Prairie Ridge tops VH in a wild one at Wauconda

Vernon Hills slugger Jenn Claussen plucked the remaining used paper cups and plastic water bottles from the chain-link fence by her team’s dugout and dropped them in a trash can.

What more can a player do?

Claussen, after all, also fell a home run shy of hitting for the cycle in the Class 3A Wauconda regional final Friday.

“We knew she liked the outside,” Claussen said of Prairie Ridge ace Kirsten Stevens. “That’s what we pretty much practiced all (Thursday). So we were ready for it.”

Unfortunately for Vernon Hills, Stevens, who hit a homer, repeatedly cleaned up some messy defense by her team and had herself quite a game too. The junior lefty finally took matters into her own hands in the top of the seventh, striking out the side after Vernon Hills had one run in and runners on the corners with none out.

Stevens’ complete-game effort and long 3-run homer lifted top-seeded Prairie Ridge to a wild, 8-7 win over the No. 2 seed.

“I was thinking it would be better to strike the girls out, but I knew I had my teammates to make the plays,” Stevens said. “We have a young team, but everyone has been working hard at practice and we’re going to continue working hard. Overall, I’m very proud of our team. They made great plays.”

Prairie Ridge (22-8-1), which does not have a senior on its roster and started seven sophomores against Vernon Hills (23-13), advances to next Thursday’s 4:30 p.m. sectional semifinal at Lakes. The Wolves will play the winner of today’s 11 a.m. regional final between host Amundsen and Northside in Chicago.

Prairie Ridge prevailed over Vernon Hills despite committing 7 errors and getting outhit 8-5.

Claussen and Sami Freibrun each went 3-for-4 for the Cougars.

“I’m just proud of our team,” Vernon Hills coach Steve Korney said. “We played well all year, came from behind several times this year. We ended up a little short today, but to score 7 runs against a pitcher like that, I give my kids a lot credit. They definitely battled the whole day.”

Vernon Hills jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, as Freibrun led off the game with a sharply hit single to right. When the ball kicked past the right fielder, Freibrun raced to third. She eventually got tagged out diving back to third on a fielder’s choice, but Claussen picked up her teammates by delivering a well-placed 2-run triple down the right-field line with two out. When Anya Mollenhauer’s looper into shallow right was dropped by the Wolves’ back-peddling second baseman, Claussen scored.

But Prairie Ridge responded in its half of the first, taking advantage of 2 errors and 2 walks by ace Megan Meline to score 4 unearned runs.

Prairie Ridge then added to its lead in the third. Meline issued a leadoff walk to Claire Bowman, who stopped at second on a single to Alyssa Doomis. That brought up the lefty-hitting Stevens, who launched a long homer over the fence in right.

“I was thankful that our third baseman, Claire, yelled, ‘Changeup!’ trying to give me an advanced warning,” Stevens said. “That definitely helped me out.”

Marissa Richter knocked in her second run of the game with a single to stretch Prairie Ridge’s lead to 7-3 in the fifth. But the Wolves’ scrappy opponent scratched out 3 runs in the sixth. Caitlin Sernett had an RBI single for Vernon Hills, while the Wolves committed 3 errors in the inning.

“They got a very good team. Give them credit,” Prairie Ridge coach Mike Buck said of the Cougars. “Our young kids hung in there. I hate to use ‘rattled,’ but they hadn’t been here before.”

The Vernon Hills seventh started with Jordyn Comitor reaching on another Wolves error. A Claussen double and fielder’s choice RBI by Mollenhauer, who was safe at first, had the Cougars in business.

But Stevens (20-8-1) beared down, getting the next three batters swinging to end it and finish with 9 strikeouts.

“We made plays when we had to, and Kirsten made pitches when she had to,” Buck said. “Those last two batters, she just reared back and flung it.”

Stevens had received defensive help in the fifth, when left fielder Katie Didier threw out Freibrun at home after a single by Comitor.

“I’ll be thinking about this one for a while,” Korney said. “I’ll be thinking about me sending our runner and getting thrown out in the fifth. I’ll be thinking about what we could have done differently. But it is what it is.”

Meline struck out nine and allowed 4 earned runs in her final game for Vernon Hills.

“Our seniors played fantastic,” Claussen said of Meline, Freibrun, Mollenhauer, Carly Alm and Michelle Harris. “We’re going to miss them.”