Brottman, Fremd Vikings move on, downing Palatine 2-0
Nursing an ankle injury, Fremd's Lena Brottman had pitched just one inning over the past two and half weeks.
That lone appearance was in the seventh inning this past Tuesday under a steady rainfall.
Vikings softball coach Jim Weaver handed the reigns over to Brottman for her first start in nearly three weeks on Saturday against crosstown rival Palatine.
The junior right-hander (17-3) proved to be in top-notch form, steering the Vikings to a 2-0 shutout with a 3-hitter and 11 strikeouts in the championship game of the Class 4A Palatine regional.
Top-seeded Fremd (29-4) advances to Wednesday's semifinal of the Barrington sectional and will face No. 5 Zion-Benton at 4:30 p.m.
It marked the fourth regional crown for Fremd under Weaver and 13th in school history.
"I thought she (Brottman) had good movement on the ball," said Palatine coach Jeff Manz, whose team finished at 16-16. "We had a few opportunities but we just couldn't move runners."
"It was good to see Lena go a full game," Weaver said. "Casey (Latal) has gotten us to this point (No. 2 pitcher who is 12-1 and had won last five games for Fremd). Lena gutted it out and our defense played well behind her (no errors)."
Brottman got her 2-0 cushion in the bottom of the third.
Shortstop Ali Gaeding reached on an infield inning and catcher Kristine Werling drew a walk.
Left fielder Jenny Schneider followed with an RBI single to center to score Gaeding.
Second baseman Lauren Zaworski's one-out single to center gave the Vikings' runners on the corners with one out.
First baseman Jessica Tackett then singled sharply to left center to drive in Schneider for the second run.
Pirates junior ace Chrissy Roto (11-12) was able to get the next two batters and avoid any further damage.
The Vikings had other chances but Palatine's defense came up with big plays.
One came in the fourth when the Vikes had runners on the corners. Gaeding stole second but Pirates shortstop Katie Mnichowicz fired the ball back to catcher Alyx Ballenger, who made the tag on the runner trying to score from third.
In the first inning, Pirates sophomore right fielder Sam Salomone made the highlight reel with a terrific diving shoestring grab to rob Schneider of extra bases.
"You've got to give all the credit to Palatine," Weaver said. "They played lights-out defense. They put pressure on us the whole game.
"I was really happy with our at-bats (Fremd struck out only once). I thought we hit the ball hard and they made some great plays."
Alexis Bauer hit the ball the hardest for Palatine, going 2-for-3 with a lineout to short.
Ballenger also had a bloop double to shallow right field to lead off the fourth.
"I'm just proud of our kids," Manz said. "Most of them have never been in this environment (regional title game). I told them to look at the Fremd girls. I really believe that if we work on our hitting we can be in the position they are now.
"I thought we gave them a heck of game. The first two times we didn't play that well against them. I thought this was a very good softball game and I'm super proud of my kids."
Brottmann retired 11 of the last 12 batters she faced.
"This is our crosstown rival so it's always fun when we play Palatine," she said. "As usual, my defense was right behind me. Palatine has a great lineup and their pitcher is very good. They always play well and it was fun to play them."
Third baseman Kelly Voigt made a nice play in the first inning when she caught a pop bunt and threw to Zaworski, who was covering first base to double up the runner.
"We had one of our best pregame warmups," Tackett said. ""Everything was clean and we were all in tune with each other. I'm really proud of how we came out for this game. It was a real team effort. The pitching was there, the defense was there and we got the runs that we needed."
Zion-Benton 10, St. Viator 2: No. 14-seeded St. Viator took a 2-0 lead in the top of third on back to-back RBI bunts by Abby Dickey and Bridget Urbanus to score Torey Lenart and Amanda Presslak in the Class 4A Stevenson regional championship.
However, the No. 5 Zee-Bees struck for 2 runs in the bottom of the inning, then scored 8 more in the next two innings.
Junior Ronnie Mack went 2-for-2 for the Lions (15-23), who also got base hits from Taylor Lenart, Torey Lenart and Presslak.
"I'm very proud of this team," said coach Dan Twarog, who guided the Lions to their most wins since 1993, which was also the last time the Lions made it to the regional final. For being so young (Jessica Etchingham was the only senior on the team), they played extremely well."
Twarog liked the change in attitude from past years.
"Every other year, we expected to lose in these regional games," he said. "These girls expected to win all three of our regional games (defeated No. 20 Round Lake in play-in and No. 4 Stevenson in semifinal). That is a huge difference in the attitude of our program. They are already looking forward to next year. There are 271 days left until tryout. The kids had a great season are looking forward to the next one."