Lake Park 3, Rolling Meadows 1
Lake Park senior Missy Mazur pitched 7 strong innings and drove in 3 runs as the second seeded Lancers won their 15th straight softball game with a 3-1 win over No. 15 seed Rolling Meadows in the Class 4A Rolling Meadows regional semifinal.
Mazur, who struck out 7 while allowing 7 hits and 2 walks, had to work hard when Rolling Meadows opened five innings with a hit. However, Mazur (20-4) buckled down and made pitches when she needed to.
"That's Missy for you, she's going to battle," Lake Park coach Cray Allen said. "When things get tough, she gets better. She gets a little more focused, she digs down and kind of concentrates on what's happening."
Mazur said she wasn't affected by the constant pressure.
"It actually really doesn't bother me," said the Iowa-bound senior. "Most people get rattled if there are runners on, but I just keep my mind on the batter and know that my defense will have my back."
Mazur went 3-for-3 at the plate and helped herself with 2 big hits. Lynsey Ciezki scored on Mazur's third inning single that gave the Lancers a 1-0 lead. She added a 2-run single in the fifth, driving in Carly Willert and Vicki Tomaka.
Jamie Pomahac, Alyssa Robison and Samantha Becker each added hits for Lake Park (29-4), which will play the winner of Schaumburg and Prospect on Saturday.
Rolling Meadows, which had won eight of 10 coming into Tuesday, put a scare into the Lancers in the final two innings. After Urban hit a homer to left leading off the sixth, Caitlin Adair worked a full-count walk and Angela Mahanna almost tied the game with a deep fly to center. With one out Mary Loughery singled to left before Mazur retired the next two batters.
In the seventh the Mustangs (14-16) had runners on second and third with two outs after Kelly Keyzer walked and Urban hit a double. Adair smashed a hard grounder up the middle, but Mazur fielded the ball and threw to first for the final out.
-- Joe Esse
Naperville Central 4, Plainfield North 3:ŒNaperville Central's Lizzy Ploen cracked a 2-run home run in the third inning, and behind pitcher Natalie Wunderlich's 3-hitter the No. 4 seed Redhawks advanced in the West Aurora regional over No. 13 seed Plainfield North. Ploen scored the first run for Naperville Central (22-6), which added another in the second on Maggie Buoy's double to score Holly Lind. Wunderlich, who struck out 10, retired her first 10 batters of the game before allowing a double, a single and a 2-run home run then retired the last 10 batters for Plainfield North (12-20).
Plainfield Central 3, Hinsdale Central 2: Regional host Hinsdale Central (9-18) led 2-0 in the second inning on Lexi Oreluk's 2-run home run to score Grace Amodeo, but the sectional's No. 1 seed had a 3-run fifth against the Red Devils. Jessie Parks (5-10) allowed 3 hits in the tough loss. The Red Devils won four of their last six games in coach Lee Maciewski's first season at Hinsdale Central.
St. Francis 18, Bowen 0: The fifth-seeded regional hosts racked up 15 hits including Laura Behnke's 3-run home run. Pitcher Maddie Blecha improved to 7-5. St. Francis (13-17) hosts No. 3 seed Evergreen Park at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Fenton 16, Crane 0: Amber Schwarzinger (18-12) threw a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts, drove in 4 runs and belted a double and a triple, leading the Bison to a school record for victories. Mia Sansone also hit a double and a triple and Angelica Jensen went 3-for-3. Fenton (22-14) seeks its first regional title Saturday.
Baseball
Addison Trail 8, Elk Grove 5:ŒThe 22nd-seeded Blazers (6-29) stunned the No. 8 seed in the Class 4A Elk Grove regional quarterfinals, scoring 4 runs in the top of the ninth inning to pull out the victory. Mike Colatorti doubled home 2 runs and Kyle Guerrero added a 2-run single. Matt Haas was the winning pitcher for the Blazers, who scored twice in the sixth inning to tie the game.
Glenbard North 4, Hoffman Estates 2:ŒThe 19th-seeded Panthers (14-10) won for the 12th straight time in the Class 4A Elk Grove regional quarterfinals, upsetting the 14th seed by rallying with 4 runs in the top of the fifth inning. Steve Friedberg's solo home run sparked the comeback. Austin Safranski (7-2) fired a 2-hitter with 6 strikeouts.
WW South 3, Plainfield Central 1:ŒMike Olp had an RBI double and a 2-run homer as the 15th-seeded Tigers (13-16) advanced to the Class 4A Benet regional semifinals. Complete-game winning pitcher Nick Brown (3-5)struck out nine.
