Kinnamon connects, and Wauconda wins regional
It's "Kinnamon," which rhymes with cinnamon. So Wauconda's softball team calls freshman Alex Kinnamon the latter.
And "Cinnamon" just might have been the missing ingredient in the Bulldogs' quest the last couple of years to win the elusive first regional championship in the program's history.
Two months after starting the season on the freshman team, Kinnamon emerged as a postseason hero Saturday. The catcher's 2-run single - which was inches shy of a grand slam - was the key blow in Wauconda's 3-0 shutout of host Vernon Hills in the teams' Class 3A regional final.
"She's been doing a lot," Wauconda senior Kendra Wedl said of Kinnamon. "She's doing really well."
Wauconda's Brittany Ehmann and Kayla Stos combined on a 5-hitter, as they outdueled Cougars ace Megan Meline, whose only tough inning was the third, when the Bulldogs recorded all 3 of their hits.
While Wauconda (21-13) earned a berth in Thursday's 4:30 p.m. Prairie Ridge sectional semifinal against Antioch (28-5), a 7-0 winner over Lakes, Vernon Hills had its season end at 17-19.
Meline and the Cougars upset Antioch in the Marengo sectional final last year.
"I was looking forward to a possible rematch with (Antioch)," Vernon Hills coach Paul Weber said, "because Megan has been throwing the ball well."
After beating Vernon Hills for the third time this season, Wauconda's players showered coach Tim Rennels with ice water.
"It's very exciting," said Rennels, who started six seniors. "These seniors have been with me for it seems like decades. I met them when my assistant Rick Eklund brought them over as sixth-graders and said to them, 'This is going to be your coach. I want you girls to meet him.' ... The bond is strong."
Kinnamon was called up early in the season and before long was batting cleanup. She remembers the day she got the promotion to varsity.
"He showed up at my practice," she said of Rennels, "and said, 'Come on, you're going over to our field.' I was shocked, but I was very happy."
So why wasn't she up from Day 1?
"I'm not that smart," Rennels with a sheepish grin.
Wauconda's veterans made the transition for Kinnamon seamless.
"All the girls welcomed me really easily," Kinnamon said.
Meline, who finished with 12 strikeouts in her 6 innings, retired the first nine batters she faced. But in the bottom of the fourth, Kate Martino led off with a single to right field and Wedl pushed a bunt single past Meline. Cara Nance reached on an error, loading the bases for Kinnamon.
"Cinnamon" then spiced it up by belting an 0-2 pitch off the top of the center-field fence. She stopped at first as Martino and Wedl scored. Nance raced to third.
"That's the longest single she's ever hit," Rennels said with a laugh.
"I was freaking out when I was running to first base," Kinnamon said. "I was like 'oh, my God. It's going over, it's going over.' "
One out later, Stephanie Olson's sacrifice fly drove in the third run.
Ehmann departed the circle after 4 innings. Her batterymate, Kinnamon, helped bail her out of trouble in the second by picking a runner off second.
Vernon Hills eventually left the bases loaded.
"I've been struggling with my ball/strike ratio," said Ehmann, who earned the win. "Ever since I injured my hamstring (during the middle of the season) I've struggled with that the most. But I got out of (jams) today with the help of my defense."
Wauconda got more great defense in the fifth when center fielder Wedl fired a strike to home after Michelle Harris singled. Wedl's throw to Kinnamon nailed Paige Kahalnik, who had led off with a single.
"The momentum was unstoppable after that," Rennels said.
"As soon as I let in go of the throw I knew it was going in her glove," Wedl said.
Vernon Hills stranded 10 runners on base, as opposed to two by Wauconda. A double by the Cougars' Lauren Yacullo was the game's only extra-base hit.
"We were threatening all the time," Weber said. "They hit the ball when they needed to, and we didn't."