Softball: Derkowski, York stun Oak Park-River Forest

York freshman Lauren Derkowski sure seems to thrive under pressure.

The Dukes freshman delivered in the clutch on Saturday, hitting a go-ahead 3-run home run in the fourth inning and pitching a complete game. She led York (27-12) to a 6-1 victory over two-time defending Class 4A champion Oak Park-River Forest (26-6) in the Class 4A Niles West sectional title game in Skokie.

York advances to the Class 4A Rosemont supersectional and will face St. Charles North at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

"She takes command and thrives on that pressure," said York coach Elizabeth Munn. "She has improved tremendously since the beginning of the year and she is a true competitor."

Derkowski limited OPRF's potent offense, which scored 15 runs in its victory over Maine South in the sectional semifinal, to 1 run on 2 hits. The Dukes freshman had 13 strikeouts and allowed 6 walks.

"I'm very excited," Derkowski said after York advanced to its first supersectional since 2013, when it took fourth in Class 4A. "It was big for our team to get ahead and put some runs up there, especially against this team. Obviously a lot of stress lifted off me."

Derkowski cruised early, recording eight of the first 10 outs on strikeouts, including the first batter in the fourth inning. But back-to-back singles by Huskies senior Olivia Glass and freshman Maddie Grant and a walk to junior Carli Tucci loaded the bases with two outs.

Derkowski threw a wild pitch to score Glass, and a big inning seemed to be brewing for OPRF. Four pitches later Derkowski threw another wild pitch, but senior catcher Madison Collins corralled the errant pitch and tossed it back to Derkowski to nail Grant at the plate for the third out, ending the Huskies' threat.

"It was a little bit of an, 'Oh boy' moment," said Collins, who was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. "(Derkowski) did a great job of covering the plate."

York answered in the bottom of the fourth with singles from senior Kyra Kroll and senior Andrea Meagher. Derkowski came to the plate with two on and two out and promptly blasted the second offering from OPRF junior pitcher Taylor Divello over the left-field fence for a 3-1 advantage.

"Right when the ball went off the bat I knew it was going out," said Kroll, who also added a run-scoring double in the fifth inning. "It was really exciting because it set a new tone for us and shifted the energy from them back to us."

The Dukes added to their advantage in the fifth with Kroll's double, senior Izzy Smith sacrifice bunt and Meagher's run-scoring single, pushing the lead to 6-1.

And Derkowski finished off the Huskies by allowing only one baserunner in the final three innings.

"This is the team we wanted to face," said Kroll, a four-year varsity starter, of her team's West Suburban Silver rival. "It's very exciting. We've taken it one game at a time, not focusing ahead, and it has worked for us so far."