Wrap: Timothy eliminates Whips; Huntley wins
What looks so cut and dried on paper can often times be deceiving.
Take, for example, Hampshire's Class 2A softball sectional semifinal game Tuesday against host Timothy Christian in Elmhurst.
Hampshire would have appeared to be the favorite, considering its schedule and the fact the host Trojans had to win a regional championship just to .500 for the season.
But Timothy Christian and sophomore right-hander Janna Strodtman held the Whip-Purs in check all day and came away with a 2-0 win, vaulting them into a sectional championship game foe the first time in program history. TC (14-13) will meet the winner of today's St. Edward vs. Westmont game at 11 a.m. Saturday for a trip to the Benedictine University supersectional on Memorial Day.
"She threw really well," said Hampshire coach Ken Bram of Strodtman. "They had a couple shots and they put them together. We made some key mistakes defensively and they played error-free ball."
Hampshire (18-14) did commit 6 errors in the game, a couple of which could be attributed to players out of position. Junior catcher Jordan Moore had to be taken to the hospital during the day Wednesday for undisclosed reasons, which forced Bram to move junior shortstop Megan Roadcap behind the plate and senior second baseman Paige Kent to short, with sophomore Tina Tuminaro taking over at second.
"Losing Jordan hurt," Bram said. "I thought Megan did an outstanding job behind the plate for not having caught before but we had to move people around and that hurt because we're not that deep."
Hampshire sophomore Ally Kent threw a stellar game herself, allowing 7 hits with 10 strikeouts and 1 walk. But the Trojans pushed across unearned runs in the third and sixth innings to gain the win.
With one out in the third, two outfield errors and an RBI single from Strodtman gave TC a 1-0 lead. They added an insurance run in the sixth when Christin Everett, who had reached on a fielder's choice, scored on an infield error.
"We've had our ups and downs but today we were hitting," said Trojans coach Nancy Wieringa. "Our pitching we good today, our batting was good today and our fielding was on. It was a total team effort and we''e excited."
Strodtman struck out seven, didn't walk anyone and allowed 6 hits.
"I was just really feeling it today," Strodtman said. "In warm-ups I felt I had it today. I'm just thrilled. I never thought we could get this far."
Hampshire had its chances. After leaving runners in scoring position in both the fourth and fifth innings, Jessica Kraus stroked a one-out double in the sixth. Roadcap, who had 2 solid singles earlier, came up and launched a bomb to center that TC center fielder Julie Faber caught with her back to the fence, then hustled the relay into shortstop Lauren Hansberger who gunned down Kraus trying to advance to third.
"That was a huge double play," said Wieringa. "Everyone did their part when they needed to."
Huntley 6, Grayslake North 1: The Red Raiders led this Class 3A Grayslake North regional semifinal from the first inning on and salted the victory away with a 3-run rally in the bottom of the sixth to eliminate the host Knights.
Jenna Mychko went 3-for-4 with a double and drove in a run, Amanda Wisniewski went 1-for-3 with 2 RBI and Deana DeBosschere and Sarah Clancy doubled for Huntley (22-10).
Samantha Clemons (19-6) scattered 9 hits in 6 innings with 8 strikeouts and 2 walks.
"Sam pitched lights out today," Huntley coach Mark Petryniec. "Today was her best performance of the year. Jenna Mychko came up big and the defense was perfect today. That's all you can ask for.
The Red Raiders will face Marian Central (22-5) for the regional title on Saturday at 10 a.m.