Benet’s success starts at the top
Benet’s confident, unflinching attitude these playoffs starts at the top: leadoff hitter Maeve McGuire.
“I really do feel like we can play with anybody,” said the sweet-swinging sophomore lefty.
The Redwings will get that chance this weekend, as they make their school’s state softball debut today in a 4:30 p.m. Class 4A semifinal against Moline in East Peoria. St. Charles North meets New Trier in the second game.
It’s easy to see why McGuire breathes confidence these days. McGuire has reached base her last 11 plate appearances, going 8-for-10 with four doubles in Benet’s last three playoff wins.
On the season McGuire is hitting .475 with 48 runs scored and 24 RBI, and her 26 doubles are one shy of the state record.
“I’m just seeing the ball real well,” McGuire said. “The pressure makes me perform better.”
Sizzling Benet (30-10) has won 18 of its last 20 games since May 1 and beat a nationally ranked Richards team Monday to get here.
It doesn’t get any easier.
Western Illinois power Moline (26-8-1), a five-time state champion, is making its 13th state softball appearance, a record in the large-school classes. The Maroons come in off a 10-5 upset of defending 4A champion Sandburg.
“They’ve got kids who can hit up and down the order,” said Benet coach Jerry Schilf, admitting “we don’t know as much about them as we’d like to know.”
McGuire knows a little. Moline’s .480-batting leadoff hitter Kaitlyn Knary played with McGuire on the Southern Force travel team last fall.
Moline’s offense scores more than 7 runs per game, and the Maroons have tallied 7 or more in four of their five playoff games.
It’s a tall task for Benet’s Allyson Staats, but she’s answered the bell so far this postseason.
Staats, who won her school-record 28th game Monday, has allowed just 4 runs total in five playoff games.
“Their Nos. 3 and 4 hitters have a lot of power,” Schilf said. “The key for us is can we prevent them from scoring.”
Nerves are only natural in Benet’s first trip to state, and Schilf said scoring early is critical.
The Redwings have excelled at that these playoffs.
Benet has yet to trail in any of five playoff games. Now the Redwings are two wins away from the school’s first state championship in a girls team sport.
“Our goal from Day One was that anything is possible,” Schilf said. “It took us a while for them to realize how good they could be if we put our individuals together. We didn’t necessarily talk about state.
“But 1-9, we feel we’re as good as anybody.”
St. Charles North (31-3), also making its state debut today, shapes up as perhaps the favorite this weekend. It’s easy to see why. The North Stars boast seven future Division I college players in a loaded lineup, led by 23-1 Loyola-bound ace Amanda Ciran.
On the other side New Trier (23-11) is making its third state appearance in the last five years, and maybe the most surprising trip. The Trevians started the season 2-6. Trevians senior Chelsea Delaney is hitting .451 with 10 homers and 46 RBI.
“We’re just looking at Friday,” St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said. “We have a ton of respect for New Trier. They’re hot and they have beaten some really quality teams.”