Belief carries Burke, Bartlett downstate
At the beginning of the season, senior pitcher Tori Burke said no one had her Bartlett softball team on their radar.
Monday at the Ballpark at Rosemont, the Hawks were in their own zone, focused on reaching East Peoria.
After a 4-1 win over Maine West in the Class 4A Leyden supersectional, now the whole state will have to zoom in and take a look at Bartlett.
The Hawks (31-8) will face defending 4A state champ Moline (30-10) in the 5 p.m. semifinal at the Eastside Centre on Friday.
“No one even ranked us at the start of the season,” said Burke (20-6), who tossed a 7-hitter with 6 strikeouts. “No one knew who we were. To be here now and reach our goal is amazing.”
While Burke's arm was shutting out Maine West (26-11) through 4 innings, her bat provided the Hawks with the game-winning RBI in the top of the fourth inning.
Senior second baseman Andreana Taormina (2-for-4) started the inning with a sharp single to left and went to second when junior catcher Kaylyn Zierke (2-for-4) reached on an error.
After Alex Morales lined out sharply to center fielder Abbey Herling, Burke lined a single to left and Taormina raced home for the 1-0 lead.
With runners on second and third, West junior ace Ariel Valles (21-9) got out of the jam with a strikeout and another fly out to Herling.
Taormina's RBI single down the left field line scored senior Amanda Montbriand (2-for-3) with two outs for a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth.
Maine West's biggest threat of the game came in the bottom of the fifth when it scored its only run with two outs.
Gina Larucci's two-out single to left advanced pinch runner Alyssa Bojarski to second.
An infield single by junior shortstop Holly Wengerski (2-for-4) then loaded the bases before senior second baseman Angela Cruz lined a single off third baseman Sydney Johnson's glove to get home Bojarski.
Burke got the next batter on a popout to Johnson to retain the 2-1 lead.
The Hawks added 2 insurance runs in the sixth, getting an RBI triple to right center by sophomore Kayla Haberstich and single to left by Montbriand for the 4-1 lead.
“We knew that Maine West had been playing well and would hit the ball,” said Bartlett ninth-year coach Jim Wolfsmith, who also guided the Hawks to East Peoria in 2006. “They did a nice job.
“I thought we hit the ball well, and Maine West made some good plays. We left a lot of runners on base (six ).”
Johnson, a sophomore playing her first year on varsity, became the defensive star in the final innings.
After senior right fielder Katie Fitzgerald led off the West sixth with a triple to left, Burke got the next three batters without a run scoring.
The final out came on Johnson's great catch of a pop foul while stopping her fall by leaning into the railing of the third base dugout.
“We had a lot of opportunities,” said Maine West coach Amy Gonzales. “My former coach always said it's a game of inches. We didn't have timely hitting but we had some great at-bats and just missed some hits falling in.”
In the seventh, Johnson made an all-out diving catch of a popup near home plate, then threw from her knees to to double up the runner at first base for the second out.
“Those were two great plays,” Wolfsmith said. “You've got to make plays like that to win.”
“Those catches were the difference between a 4-3 win or even a loss,” Burke said. “All my teammates really stepped up behind me. We really showed we are a team and that's why we are going to state.”
West is going to graduate only two starters — Cruz and Fitzgerald.
“I wish all my seniors (Bojarski, Caroline Baird and Janie Feldkamp) could return,” Gonzales said. “The whole team did a great job in the playoffs, really coming together as a team.
“And Ariel (2-for-3 at the plate) did a fabulous job. We have a great returning class. These girls just wanted to win and be successful. Getting here (supersectional) is what they wanted to do all season.”
When she started the job this season, Gonzales knew she had a talented group.
“We just said we had to take this (state tourney) one game at a time,” the first-year coach added. “This group set the bar high for expectations for Maine West softball. It's the school's first sectional in the sport. The girls have to be proud.”