Softball: Montini earns trip downstate
Chalk up another downstate qualifier for Montini.
Beating Nazareth 8-2 on Monday at the Class 3A Rosemont Stadium supersectional, the Broncos softball team will make its first downstate appearance in history at 10 a.m. Friday in East Peoria. The Broncos face the winner of Tuesday's Hampshire supersectional between Carmel and Sterling.
Joining usual suspects football and wrestling this academic year, softball will be Montini's 11th sport to taste Illinois High School Association finals competition.
"It's very exciting," said Broncos pitcher Bri Clifton. The sophomore right-hander allowed 6 hits and struck out three batters in the complete-game victory, throwing 72 of 106 pitches for strikes as she improved to 20-1 on the season.
"We made Montini history and our school is full of state teams," she said, "so we wanted to be that one to go down and have everyone come to support us. So it feels amazing."
Coach Mike Bukovsky knows the feeling as defensive coordinator of a football program that's won six titles and former coach of a wrestling program that's won 13. It never gets old.
"It meant so much to them to be the first to do this," he said. "I can't say enough about them. They're great kids and it's just been a joy."
It had been for Nazareth, too, at 31-8 the Roadrunners' most successful season. But immediately Montini (35-3) put them on the defensive.
Leadoff hitter Bell Alexander bunted and reached on a fielding error. Amy Bukovsky, the coach's daughter, attempted a simple sacrifice bunt, but Nazareth's throw to first sailed down the right-field line, both runners scoring for a 2-0 Broncos lead.
Montini led 3-0 entering the bottom of the fourth despite only 1 hit - catcher Alyssa Sclafani's first-pitch single followed by Emily Lezcano's sacrifice bunt and Naomi Alonzo's bouncer to second that was muffed, scoring Sclafani.
"We wanted to be home team," said Nazareth first-year coach Emily Matthews. "The reason, we thought get 1, 2, 3 (outs) on them and keep them in our favor. Unfortunately we made mistakes and they capitalized on them that first inning."
Clifton's only real trouble came in the fourth when Nazareth's Mia Davis led off with a double, one of the Roadrunners' 3 hits in the inning to pull within 3-2.
Montini sent 10 batters to the plate in the seventh inning and scored 5 runs after two outs to crack the game open.
Clifton led off with a rocket that rattled around right field for a triple. Francesca Sikora reached on a fielder's choice. Roadrunners pitcher Cat Klostermann (16-6) retired the next two batters, and Matthews ordered an intentional walk to Nicole Cuchran to load the bases and create a force.
Instead, Sclafani smashed the first pitch to her for a 2-run single. Lezcano walked, and Alonzo cracked a 3-run double, the ball hitting high up the wall in right-center.
"I was really excited," Sclafani said. "After someone walks the previous girl it makes you feel kind of like, 'less than.' I don't know, you can't get down on yourself, you've got to focus."
The Broncos could soon focus on lovely East Peoria.
"I mean, it just gave us a big sense of relief that we could play a lot looser and we could just relax," Clifton said.