Elgin 6, Larkin 5

Nothing else mattered. Not the 23 previous losses, including the one to Larkin on Saturday, not the fact 5 errors had allowed Larkin to take a 5-2 lead going into the seventh inning, and not even the fact that Larkin had the tying run on third base and its cleanup hitter at the plate in the bottom of the seventh.

All the Elgin High softball team wanted Monday afternoon on Elgin's west side was a win over its cross-town rival.

And a win the Maroons got.

Caris Alan's 3-run double tied the game at 5 and Jenna Jaynes' singled scored Alan with the eventual winning run as the Maroons climbed back into a game seemingly lost to everyone but them. Then, senior pitcher Kelly Patchett got Larkin senior cleanup hitter Sophie Sterricker to ground out to second with Larkin's Corrinne Wimmer on third base in the bottom of the seventh to end a thrilling 6-5 win for the Maroons in the Class 4A Streamwood regional play-in game.

Elgin (4-23) will take on top-seeded South Elgin (20-10) at Streamwood today at 4:30 p.m. in the regional semifinal.

"I was incredibly nervous because I'd been called for illegal pitches and I had to watch my toe," said Patchett of the game situation in the bottom of the seventh. "I didn't want to let my team down. This was the only game that mattered and this makes it so much better with Larkin being our rival."

Larkin (6-23) had jumped on top in the first inning when senior Ellis Hatchett walked and eventually scored on an error. But then Patchett and Larkin senior Sarah McCleary locked up in a pitchers duel until the Maroons pushed across 2 runs in the top of the fifth. April Harwood opened the inning with a single and eventually scored on Alex Blanchette's single, and Blanchette plated the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.

But Larkin stormed back in the bottom of the sixth with a 4-spot to take a 5-2 lead. Elgin committed 3 errors in the inning and Victoria Nino, McCleary and Kailee Moore each drove in runs for the Royals.

But, just as they did Saturday when they were down 9-2 in the seventh, the Maroons staged a rally. Unlike Saturday, when the rally fell short in a 9-7 loss, this one won the game for Elgin.

Harwood reached on an infield error to open the inning and Maria Aguilera beat out an infield hit. With one out, Blanchette drove a single to center off McCleary's glove to load the bases for Alan, who delivered her third hit of the game with a screaming double to the left field corner that cleared the bases. McCleary then got Patchett to ground out to short, but Alan moved to third and easily scored on Jaynes' single up the middle to give the Maroons the lead.

"I just went up there and I was like 'this is what I do,' " said Alan, a junior who is now hitting over .400 for the season. "I just had to hit it and do it for my team. All I know is I had one strike on me and if it was coming down the middle I was going to swing and that's what I did.

"We knew we had a bad season but all that mattered to us was the playoffs. The past didn't matter. We just had to come out and do it."

Patchett struck out one and walked two while only allowing 4 hits in the win.

"What a great win for this team," said Elgin coach Peg Corcoran, whose team beat Larkin 2 out of 3 this year. "They've fought all year long and they've struggled but they stayed together as a team and it showed in the end. Saturday we were down 9-2 and scored 5 in the seventh and that really helped our kids, knowing they could come back. They played their hearts out. They made some mistakes but they bounced back. We just told the kids that whatever happened before today didn't matter."

Moore had a double for the Royals and McCleary suffered the loss, striking out three and walking one while allowing 9 hits.

"There's nothing I can say to make this good," said Larkin coach Larry Hight. "It's Elgin, it's the regional and it's our home field and they beat us. Give Elgin all the credit. They outplayed us today."