Lake Park 7, Glenbard West 2
As one of only two senior starters on the Lake Park softball team, Missy Mazur said she and Lynsey Ciezki are "like the big sisters."
The Lancers sure followed their lead Thursday.
Mazur and Ciezki combined for 5 hits and 4 runs scored, and Mazur held down a potent Glenbard West lineup in Lake Park's 7-2 win in the Class 4A Schaumburg sectional semifinals.
Lake Park (31-4), winner of 17 straight games, plays West Chicago at 10 a.m. Saturday for the sectional title.
"We're the leaders on this team, being seniors," Mazur said. "We try to set a good example on how to play the game, especially during the playoffs."
Mazur (22-4) surrendered a first-inning run on a Melissa Noland double that scored Kathryn Lux. But she held a team scoring nearly 7 runs per game to just an unearned run the rest of the way.
"Missy loves that challenge," said Lake Park coach Cray Allen, who took the blame on the pitch selection on Noland's RBI double. "The better the hitters, the better she gets."
After spotting Glenbard West the 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Lake Park wasted no time answering in its half.
Ciezki chopped a leadoff single through the middle, and Mazur reached on an infield error. Alexis Munaco and Vicki Tomaka drew walks, Tomaka's bringing home the first run.
Mazur beat a throw home on a grounder to second, and Samantha Becker's sacrifice fly made it 3-1.
"We made mental mistakes," Glenbard West coach Mary McGrane said, "and our pitching wasn't as accurate to start off as we would have liked. You can't do that against good teams."
Mazur's RBI single in the second scored Kaitlyn Tunzi, and Jamie Pomahac doubled and scored on a wild pitch in the third to make it 5-1.
Glenbard West (22-7) got a run back in the fifth with the help of two Lake Park errors, but Tomaka doubled off a runner at second on a flyball to center to end the threat.
In addition to making a lunging grab on a line drive that saved a run in the top of the first, Ciezki went 2-for-2 with a walk and sacrifice bunt. Mazur went 3-for-3 with 2 doubles, driving in Ciezki in the sixth.
"Our motto is if I can get on base, Missy will drive me home. We followed that today," Ciezki said. "Once we get it started it's contagious."
Contagious like winning. It has been exactly one month since the Lancers' last loss, to Bartlett. Two more wins and Lake Park returns to state for the fifth time in six years.
"There's a chance right now," Ciezki said, "and we're going to try to take advantage of it. We're peaking right now. It's the perfect time."