Softball: Ulaszek, Bartlett bounce Prospect

Bartlett senior Janelle Ulaszek learned she had become a certified nursing assistant on Friday.

On Saturday morning, she came to the aid of her softball team.

Ulaszek, who will pitch and study nursing at Viterbo College in La Crosse, Wis., kept her team in the game against a powerful hitting Prospect lineup and then let her teammates win it for her in the top of the seventh.

Trailing 3-1, Bartlett scored 4 runs in the final inning and Ulaszek got three big outs after a leadoff single by Alex Kanter in the bottom of the seventh for the 5-3 win in the championship of the Class 4A Glenbard East regional in Lombard.

Despite being outhit 9-3, the No. 7-seeded Hawks (21-12) topped No. 2 Prospect and advanced to their first sectional since 2013.

Bartlett will face No. 3 Fremd (20-10) in the Fremd sectional on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.

"Props to Janelle for pitching against one of the best lineups I've seen in quite a long time," said Bartlett's Jim Wolfsmith, who has led teams to both boys basketball and softball regional triumphs this school year. "Those girls can flat out hit the ball hard, and I thought Janelle kept them off balance changing speeds, mixing speeds and getting key outs.

"Then she had go through the top part of the order to win the game in the seventh. She faced their best hitters with a runner on base and did a great job keeping them off balance that last inning. She pretty much did that since they got the third run."

That third run came in the third inning, when the No. 2 seeded Knights scored all their runs.

Northwestern-bound Lauren Caldrone (2-for-4) doubled with one out to right field and Wolfsmith intentionally walked Dayton-bound Alyssa Cacini, who had singled in the first inning.

Illinois Wesleyan-bound Colleen Palczynski then singled to left to score Caldrone. Elmhurst-bound catcher Jackie Orel (3-for-3, 2 doubles) doubled to left field scoring Cacini and Palczynski for the 3-0 cushion.

Meanwhile, Knights sophomore Claire Doherty was sailing along with a no-hitter into the sixth inning when Bartlett scored its first run.

A one-out double to right center by Charlotte Linnartz scored junior designated player Gianna Campo (1-for-1) to make it 3-1.

But Doherty retired the next two batters and Prospect led 3-1 going into the top of the seventh.

"I really believed we could pull through as a team," said Ulaszek, who is 10-4 this spring. "We are a team that likes to kind of come together at the end and make the game interesting."

Ulaszek was right in the middle of the winning offensive rally, too.

The cleanup hitter began the seventh with a single to center. After a walk to Amber Pagan, Dani Kleeman's sacrifice bunt got the runners to second and third. A strikeout by Doherty had Bartlett down to its last out.

That's when Campo delivered the clutch 2-run single to left to game at 3-3. Two more walks and an outfield error led to the final 2 runs for Bartlett.

"Totally unbelievable considering our first hit wasn't until Charlotte's double in the sixth inning," Wolfsmith said. "The great thing about these kids is that they've believed all year long that they can play with anyone and if they keep at it, good things will happen. Even in our losses this season, they haven't given up."

In the bottom of the seventh, Kanter led off with a single but Ulaszek was able to get a fly out to right, a fielder choice's putout at second base and popout to second to end the game.

"Prospect is a great hitting team," Ulaszek said. "So all I could do was try to get them to hit the ball soft and pop it up and I knew I had my teammates behind me. They had my back so I wasn't too worried."

Prospect ended the season with a Mid-Suburban East tri-championship and a 20-9 record.

"They just had a couple of hits at the end," said Knights coach Krystina Mackowiak. "You've got to give them credit. They got the timely hits and that ended up to be the difference. We were one out away, so this is going to sting.

"I know our seniors thought they had a little more to do this season but obviously it was still a great season. They have a lot to be proud about."

Wolfsmith said it was a great weekend for his seniors who graduated on Saturday morning.

"And for me, it was a great school year as my boys basketball team also took down a regional championship against higher seeded teams (Batavia and Wheaton Warrenville South)," he said. "Then my softball players do the same, defeating a good Glenbard West team two days ago and a very good No. 2-seeded Prospect team on graduation day. We knew how good Prospect was, so I like this win. I loved how the girls played and battled to the end. All the girls did a great job out there today. Everyone was awesome."

With learning about her CNA, then graduating and winning a regional title all within 24 hours, things should be a little calmer next week for Ulaszek.

"It's just all kind of a blur, like one thing after another," Ulaszek said. "I couldn't be any happier. It's a great ending to my senior year."