Hohman, Neuqua treasure regional crown
That regional championship plaque in Colleen Hohman's hands must have felt like buried treasure finally unearthed.
Four years of hard work rewarded.
The Neuqua Valley senior, the Wildcats' heart and soul since Day One as a freshman with Jenna Marsalli, struck out four in four-hitting No. 5 seed Plainfield Central 3-1 to win the Class 4A Plainfield Central regional.
No. 4 Neuqua's first regional title since 2003 puts the Wildcats (25-10) in Wednesday's sectional semifinal at Bolingbrook against either No. 1 Downers Grove South or Lyons Twp.
"I think we all thought 'we've worked so hard for this - we deserve this,'" Hohman said. "We've put all the effort into it, we've put in the time and we wanted it so badly. It was our time."
Hohman (8-6), up and down this season, has been at her best when it's mattered most. She shut out Plainfield South on Tuesday. On Friday she was nicked for a run in the second inning but only allowed 3 baserunners the rest of the way and stranded a runner at third base in the fifth and sixth innings.
Perhaps most importantly for Hohman, she issued just 1 walk.
"She was so hot on Tuesday and she was hot again today," Neuqua coach Elaina Tanaka said. "She was firing the ball so hard and she was mixing them up. Her intensity has been high and it's contagious."
Trailing 1-0 through three innings, Neuqua scored its 3 runs in the fourth with help from Plainfield Central miscues.
Marsalli, who reached base 3 times with 1 single, walked on a full count to lead things off. After Plainfield Central's catcher dropped a pop-up in foul territory, Hohman scorched a single off the third basemen's glove to put runners at the corners.
Leigh Nebendahl hit a first-pitch single to right to score Marsalli, and courtesy runner Jena Boudreau came around to score on a wild throw from the outfield.
Nebendahl eventually came home with the the third run on a wild pitch.
Plainfield Central (26-8) committed 3 errors in the inning. Hard-luck loser Cara DeLange (19-4) struck out 11.
"Give Neuqua credit - they hit the ball hard," Plainfield Central coach Anne Campbell said. "But we don't make those mistakes and it's a 1-1 ballgame and we're still playing. You can't make those mistakes at this time of year."
Nebendahl later made a leaping grab of a soft liner for the first out of the seventh. Rebecca Lincoln was 2-for-2 for Neuqua, who could meet Tanaka's alma mater, Downers Grove South, and mentor Ron Havelka next week.
Neuqua beat the Mustangs in April on a Nebendahl walk-off homer.
"You never want to look too far ahead," Tanaka said, "but seeing that as a possible opportunity is exciting for me. Hopefully, it will happen."
West Chicago 2, WW South 0: Mary Connolly (23-7) struck out five in throwing her second straight shutout at the Class 4A West Chicago regional. No. 3 seed West Chicago (26-9) scored a run in the second on a Rachel Johnson RBI single and another in the third on a Jessica Wood single.