Dennison denies North Stars sectional title
Three hours before the first pitch was thrown Saturday, Bartlett's Callie Dennison was at home going through what has turned into a pre-game ritual of sorts.
"I woke up early this morning to go hit with my mom (Pekhwa) and dad (Brad)," said Dennison. "I had my dad pitch to me with my mom in the field. We were out there for a good 30 minutes just making sure I was ready."
Dennison proved she definitely was ready for the task at hand - both at the plate and on the mound - going 3-for-3 with a 2-run, first-inning home run while firing a 3-hitter to lift the seventh-seeded Hawks (22-14) to a 2-1 Class 4A Lake Park softball sectional championship victory over fifth-seeded St. Charles North (27-10) in Roselle.
With the win, Bartlett will advance to Monday's 4:30 p.m. Lisle supersectional against Naperville Central (30-7) at Benedictine University. Bartlett, which lost a pair of 6-1 decisions to Upstate Eight Conference champion St. Charles North during the regular season, jumped on top early thanks to Rachel Anello's 2-out single and Dennison's blast that sailed over the 200-foot sign in right-center.
"It was a 3-2 pitch and I knew it right when I hit it," said the junior, who admittedly breathed a little easier after sprinting around the bases.
"Every time you're ahead and you're taking the mound, you get more freedom," said Dennison, who improved her record to 18-11 with a 2-walk, 4-strikeout distance performance. "You don't have to be as nervous.
"I think that was why all of my pitches were working because I had no nerves after we took the lead."
According to Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith, grabbing an early lead was part of his team's strategy.
"Everything they do is derived from pressure so if you can score and get up on them, it takes the pressure and puts it back on them," said Wolfsmith.
Held hitless for the first 3 innings, St. Charles North mounted its first offensive threat in the fourth as Taylor Russell walked before Juliaclare Plezbert's infield single put runners on first and second with 1 out.
Ashley Seering followed by stroking an RBI double to right-center, cutting the Hawks' lead to 2-1. With runners at second and third, Dennison reached back to record a strikeout for the second out before getting the next batter to pop up to shortstop Nicole Beck, ending the North Stars' threat.
"We couldn't manage to get another one across," said North Stars coach April Stary.
From there, Dennison retired 8 straight hitters before Annie Korth kept things alive for the North Stars with her 2-out double. But St. Charles North was unable to complete its rally as Dennison's fourth strikeout of the game set off a celebration scene in front of the mound.
"The home run was beautiful but Callie's pitching and our defense behind her was the key to the game," said Wolfsmith. "We gave them only what they earned.
"Callie's a very effective spot pitcher. The last couple of games her changeup has really been working well, and when a pitcher throws a good changeup, it makes everything else look a little faster. It makes batters make decisions a little earlier and it changes the way they swing."
With their entire starting lineup returning, the North Stars' outlook for 2010 appears to be a bright one.
"None of us wanted it to end," said sophomore pitcher/designated hitter Amanda Ciran, who tossed 2 scoreless innings in relief of starter Amanda Engel.
"Inside, we all know that we beat this team before and we could've beaten this team today. It's just one of those days where we hit balls at people.
"We're very excited about the future."
Meanwhile, Bartlett now prepares for its second Elite 8 appearance in 3 years against a Naperville Central team that hasn't allowed a single run in 4 postseason games.
"We know we've got our work cut out for us," said Wolfsmith. "We'll enjoy this one a little bit and get back to work tomorrow."