Glenbard West 10, Elgin 1:ŒA 6-run first inning powered the 12th-seeded Hilltoppers (19-15) into the Class 4A Geneva regional semifinals. Piotr Solowiej and Jessie Condie each had 2 hits while winning pitcher Roger Pope (4-2) and reliever Will Caspers combined on the mound.
Hinsdale Central 13, Providence 11:ŒThe 18th-seeded Red Devils (12-17) hung on for the victory in the Class 4A Hinsdale Central regional quarterfinals. Jared White and Bill Auriemma each had 3 hits. Rich Brennan had 2 hits with a homer and 4 RBI. Ryan Murphy (3-1) pitched 5 innings for the win.
Benet 9, Reavis 6:ŒThe Redwings (21-12) won their final regular-season tuneup behind Alex Staehely's 2-run homer. Dan Finan (2-0) was the winning pitcher.
Boys volleyball
Glenbard North d. Schaumburg:ŒA stirring Schaumburg rally went for naught in a 25-16, 25-23 loss to Glenbard North at the Elk Grove regional.
The Saxons, seeded 11th in the St. Francis sectional, struggled through Game 1 and trailed 18-10 in Game 2 before coming alive.
Schaumburg fought back to tie the second game at 22-22 then 23-23 but sixth-seeded Glenbard North scored the final 2 points to claim victory.
"Glenbard North is just a good team," said Schaumburg coach Kyle Reid. "They took advantage of every mistake we made."
"We finally started playing volleyball in the second half of Game 2."
Schaumburg senior middle Mike Wernert led the late Schaumburg charge and the final of his 8 kills brought the Saxons (17-18) to 23 all.
"We were sitting back waiting for something to happen," said Glenbard North coach Dedra DeBenedetti. "I told the kids it was time to make a run."
A well-placed tip by Glenbard North's Tyler Gustafson gave the Panthers the lead, then Schaumburg was whistled for a back row attack on match point.
-- Bill Esbrook
Naperville Central d. West Aurora:ŒOnce Naperville Central overcame its early playoff jitters, the Redhawks went for a "walk in the park."
In their postseason opener, the Redhawks (29-7) started slowly but had an easy job taking two games from West Aurora 25-15, 25-5 to win their semifinal at the Waubonsie Valley regional.
Naperville Central will meet host Waubonsie Valley today.
"Our game was a little slow at the start," said the Redhawks' Matt Yanz, who led the attack with 7 kills and 4 blocks. "But toward the end of the first game our defense was strong and we kept the ball in play, and that gave us opportunities to score."
"We were a little nervous," coach Bryan Johnwick said. "We were playing not to lose. But I was happy in the second game because we were really playing our game."
The Redhawks' serving was a team strength all night, led by Joe Thomas, who put away 5 aces against the Blackhawks.
"We knew where we should direct our serves," Thomas said. "The serves hurt their passing and we were getting a lot of free balls, which we were able to put away for kills."
In Game 1 the Redhawks were winning 12-11 when Mike Brdicka put away a kill for the sideout. Then Hunter Lee stepped to the service line and delivered 6 straight points, one of them on an ace.
Naperville Central coasted from there with Dan Dierking putting a kill down the line to win the game.
The second game was no contest as the Redhawks jumped to a 6-3 lead and then put together two straight 5-point runs led by the serving of Matt Schmitz, who aced one of his points, and Thomas, who had 4 aces in his sequence.
"We've been emphasizing tough serving," Johnwick said. "At the beginning of the season, we were serving lollipops and getting burned. Lately, we've been putting the ball closer to the net and making it harder for our opponents."
Thomas added 3 digs and 3 kills to his stat column, while Lee registered 8 digs and Victor Lei had 12 assists. Brdicka was active at the net all night with 4 kills and 2 blocks.
-- Neil Shalin
Waubonsie Valley d. Minooka:ŒHost Waubonsie Valley escaped a first-round upset by a hair and lived to play another day in its own regional.
The Warriors (19-12) won the first game easily but just couldn't put away a plucky Minooka team before winning the contest 25-11, 22-25, 28-26.
The Warriors will play Naperville Central in today's regional final.
"It's been typical of our season," said Waubonsie Valley coach Al Lagger. "We come out strong in the first game and then take a step back as if we're expecting the opposition to roll over. Minooka didn't roll over."
The Warriors, who were the No. 8 seed in the sectional, dominated the first game with Alex Gigler smashing 6 of his match-high 17 kills, but Game 2 was a different story.
The Warriors never led as the Minooka defense stiffened and its passing got more accurate.
As the game wore on, the Indians became more confident, retrieving some dramatic digs and putting up a stubborn block that made the Warriors look dazed and confused.
"We were just completely flat in that second game," Gigler said. "We hit a lull and we couldn't pull ourselves out. Our passing broke down and if you can't pass, the setting and the hitting suffers. You have to put that first ball right."
