St. Edward, Lisle similar teams

The records may be slightly different, but most everything else about the St. Edward and Lisle softball teams looks the same going into today's 4:30 p.m. Class 2A Lisle sectional semifinal.

"I expect a team very much the same caliber as ours," said St. Edward coach Mike Rolando. "Both pitchers are sophomores and both have similar records. They have a lot of young girls playing and so do we."

The pitchers at the forefront of this matchup are the Green Wave's Sarah Field (19-8) and Lisle's Bekka Houda (16-8), a transfer from Lockport, who has led the Lions to a 25-10 season after going 5-20 last year. While Field's strongest pitch is usually her curveball, Houda is not only fast but has a solid changeup. She struck out 13 in the Lions' 5-1 regional final win over Immaculate Conception and has struck out in the 15-18 range in several games this season.

Field, meanwhile, spun a masterful 2-hitter and retired 13 of the final 14 batters as the Green Wave (19-12) beat Driscoll 3-1 to win their second straight regional title.

While the teams have many common opponents, and have similar results against most of them, Rolando believes today's game will come down to what most games come down to.

"It will be who plays well," he said. "We've been playing well. Our defense has been coming together. If we can get some offense and make some plays we should come out on top."

Today's winner will return to Lisle for the 11 a.m. championship game on Saturday against Walther Lutheran, which defeated St. Scholastica 9-6 on Wednesday.