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Softball: Defensive prowess carries Hersey past Mundelein

There were some nervous moments for the Hersey softball team and its in the Class 4A Mundelein regional championship game.

But as was the case for the entire game, the Huskies' defense came through when the chips were down to secure an exciting 4-3 victory over the host Mustangs on Saturday and advance to the Buffalo Grove sectional semifinals Tuesday against top-seeded Libertyville.

No. 5 Hersey (19-14) jumped out to a 2-0 lead against Mundelein starter Breanna Adams when leadoff hitter Makayla Tsigalis got the Huskies' going with a double to left field.

Junior Katie Wingerter's one-out RBI single down the left-field line made the score 1-0 before senior teammate Kim Labahn's two-out RBI single to center field staked Hersey to a 2-0 lead.

Thirteenth-seeded Mundelein (13-23) could not contain the Huskies' offense early on as catcher Jackie Bednar led off the bottom of the second with a bloop single before courtesy runner Maddie Flynn moved to second base on a wild pitch.

An RBI single to center field by No. 9-hitter Sofia Cano made the score 3-0, before teammate Hannah Graff reached base on a two-out single to left field.

Then Wingerter drove in Cano with an RBI single to center field, and the Huskies led 4-0 after two innings. Adams was replaced by reliever Nicole Parney after 1⅔ innings.

Winning pitcher Sarah Bailitz wound up throwing a 6-hitter. She benefited from an inning-ending 6-3 double play to end the second inning and a 4-3 double play in the fourth inning. Despite 3 walks in the top of the fifth, Bailitz got out of a bases-loaded jam with no runs scored.

Still trailing 4-0, the Mustangs got on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth. Karlee Busscher led off with a single to right, before Adams walked. Peyton Pribyl then drilled a one-out single off the center-field fence on a fly scoring Busscher. But Pribyl was thrown out at second base, and Adams advanced only to third base on the play. Allison Lambert flied out to end the inning with the score 4-1.

Parney was great in relief, as she allowed no runs on 1 hit in 4⅓ innings, setting up what proved to be an intense top of the seventh inning.

Parney led off with a walk, before Emma Mizalko's bloop single to right put runners on first and second.

A dropped-third strikeout by Amanda Diaz resulted in courtesy-runner Molly Podraza moving to third base before a popout by Jordyn West, and a walk by Busscher loaded the bases with two outs.

Adams came through with a 2-run single to right, scoring Podraza and pinch runner Danielle Lambert.

Then down 4-3 with two outs and runners on first and third, senior Victoria Avis hit a ball deep in the hole to Wingerter at shortstop. Wingerter backhanded the ball and fired across the diamond to first baseman Labahn, who made a great scoop on the short hop to end the game and set off a Hersey celebration.

"I thought our girls fought hard, and our defense was stellar all game," said Hersey coach Molly Freeman, whose team had 8 hits. "Championship games should be tough until the end. Katie (Wingerter) is a phenomenal defender, and that is what we expect from her."

Mundelein had upset No. 4 Deerfield 9-0 on Tuesday.

"That is the great thing about this group, there is no stop in their fight, and these seniors will never go unnoticed," said Mundelein coach Brett Wilhelm. "Our sectional is tough. We're a 13th seed and we play in a tough conference. But we believe we can battle and play teams tough, and in the postseason everybody starts 0-0."

It was a special win for the Huskies.

"Their backup pitcher came in and she did her job," said Freeman. "Mundelein played a great game and we're excited because we haven't won a regional championship in the nine years I've been here."

Wingerter was also relieved after helping her squad pull out this nail-biter.

"It is honestly the best feeling I've ever had playing high school softball," Wingerter said. "Defense wins championships and you have to have tough defense to win."

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