication to the game paid off."
"We had ups and we had downs but we went out on a great note," said Swiderski, one of six seniors. "We made our school proud. We made history."