Softball: OPRF puts an end to Elk Grove's playoff run

Elk Grove ended its regular season and its postseason at the Ballpark at Rosemont.

In between, what a magical ride the Grenadiers enjoyed the past three weeks.

The final Mid-Suburban League team playing in the Class 4A IHSA state tournament will finally turn in its uniforms after a 15-2 five-inning loss to Oak Park River Forest in the Leyden supersectional.

Oak Park won for the 35th time in 37 games while Elk Grove (No. 5 seed) finished 28-7 after defeating the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 seeded teams in the Schaumburg sectional.

It took a pitcher who posted her 20th win without a loss to end the Grens' terrific run, which ended just one game shy of the Final Four in East Peoria.

And it took one big inning by the Huskies to basically decide the outcome.

Trailing 2-1, the west suburban powerhouse scored 12 runs on 7 hits, 3 errors, 2 walks and a hit batter in the top of the third inning to secure a 13-2 lead.

It wasn't the first time that happened for the Huskies.

"We were in a 4-3 game with St. Charles North here last year in this game and then scored like 9 runs in one inning," said Huskies hall of fame coach Mel Kolbusz, a 24-year veteran. "Maybe this is our big-inning park."

It is a park which can be challenging at times with its artificial carpet.

In fact, a funny hop helped trigger the Huskies' big inning.

"There was a ball that kind of took an artificial turf spin in the infield (for an infield hit by Ellie Ziegler) and all of a sudden instead of one out, they have runners on first and third with no outs," said EG coach Ken Grams, also a hall of famer with 883 career wins (second most in IHSA history).

"It can be a tough place to play because you're not used to it, and we got a run that way, too."

After Ziegler's hit, eight more Huskies reached before the first out was made.

"It just snowballed," Grams said. "We had been making all the plays and that's why we've been winning all these games."

Senior Emily Richardson won the game with a 5-hitter and 4 strikeouts.

"I thought Elk Grove did a great job keeping up with us, but things can happen in the field that you don't expect," said Richardson, who will play next season for former Buffalo Grove standout Kate Stake, the head coach at Valparaiso.

Richardson had a 2-run double to center field in the 12-run inning which brought home 2 runs.

Leadoff batter Samantha Linde (2-for-2, 2 walks) had the other big blast, a 3-run triple also to center with no outs.

"The nice thing is that there is no part of our batting order that we depend on," said Richardson, who is 36-1 in two years, with the only loss coming against York in her junior year. "It's one through nine. If the top four can't get it done, I know the rest of the lineup will."

Elk Grove's top four got the job done for the game's first run in the bottom of the first.

No. 3 hitter Sarah Pauscher beat out an infielder grounder for a hit. She used a delayed steal to reach second base before Grens cleanup hitter and junior pitcher Kylie Thomsen (18-5) tripled to center for the 1-0 lead with two outs.

Oak Park tied the game in the top of the second on an infield error but EG got the run back in the bottom of the second inning.

Senior Carly Crothers led off with a single to right, went to second on Keeley Cronin's sacrifice bunt and eventually scored with two outs on Haley Itzenthaler's RBI.

But the Huskies proceeded to put the game out of reach by sending 17 batters to the plate in the third.

"In general, we're a really good hitting team," Kolbusz said. "We have not been shutout all season. We won 3-1 over Trinity (in the sectional championship). We struggled a little that game so I knew we were due to break out."

The Grens broke the hearts of several teams in their run to the Elite Eight.

"As the season went on, these kids started to believe in themselves," Grams said. "You could really see it. It's like they said, 'Come and get us.' And that wasn't me bringing it out of them. It was their rah-rah attitude. I could not be more proud of how they responded."

Grens junior Sabra Morton, who came in to pitch, had a key bunt hit in the inning the Grens took their 2-1 lead.

Classmate Jessica Kearns also had a hit for EG, which won its previous game at the Ballpark at Rosemont 4-1 over Richards on May 21.

"It's a tough field, and a funny game," said Kolbusz, whose team edged New Trier at the Rosemont stadium back in April.

"Elk Grove is a really good team. Ken does a great job. I've known him for a long time."

The Grens will remember this season for a long time.

"Honestly, no one expected us to go this far," Thomsen said. "I'm so proud of my team to accomplish this, and I can't thank my teammates enough.

"We were one game from state, and I can't wait for what next season holds."

Her senior catcher Alex Masnica, the school's Female Athlete of the Year, plans on keeping track, too, even while playing at Shaw University.

"I really want to say thank you to all my teammates for making this happen," she said. "It was the best season in my four years. My senior year and just one game from state is a pretty big accomplishment.

"I'm so proud of how we played and I'll make sure to come back and see them next year."

The fans sure came out to see them on Monday.

"We have wonderful support from our staff," said Bob Murphy, Elk Grove's assistant principal for student activities. "Everyone really rallies around our teams. We're very proud of Elk Grove nation.

"This season provided the girls great memories. It was a wonderful group which really had great chemistry and got hot at the right time. It's a great group of kids and we are going to miss them."