Fremd's thrilling rally falls just short
EAST PEORIA - Trailing Sandburg 2-0 going into their last at-bat in Saturday's Class 4A state softball championship at the EastSide Centre, the Fremd Vikings were set to make one final drive to the finish of one of their most memorable seasons.
After a popout to start the seventh inning, Alexa Cinquegrani brought Vikings fans to their feet with a towering home run over the center-field fence, giving Fremd renewed hope in a game it had trailed by 2 runs since the first inning.
The drama continued when Megan Hubbard was hit by a pitch and Caitlin Patenaude delivered a two-out single to center that put runners on first and second.
But Sandburg senior left-hander Brit Gardner got the final out on a groundball to the mound, and the Eagles (39-2) celebrated a 2-1 victory and their first state title.
"Fremd's hitters were phenomenal," said Gardner, who like Fremd's Lauren Zaworski will play for Loyola next year. "I had to make sure no pitch was near the middle the middle of the plate or they were going to hit them. I couldn't make a mistake."
Cinquegrani said she found a pitch she really liked down the middle.
"She really got a hold of it," Gardner said. "Good job by her. Then after I hit the next batter I said, 'Ok, I've got some business to do now.' "
When she got the final out by tossing the ball to first baseman Lizzie Wojtowicz, Gardner (19-2) had thrown a 6-hitter with 7 strikeouts.
Fremd ace Lena Brottman (30-3) also ended her terrific career with a 6-hitter that included 4 strikeouts.
"We had that rally at the end," Brottman said. "That's our team - we play with heart. It's never over until it's over. It was awesome we came this far."
Only three other Mid-Suburban League teams have come this far in a state tournament. Elk Grove was second in 1982 and Barrington was the runner-up in 2007 and '08.
"It was a great run," said Vikings coach Jim Weaver, whose team (33-5) was 28-4 in 2008 and 35-5 in 2009 with a third-place finish here. "You can't ask for much better from a group of girls. They made every sacrifice we asked of them.
"We try to run a clean program and these are all character kids. We'll try to ask the next group to make the same sacrifices - and if they do, we'll continue to have success."
Sandburg scored twice in the first inning on an RBI double to right-center by junior catcher and Kansas recruit Lexi Bryant and an RBI single to right from Morgan Biel.
Brottman retired the side in order in three of the next five innings and gave up only 3 hits the rest of the way.
Vikings catcher Kristine Werling led off the sixth with a single to left, but Gardner got the next batter to pop out to second. Then Zaworski hit a rocket straight ahead that Gardner snared just above her head,
"That was a blur," Gardner said of the liner hit by her future teammate. "I'm just happy it didn't hit me in the face."
The Vikings continued to hit the ball in the seventh, sparked by Cinquegrani's fifth homer of the season - which had special meaning.
"I was thinking about my grandfather who passed away two years ago and he used to come to all my games," Cinquegrani said. "It was just too little, too late. We just didn't start out the game the way we should of. We didn't string enough hits together."
Six different Vikings had hits, but only 2 were in the same inning.
"We had to tiptoe through their entire lineup," said Sandburg coach Jim Fabianski, who guided the Eagles to third in the state his first year (2006).
The Vikings tied the school record for wins (33) and set the school record for home runs - 32 - led by Zaworski's 7.
"I'll remember the team the most," Zaworski said. "That's what got us here. We have a lot of talented players, but most importantly, they're all good people. We all wanted to win it all, but second place such a blessing and honor."