Warren wins tense battle with Palatine

A celebratory hug between pitcher and catcher went awry, but it was the only blunder Warren's softball players made in the field.

Center fielder Alex Booker stretched to make a diving catch, left fielder Lexi Leneau raced down a flyball that would have dropped for a hit, third baseman Kaiti McKeon gobbled up every groundball hit her way by Palatine's slappers, and the Blue Devils won the Class 4A Libertyville regional thanks to a 2-0 win Friday.

"Phenomenal," winning pitcher Kayla Hurd said of her defense. "They saved me a lot today. I'm just so proud of them. The whole season, they've worked so hard."

After Hurd fanned the final hitter of the game for her 10th strikeout, she leapt into the arms of catcher Nikki Ponticelli, only to knock over Ponticelli, while teammates joined in to celebrate Warren's first regional title since 1990.

"Someone cleated her (accidentally)," Hurd said of Ponticelli.

Maybe a free meal would help Ponticelli feel better. Blue Devils coach Carri McGahan surprised her players afterward by telling them that she was treating them to dinner.

"It doesn't happen too often," McGahan said of the regional championship, "so I figured I might as well."

While Warren (28-7) advanced to Wednesday's Buffalo Grove sectional semifinal against the winner of today's Fremd regional final between Fremd and Prospect, Palatine saw its season end at 22-14.

Both Hurd and Palatine starting pitcher Chrissy Roto allowed only 2 hits each.

"I thought the pitching was dead even," Pirates coach Jeff Manz said. "I don't think we were aggressive enough at the plate early in the count like I wanted us to be, but I thought both pitchers were great."

Neither team had a hit through two innings. Then with two out in the top of the third, Palatine lefty Alyx Ballenger lifted a shallow liner into left-center field. Booker laid out and caught the ball just before it hit the grass.

"I was playing the slappers in because, as a slapper myself, that's what I would try to do (hit the ball the opposite way)," Booker said. "I knew Lexi (Leneau) had my back. So there was no harm done if I missed it."

Booker's gem fired up her teammates.

"That was our momentum-changer right there," Hurd said. "I was sure that was a hit, but I had confidence in Booker and she got it. It was awesome."

Then with one out in the bottom of the third, Booker doubled to deep left-center. After Lindsay Horwitz lined out to right field, Sarah Clauser reached on an error, with Booker taking third.

When Clauser stole second, the Pirates tried catching Booker napping off third, but the ball sailed into left field and Booker sped home for the game's first run.

"When you're that close in talent and that close in ability, it's whoever makes the first mistake," Manz said, "and we made the first mistake today."

Warren got an insurance run in the sixth when Abby Anderson hit a towering home run to left. It was her seventh of the season - the old team record was five in a season - and her third in three games against Palatine this season.

Hurd walked freshman Lauren Logan leading off the Palatine seventh but retired the next three hitters, stranding Logan at third.

Logan's fourth-inning base hit and Katie Mnichowicz's sixth-inning infield single were the only hits off Hurd.

"Our offense has been our strong point all year, and she did a nice job of keeping us off-balance," Manz said of Hurd.

For Warren, it was another win in a historic season. The Blue Devils recently broke the school record for wins.

"This particular group set a goal at the beginning of the season to win a regional championship," McGahan said. "I think each time that we practiced and each time that we played, we were working toward that."