Burlington Central to play for sectional championship
ROCHELLE - The field that left Burlington Central's softball team with such sour memories a year ago turned into a venue of jubilation for the Rockets Wednesday afternoon.
Freshman Haley Albamonte drove in a run and senior Jessica Herrmann followed with a 2-run double in the third inning as the Rockets went on to down Sycamore 4-0 in one semifinal of the Class 3A Rochelle sectional.
The Rockets (23-5) will play for a sectional title for the first time since now-assistant coach Wade Maisto guided the program to its second state final tournament appearance in Class A in 1993. The opponent at 11 a.m. Saturday will be the winner of today's game between 12-17 Rosary and 18-16 Sterling.
"This has been the crutch in our side for the last six years," said Central coach Scot Sutherland, whose team had lost six straight sectional semifinals prior to Wednesday. "Now we've gotten past this so it's on to bigger and better things."
The Rockets won Wednesday's game despite not playing their A game in any facet. Senior standout Mackenzie Scott (18-2) allowed just 4 hits and had 14 strikeouts but she also walked five and did not have a 1-2-3 inning. The Rockets themselves managed just 4 hits, and their top four hitters were 1-for-11. But, Sycamore (24-13) only got one runner as far as third base and left 11 on, and the bottom of BC's order came through when needed.
"It was ugly but we found a way to get it done," Sutherland said. "I've talked to the bottom of the order the last couple of days about them coming through for us and they got it done today.
"Mac didn't have her A game today but she pitched well enough to keep us in it. I keep saying, at this time of year you take the wins any way you can get them."
Scott, who lowered her ERA to 0.19, agreed she didn't have her best stuff Wednesday, but she also knew her team was there for her.
"I know our offense will pick us up and I just trust my teammates," she said. "It's great to know the team is there to back me up."
The Rockets, who lost to Freeport 1-0 in last year's sectional semis at Rochelle, broke the ice in the bottom of the second off Sycamore's Rhianna Fleetwood, using two Sycamore errors to set the table. First, the Spartans couldn't handle an infield roller from senior Lindsay Lange, then they dropped Ashley Scheffler's popped up bunt to put runners at first and second. Scott sacrificed the runners to second and third just before Albamonte delivered a single through the hole between third and short to score Lange and put BC up 1-0.
Herrmann, the No. 8 hitter, then stepped up and ripped a 1-2 pitch to the fence in left-center field for a double that score Scheffler and Albamonte to make it a 3-0 game.
"(Sutherland) told me that today I have to produce and when I stepped up to the plate I wanted it. I wanted it real bad," said Herrmann, who drove in her 14th and 15th runs of the season. "I knew I had to get a hit and I just executed."
Central added a run in the fourth off reliever Jamie Breitweiser, who had to come in the game after Fleetwood was hit with a pitch in the third and couldn't continue. Scheffler beat out an infield hit and alertly went all the way to third on Scott's second sacrifice bunt of the day. Albamonte walked and when she stole second, Sycamore made an error on the play at second, allowing Scheffler to scoot home.
Sycamore did not go quietly, putting runners in scoring position in each of the final three innings. But in the fifth and seventh, Scott got strikeouts to end the threats, and in the sixth senior first baseman Brittany Priest alertly snagged Jordyn Mecklenburg's line drive with two outs to end the inning.
"We'll have to play better (Saturday) if we want to accomplish what we've set out to do," Sutherland said. "We're happy to be in this position, but we will have to play better to succeed."