Softball: Huntley stuns Marist to reach 4A title game
EAST PEORIA - Huntley's Grace Kutz and Briana Bower discovered the ideal moment to dream and ponder advancing to the Class 4A state championship game early Friday night.
Kutz, a first baseman, and Bower, a pitcher, gathered on the mound before the start of the top of the seventh inning for a quick moment of reflection. Kutz put her arm around Bower, as both players turned around, away from home plate, and stared out toward the outfield.
"We were talking and getting our emotions all together because it was a huge inning and all we needed was three outs to get to the state championship game," Kutz said. "They had their best hitter coming up and we were all scared she was going to hit it out. (The umpire) gave us a little more time to talk and get our mojo back."
Bower shrugged off any nerves, retiring the final three batters in order to lead Huntley to a 3-2 upset over Marist in the second semifinal at the EastSide Centre.
The Red Raiders (34-7) finished with 6 hits to move one win away from winning the first school championship in any sport - boys or girls. Huntley battles St. Charles East (26-10) in Saturday's 3:30 p.m. title game.
"This means a lot to go to the state championship for our community," Kutz said.
Bower, the Fox Valley All-Area Player of the Year, continues to add to her stunning sophomore season. The right-hander held Marist's powerful hitting attack to 6 hits and she overcame 3 errors by her teammates, striking out 1 and not walking a batter in tossing a complete game gem to improve to 26-5 to outduel Northwestern recruit Angela Zedak (21-2).
"It was a team win," Bower said. "I was little nervous, but I had confidence in our team because we are pretty good."
Aside from a few shaky plays in the outfield and some questionable decisions on the infield, the Red Raiders, a program without any state appearances before this season, played like veterans. The RedHawks (36-3) entered the state semifinal with two state championships and a fourth-place medal since 2012, had won 35 straight games and had yet to lose to a team from Illinois this season - and were No. 8 in the country in the most recent MaxPreps Top 25 national rankings. The RedHawks also had nine Division I players on their roster.
The Red Raiders, as a team and coaching staff, admitted scoring three runs in the bottom of the third provided ample proof that they could compete with Marist, especially with Bower dealing on the mound.
"We thought we would have to respond back with a (scoring) punch, but it was nice to catch them by coming out first," Huntley coach Mark Petryniec said.
The most memorable inning in program history started with Lindsay Morgan's double off the wall to open the third for Huntley's first hit. Two batters later, Kendra Mitchell drilled an RBI single for a 1-0 lead.
"I was confident and just wanted to give our team the lead," Mitchell said. "We wanted to show them that we are a good team by scoring first."
Sofia Tenuta belted a run-scoring single to left field and, after Teagan O'Rilley was hit by a pitch, Kutz capped the three-run inning with a bases-loaded RBI single to left field for a 3-0 lead.
Morgan, a sophomore catcher, paced Huntley with two hits and managed to settle down Bower when the RedHawks scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
"(Briana) really wanted to win that game, and I felt she was trying to put a little bit extra on the ball and I feel she definitely did," Morgan said. "Every pitch was working great."
Zedak, who had one hit in four at-bats, gave credit to the Red Raiders to ending Marist's winning streak and dreams of a state title. She struck out seven in six innings.
"We were hitting the ball and that was the best we've been hitting the whole playoffs," Zedak said.