Houda-Harris combination lifts Lisle into final
It's a delicious combo the Lisle softball team has going the last two playoff games - Bekka Houda devours opposing lineups and Katie Harris cleans up at the plate.
Houda struck out 11 and Harris had 3 hits and drove in 3 runs in Lisle's 8-0 win over St. Edward at Thursday's Class 2A Lisle sectional semifinal at Benedictine University.
Lisle (26-10) advances to play Walther Lutheran at 11 a.m. Saturday.
"It was a really good game for us," Harris said. "In a game like this you need to get the runs early, get a good head start and go from there."
Houda (17-8) followed up a 13-strikeout gem in Lisle's regional final win with another dominating performance. The Lions sophomore struck out the side in the first and allowed just a Sarah Field single in the second and a leadoff walk in the sixth before St. Edward strung together 2 singles in the seventh.
"She had us off-balance, off-speed - it seemed like she had a few different speeds on her fastball and the ball was moving well, hitting the corners," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "You got to tip your hat to her."
"We felt really confident going into this game," Houda said, "and then we kept getting runs it made me feel even more comfortable. I know my team is behind me, scoring runs for me. It makes my job easier."
For the second straight game the Lions pounced on their opponent in the first inning.
Tori Harris tripled on the first pitch from Field, and scored an out later on Colleen Drennan's bunt single. Mackenzie Buchelt reached on a fielder's choice, and after a double steal Katie Harris dropped a single in back of first base to bring home 2 more runs, making it 3-0.
Lisle tacked on 2 more runs in the fourth on 2 walks, a Shelby Kretman sacrifice fly and an error. Three more St. Edward errors in the sixth led to 3 more Lisle runs, Katie Harris singling in Kretman for an 8-0 lead. Harris, who reached base three times in the regional final, went 3-for-4 on Thursday. Tori Harris also reached base 3 times and scored 2 runs.
"That's what our goal the last two games, is to score early and score often," Lisle coach Jen Pomatto said. "I felt that we put the pressure on them every inning. Even if we don't score in an inning, I want to make sure we're getting someone on and putting pressure on the defense."
The Lions' remarkable turnaround from a year ago can culminate in a sectional championship Saturday. They will do so in front of a large contingent of fans at Benedictine University, just around the corner from Lisle High School.
"I think we're starting to get that buzz around school, a little bit of excitement," Pomatto said. "We've played here now three times this year and we feel very comfortable playing here."
On the other side St. Edward (19-13) loses just three seniors off this year's young group - and will add former Driscoll players Tarah McShane and Breaunna Medinger next year.
"We expect to win a regional, we expect to be here and be competitive," Rolando said, "and I think that's something these seniors can be proud of. They took a program that was 6-11 two years ago and have kind of lifted the expectations. They can be proud that they left the program better than they found it."