Sterling shuts down Kaneland
BELVIDERE — On the first pitch Kaneland leadoff hitter Delani Vest saw in the Class 3A Belvidere North sectional Wednesday, she laced an opposite-field double.
Two batters later Paige Kuefler drove a single into right field to score Vest, the 52nd RBI in her fabulous freshman season, and Kaneland had its first run of the game.
It looked like the Knights were on their way to another of their typical games filled with offensive fireworks and crooked numbers on the scoreboard.
Unfortunately for the Knights, that one run three batters into the game turned out to be the only one they managed. Sterling scored twice in the second inning to grab a 3-1 lead, then added on six runs in the final three innings for a 9-1 win.
The Golden Warriors (31-6) will play either Burlington Central or Marengo for the sectional title Saturday while Kaneland’s season ends at 31-7.
Sterling starter Stephanie Kester (25-6) only stuck out two batters but her defense played error-free ball behind her. Third baseman Paige Lobdell handled every slap and bunt that came her way.
“Kaneland puts a lot of pressure on you,” Golden Warriors coach Rick Henderson said. “I thought we stayed alert and alive.”
“I knew they were going to hit so I just relied on my defense,” Kester said. “I was just trying not to give them meat balls. I knew they were a good team so we just had to come here and hit the ball like we usually do.”
The Knights had their chances early with 5 hits in the first two innings but scored just the one run.
“Sterling played a great game,” Kaneland coach Brian Willis said. “(But) our bunts were terrible. Their third baseman made some nice plays but we bunted the ball too hard.
“I thought we left some chances out there. I thought we shot ourselves in the foot. Who knows what momentum would be different if we put a few on the board early.”
Vest took the loss allowing 11 hits and 2 walks while striking out two in pitching a complete game. Four of the runs she allowed were unearned including one in the first set up on a leadoff error. Mackenzie Staples fought through a 9-pitch at-bat fouling off three 3-2 pitches for a two-out RBI single.
After Kaneland tied the game at 1, Sterling’s No. 9 hitter Gabi Trujilo started a two-out rally in the second with an infield single. She stole second and scored on Karlie Mellott’s (3-for-5, 3 runs) double to give the Golden Warriors the lead for good.
Sterling put the game away with two runs in the fifth, another in the sixth and three unearned runs in the seventh.
Kaneland, meanwhile, managed just 1 hit in the final four innings, a runner that was erased when Sterling turned a swift 1-6-3 double play. The Knights sent just the minimum 12 hitters to the plate over the final four innings as Kester needed just 65 pitches for her complete game compared to Vest’s 135.
“The lack of taking advantage of the opportunities we had early in the game had an adverse affect on us,” Willis said. “I thought we got a little impatient and pressed a little. But again that is a quality team over there. We didn’t think anything was going to be easy.”
Afterward the Kaneland players met in the outfield, shared some tears, some laughs and traded a few stories before finally walking off the field for a final time as a team.
“I am really proud of all we accomplished,” said Vest, who went 20-4 in the final year of her four-year varsity career. “Last year we had a flip season, we had a losing season and this year we really picked it up and saw the potential every girl had and we turned it around. I’m just really proud of all the girls and how much work and effort they have put into it.”
Vest, catcher McKinzie Mangers and second baseman Samantha Hansen are the only three starters the Northern Illinois Big 12 East champs will graduate.
“We’ll be back,” Willis said. “It’s hard for them to comprehend that now and it’s hard to go out this way. They are probably one of the best (Kaneland) teams if not the best team in a long time. They earned everything they got this year.”