Softball: Fremd has a ball as Mazur amazes

Fremd senior Jess Mazur didn't let anything bother her in her third-inning at-bat Thursday against Bartlett.

Not getting down in the count.

Not waiting out a short delay after her wicked foul-ball line drive screamed into a large group of fans in the bleachers down the left-field line.

Not even standing at the plate waiting for a pitch when the Hawks pitcher didn't have a ball to throw.

Seems that after Mazur's foul smash went into the stands - for awhile it appeared that a fan may have needed medical attention - everyone was so distracted that no one tossed another ball out to the mound.

So Mazur calmly informed the home plate ump that another softball was needed if play was to continue.

"That was kind of funny," said Mazur. "I got in the box and thought, 'Wait a minute, we're going to need a ball first.' "

And after hitting another foul liner into almost the same spot in the bleachers, Mazur unloaded on the next pitch, sending an up-and-in fastball soaring over the center field fence for her 16th home run of the season.

Mazur's 2-run clout, the 34th homer of her career, paced the Vikings to a 6-0 Class 4A sectional semifinal win on their home field. Fremd and St. Charles North will meet at 11 a.m. Saturday in the sectional final.

Hannah Ban went 3-for-4 with a couple of doubles to support the shutout pitching of Nikki Kehoe.

"I loved our approach at the plate today," said Fremd coach Josh Teschner. "The girls committed to every single pitch, knowing what they're supposed to do with that pitch whether it was no runners on, runners on, one out, two out, you name it.

"We understood our approach, and that's what's helped us the last two weeks."

Bartlett couldn't threaten against Kehoe, but fell victim to some hard-luck offense as several long drives were hit right at Fremd outfielders.

After the game, Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith lauded his team's effort - especially on defense.

"I thought the difference in the game was that Fremd put the leadoff runner on base every inning, and we didn't," said Wolfsmith. "Defensively, we were sharp on the infield. We had a couple of caught-stealing throw-behinds, and I like what we did overall defensively. But Fremd has so many good hitters that ultimately they're going to knock some runs in, and that's what they did."

Fremd already led 2-0 on RBI from Anna Freveletti and Sophia Crescio when Mazur's four-bagger put the Vikings up 4-0.

"I was just trying to put the ball in play," said Mazur. "It was a full count so I just wanted to hit a line drive and get on base for my team."

Bartlett's best chance to score came in the second, when Amber Pagan and Danielle Kleeman hit back-to-back singles, but the Hawks couldn't translate that into any runs.

Fremd scored twice more in the bottom of the fifth as Mazur hit an RBI double, then a sac fly from shortstop Grace Stevens plated another run.

Kehoe got the Hawks to go down 1-2-3 in the seventh to close out the win, the final out coming on a spectacular diving catch by left fielder Gianna Arnieri.

"It was great to finish the game this way for the team," said Arnieri, who just returned to the Fremd lineup after illness. "I'm so proud of my team, especially the way Nikki pitched. We've worked really hard to get this point and we've set our goals really high, and we know we're not done yet. We just want to keep playing together."

Freveletti finished with 2 of Fremd's 10 hits, while Kehoe struck out seven to help the Vikings improve to 21-10.

"Once we started hitting and making some great plays in the field," said Kehoe, "I felt like I got stronger. I got great backup today."

"Nikki went out and did her job," said Mazur. "She was amazing by hitting her spots, getting up in the count, and trusting her defense."

Taylor Rotondo and Charlotte Linnartz had singles for Bartlett.

"On our end, I felt like our kids hit well," said Wolfsmith. "They just didn't hit well together in the same inning."

"We had an up-and-down season this year," added the coach. "There was some craziness in the middle, but I give our kids a lot of credit. Despite the weather and a lot of injuries we had to battle through, they found a way to find a stride in the postseason."