Getting the match to three games energized the 10th-seeded Indians (8-6), who continued to fight off everything the Warriors could throw at them.
In a dramatic game that had 17 ties and 8 lead changes, Waubonsie finally took the lead at 27-26 on a kill by Gigler and won it on a block by sophomore Robert Wieland.
"We usually have someone to pull us out," Gigler said. "Tonight the team stepped up at the end and got the job done, but we're going to have to play better against Napeville Central."
Minooka coach Janel Burchett was rendered practically speechless by her team's near upset.
"Our guys played a heck of a game," Burchett said. "This was our best match ever. It was very emotional. I guess if you're going to go out of the tournament this was a good way of going out."
The Indians' Matt Phillips and Robert Krumlinde were haunting the Warriors throughout Games 2 and 3.
Phillips had 9 kills, 8 block ands 13 digs, while Krumlinde had 10 kills, 7 blocks and 10 digs. Setter Dominic Filardi dished out 22 assists.
-- Neil Shalin
Girls soccer
St. Charles North 2, Wheaton Academy 0:ŒWheaton Academy's program lost one big game and one good coach.
Despite a 2-0 loss to St. Charles North in a Class AA sectional semifinal game, the Warriors' bigger loss comes with the departure of fifth-year coach Dave Underwood, who led the program to a Class A state title in 2004.
The boys and girls soccer programs at the small Christian school have always been built on guts and class, and Underwood kept that tradition alive throughout his tenure.
Underwood will start coaching men's soccer at Sterling College in Kansas in the fall and departs the girls program with a record of 74-31-15.
"He coached both of my sisters, he coached me and he's been an awesome guy both on and off the field," said Warriors junior Leah Fortune. "But I'm really excited for him."
In his final game at the helm for Wheaton Academy, Underwood got a scrappy effort from a 15-7-2 team that played another tough schedule and likely exceeded expectations this year.
"We made a great effort, and we had a better season than I think most people anticipated for us," Underwood said. "So I'm pleased."
"A lot of people doubted us this year, but we came out with a double-A regional championship," said Warriors sophomore Christi Ditrich. "The girls played their hearts out this year."
Down 1-0 in the second half after a Leah DeMoss goal, the Warriors pressed hard for an equalizer in the game's final 20 minutes.
"I thought the last 20 minutes were more indicative of what we hoped for," Underwood said. "It was just too late."
As the sixth seed in the Wheaton North sectional, the Warriors upset third-ranked York to win a regional title. They came into Tuesday's game against a second-seeded North Stars team (16-5) that held a physical edge around the park.
"They were bigger than us, outplaying us and winning everything in the air," said Fortune, who had 27 goals and 17 assists this year. "It took away from our game."
"They're bigger and stronger than us, and they did a pretty good job of neutralizing Leah," Underwood said. "Give credit to (No.) 6."
No. 6 would be North Stars sophomore Maggie Hamilton, who -- three days after hounding Glenbard West's best attacking player in her squad's regional title win -- chased Fortune around to great effect.
"They just put me on her because I did a good job on Saturday, to see if I could do it again," Hamilton said. "My coaches scouted her, and I just tried to stay with her."
The North Stars scored their second goal in the game's waning seconds, on an own goal by the Warriors.
-- Gary Larsen
Maine South 2, Lake Park 0:#338;For being in its second sectional in school history, Lake Park had its work cut out for it.
The Lancers weren't strangers to postseason ball; they were here two years ago. And they weren't strangers to Maine South, the top-seeded team in Streamwood's Class AA sectional.
When it got its chance, Maine South (16-2-4) controlled the tempo and possession, not allowing Lake Park (15-6-3) to get any scoring opportunities, defeating the Lancers 2-0, advancing to Thursday night's sectional championship.
"We played them earlier, and I'll tell you what, they're a different team, they played great. I give Lake Park a lot of credit, they had us on our heels. We had to really respond and get the midfield back," Hawks coach J.J Crawford said. "They were playing physical, they did a heck of a job."
Playing from behind, the Lancers found themselves deep into the Hawks' zone, with little to no opportunity to advance the ball up field throughout the game.
"They're just really good at possession. They were just constantly moving and constantly passing. Every pass was right on. They were really smart about what they were doing," Lake Park senior Rachel McMahon said.
Though Lake Park lacked scoring opportunities, goalkeeper Carolyn Herber kept the Lancers in it. She stopped 5 scoring attempts in the first half, finishing with 7 saves for the game.
"Both their goals came off of restarts, none during the play of the game. That's frustrating because we were able to play with them," said Lancers coach John Gouriotis. "To lose to Maine South, it's not negative, they're a tough team."
-- Steven Nichols