Softball: Marengo's big inning sinks Kaneland
STERLING - Kaneland only had one bad inning in the Class 3A Sterling sectional championship game Thursday, but that one inning was all it took to end the Knights' season.
Marengo scored 5 times in the top of the fourth, the only inning it dented the scoreboard. That was all the Indians needed for a 5-1 victory as they chased starter Aly Jesionowski, capitalized on a 2-out error, and added 2 unearned runs against Emilee Erickson.
"Sometimes all it takes is one inning in the postseason to make it or break it," Marengo coach Dwaine Nance said.
"We gave them one inning and couldn't recover," Kaneland coach Mike Kuefler said.
Marengo (32-6), who won its sixth sectional championship in the last 11 years, advances to the Class 3A Kaneland supersectional Monday against the winner of St. Viator and Grayslake Central.
Kaneland (24-13-1) was hoping to return home to play the supersectional on its own field. Instead the Knights can take solace in what they accomplished with only two seniors - Jesionowski and four-year starting shortstop Morgan Weber.
"I'm really proud of how the young ladies came to play in the final games," Weber said. "I'm just really proud of everyone who contributed. They (the underclassmen) are good. I expect them to get a little further (next year) than we did."
Kaneland got off to a quick start, scoring in the bottom of the first against Marengo ace Mariah Dionne on back-to-back doubles by Donatela Sommesi and Lexi Abruzzo. Jesionowski reached on an infield single before Dionne got the third out, stranding two runners.
That was about it for the Knights, who only managed 2 hits over the final 6 innings.
"We came out strong. The bats just fell asleep," Kuefler said.
"Mariah does an exceptional job. She got us off-balance. We had a couple kids that got hung up on the rise. She places pitches very well."
Anna Walsweer started Marengo's 5-run fourth with a bloop single. She took second on a groundout and scored the tying run when Susie Nawrot singled to center. Lauren Aubry's RBI double gave Marengo a 2-1 lead and brought Erickson in to pitch.
The freshman quickly got the second out and would have been out of the inning with another grounder. But an infield error made it 3-1 and kept the inning alive for Marengo to deliver two more run-scoring hits for a 5-1 lead.
That was more than enough for Dionne, who pitched in her fourth sectional championship game. She struck out 6 and walked 2.
"The way they came out and swung the bats, I was a little worried," Nance said. "They did a nice job putting pressure on us.
"I thought Mariah really settled down and our defense played great. I think that experience paid off. Their lineup is really good."
With 2 outs in the seventh inning, Weber lined a double to left in the final at-bat before she heads to Lewis University. A key part of Kaneland's state team two years ago, Weber will leave big shoes to fill.
"Once a Knight, always a Knight," said Weber, also an All-Area basketball player. "It's going to be hard leaving the field but I know I'm going to leave the field proud of my team and start a new chapter at Lewis."
And Kuefler knows there's bright days ahead for the returning Knights.
"I'm not disappointed at all in what we accomplished this year," Kuefler said. "I'm super excited with what's coming with our program. Our girls are going to pick up with where those kids (Weber and Jesionowski) left off."