Softball: Palatine, Barrington, Maine South among regional winners

No. 7 seed Palatine stunned No. 2 Hersey 12-2 to win its own Class 4A softball regional on Friday.

The Pirates advance to the Warren sectional to face No. 3 and host Blue Devils in Wednesday's semifinal.

"I think we just had the confidence we could win this ballgame," said Pirates coach Nicole Pauly Capablo after guiding the Pirates (16-14) to their ninth regional crown and first since 2019. . "Hersey is a great team. We needed to get solid defense, pitching and defense and we got all of those. We were confident as a whole team that we could do all those things together so it's great that could happened.

"We are excited for next week. I think as the underdog we are very dangerous. As long as those three things are happening, we could beat anyone."

It happened with 18 hits in offense, including 3 apiece from Lauren Detloff, Angie Delgado, Nicole Marceau, Grace Adame and Lindsay Plourde.

Paige LaSalle earned the win, throwing a 7-hitter with 4 strikeouts.

"The energy I get from my teammates fueled me," LaSalle said. "It all comes from them and I couldn't do it without them. I'm looking forward to spending more time with my team. I'm so glad it's not over."

Jolie DeValk produced some top defensive play in right field.

"I credit my teammates," she said. "I felt good out there and they (Hersey) kept hitting the ball at me. I wanted to leave it all out there. This feels very good, I'm finishing better than I started and see tremendous improvement in myself and that feels very good."

Marceau led the team with 3 RBI while going 3-for-4 with a home run and double.

"I felt really confident and everyone on our team had each other's back," Marceau said. "We had nothing to lose and I think we played that way. This is pretty special because I've been playing with some of these girls my whole life and to finally get a regional like this is pretty nice."

Hersey (16-7) was led by Liv Christopher (2-for-4) and Kate Adamski (2-for-3, double).

Barrington 11, Grant 1 (6 innings):

No. 1 Barrington (32-5) won its own regional as Allie Goodwin (3-for-4, home run, double, 5 RBI), Mimi Cline (3-for-4, 2 runs), Lexi Thomas (2-for-3, home run, 2 runs, 3 RBI) and Reese Cullen (2-for-4, home run, 2 RBI) led the offense.

Goodwin fired a 4-hitter with 1 earned run, 8 strikeouts and no walks against the No, 4-seeded Bulldogs.

The Fillies won their 21st consecutive regional title under coach Perry Peterson.

Maine South 13, Whitney Young 1 (5 inn.):

No. 4 Maine South won its fifth straight regional crown under coach Emmy Pasier and 15th overall as Jessica Hofmann threw a 2-hitter with 8 strikeouts against the No. 5 Dolphins.

"Ryan (Mullarkey) called and caught a beautiful game," Pasier said. "She started the game with a single and the rest of the team followed her lead."

Charlotte Bauman (3-for-3, 2 doubles, 3 RBI), Ava Amielio (home run, 3 RBI), Jessica Hoffman (2 RBI) and Hannah Hoffman (2 RBI) and Sammi Beregon (RBI) led the offense.

"I am so proud of the way these girls came to play today," Paiser said. "We have not played the amount of games as a lot of teams and maybe don't have the records they have, but these girls have a lot to play for with each other being the most important."

Warren 3, Prospect 2 (9 innings):

No. 3 Warren edged No, 6 Prospect in the Glenbrook North regional title.

Sydney Jackson earned the win for the Blue Devils, who won their 17th regional and tenth in a row. Jackson struck out 10 and walked two while also going 1-for-3.

Leading the offense were Camryn Vawter (2 solo home runs) and Gabi Olavarria, who belted a walk-off triple. "Our defense was strong with a lot of balls in play and making a lot of outstanding plays," said Warren coach Jenna Charbonneau.

Prospect's offense was led by Carley Jagiello (2 hits), Georgianna Crudele (2 hits), Erin Pinter (RBI) and Sara Hasan (RBI). Knights pitcher Riley Depa struck out nine.

"Riley pitched a great game," said Knights coach Krystina Mackowiak. "It was a tough game but we fought until the end. Unfortunately, we came up short."

Warren advanced to its own sectional and will face Palatine in the Wednesday semifinals. It was the 16th regional title for Warren and tenth in a row.

Antioch 15, Resurrection 0 (4 inn):

Top-seeded Antioch (30-1) won its own Class 3A regional over No. 8 Resurrection as winning pitcher Claire Schuler struck out 11 and the Sequoits collected 18 hits.

Antioch won its tenth straight regional crown and will face Vernon Hills on Tuesday in the Carmel sectional.

Wauconda 9, Cary Grove 5:

No. 3 Wauconda topped No. 5 Cary-Grove to win the Class 3A Cary Grove 3A regional title.

Lia Taglia (3-4, double, 2 RBI), Alyssa Vodicka (3-for-4, triple, 2 RBI) led the offense for the Bulldogs while Lesleigh Reimers earned the win with 11 strikeouts.

It's a great group of girls who work hard every day," said Wauconda coach Tim Orisek, who led the Bulldogs to their eight regional title and third straight. "We're proud of what we've accomplished so far."

Libertyville 12, Mundelein 7:

Libertyville freshman Taylor Higham got the victory as No. 5 and host Libertyville won its tenth regional and first since 2019.

Higham pitched 5 innings giving up 1 earned runs. Senior Finnley Olsen pitched the final two innings for the save.

No. 4 Mundelein jumped out to a 1-0 lead on sophomore Claire Connelly's home runs but the Wildcats HR battled back with runs in the third, led by CF Sam Whisenand who hit a 2 run homer, her eighth of the year.

Mundelein came with 3 runs in the fourth to make it 6-4 before Makayla Boone hit a solo HR, her ninth of year, to extend the lead to 7-4.

Mundelein got to within 7-6 before a grand slam by Libertyville's Adriana Callahan (15th homer) made it 11-7. Zoe Kinsella's solo home run (11th of the season) made it 12-6.

It was a great game by both teams," said Libertyville coach Sean Ferrell. "A ton of fun and excitement."

Vernon Hills 5, St. Viator 3:

No. 4 seed and host Vernon Hills won its eight regional crown and first since 2018 as Cate Pangilinan (2 hits), Katie Polisson (2 hits), Amanda Teschky (double), Emma O'Flaherty (1 hit, 2 walks) led the offense which also received hits from Morgan Hart, Katie Cir and Samone Stevens.

Pitcher Samone Stevens threw a 7-hitter with no walks and 2 strikeouts.

Vernon Hills will face Antioch in the Carmel sectional semifinal on Tuesday.

"Our team was ready to face St. Viator," said Cougars coach Jan Pauly. "We prepared all week and it paid off with an outstanding defensive performance by the entire team. Defense wins games and that was very true tonight. We shut them down offensively and on the bases.

"We showed great poise at the plate and were patient and hit our pitch. We executed our offensive strategy and surprised them with our attack. Hard work and a team first attitude pays off."

Jillian Bollard had 2 hits, including a 2-run homer for Viator while Suzanne Kopp also had 2 hits including a doubles. Hannah Gorrsssman hit her seventh homer for Viator in the second inning.

"We hit the ball hard," said Lions coach John Scotillo. "But Vernon Hills played great defense. Each of their outfielders made very difficult catches including their center fielder taking away a home run."