Antioch uses 14-run first inning to blast Johnsburg

It took the Antioch softball team an extra three innings to dispose of Johnsburg last year in the regionals.

The Sequoits needed 10 innings to score the only run of the game.

Fast forward a year and Antioch didn't need nearly that much time to eliminate Johnsburg from the state tournament. In fact, the Sequoits needed even fewer than the standard seven innings.

Thanks to an explosive first-inning barrage that netted 14 runs, Antioch skated to an 18-6 victory over Johnsburg Tuesday afternoon at Lakes in a Class 3A regional semifinal game that was cut off after five innings once the 10-run slaughter rule went into effect.

On the day, the Sequoits racked up 22 hits.

"That's a machine over there," Johnsburg coach Wally Warner said, nodding over in the direction of the Antioch dugout. "They played great and we knew it would be tough.

"Look at them. They're big and they're strong. You just can't get anything by them. They've got four players or so who are going to play college softball. It's just a very good team."

The Sequoits, who move to 27-5 and into Saturday's regional championship game against the winner of today's other semifinal between Lakes and Grayslake North, have been one of the best teams in the area all season, and perhaps the best offensive team in the state.

They've slammed a state-record 43 home runs just this spring, including Allie Anttila's whopper against Johnsburg that sailed over the left field fence.

"I don't know how we do it," smiled Anttila, a Georgetown University signee whose 11th home run of the season puts her just one away from tying the school record for home runs in a season. "We just work really hard in practice, and we set goals.

"Today our goal was to start out right away and get as many runs as we could and we did that. It was like, 'Wow, we kind of just blew them out of the water a little bit.'"

It was more than a little bit.

The Sequoits batted around two full times and rolled up 13 hits in the first inning alone. Every single Antioch player had at least 1 hit, led by Jess Liszka, Olivia Duehr, Cat Dinklenburg and Jessica Ploss, each of whom had 2 hits.

Anttila's home run also came in the first inning.

"They're all pretty good," Antioch coach Jeff Tylka chuckled as he tried to explain why his players all hit the ball so well. "You know, we work on our hitting a lot, but they're obviously all such good players. They work hard, they don't like to accept mediocrity.

"Every time there's an off-season, they're like, 'Coach, can you open the weight room for us?' They want to get better. They always do."

Johnsburg, which finishes the season with a 12-21 record, got a little better as the game wore on.

Thanks in part to a two-run triple by Mary Kate Wright, the Skyhawks strung together a 5-run third inning that gave them some optimism. But the Sequoits kept adding to their cushion.

Samie Seamon, Liszka and Duehr each drove in runs over the final two innings to ensure that Antioch never lost the 10-run lead that is needed to enact the slaughter rule.

On the day, Seamon went 2-for-3 with a double, Liszka and Duehr went 3-for-3, Amber Mysilwiec went 3-for-4, Dinklenburg went 3-for-3 with a double and Ploss went 3-for-4 with 3 doubles.

"It was hard," said Johnsburg starting pitcher Mary Chamberlain, who faced 16 of Antioch's 18 batters in the first inning. She finished the season with a 10-14 pitching record. "All I could do was try something different to see if that would work."

Meanwhile, Duehr, Antioch's pitcher, was working just fine.

She went the distance and rolled up 8 strikeouts and just 2 walks.

"It's nice to come out and have the offense step up like that," Duehr said. "It's a big confidence booster.

"This season is something I'll never forget. It's been a good time."