Softball: Geneva upsets No. 1 seed Yorkville

Most times in postseason play it's good to avoid the No. 1 seeds.

Geneva can't wait to play another.

The Vikings improved to 4-0 this year against No. 1 sectional seeds on Tuesday when they upset Yorkville, 2-1, in the Class 4A Geneva regional semifinals.

Geneva, the 14th seed, has also beat the top seed in the Glenbard West sectional, St. Charles East (twice), and Palatine, the No. 1 seed in the Palatine sectional.

"The truth is I was a little disappointed we fell to 14," Geneva coach Greg Dierks said. "Clearly the team that deserved better than that was Yorkville. All the other No. 1 seeds are winning on slaughter rule today because they are playing teams that have no chance to beat them. Yorkville had a tremendous season and are very well coached and they deserve an easy first round. They deserve better."

Geneva (15-11) will play the winner of Wednesday's matchup between West Aurora and Naperville Central for the regional title Saturday. The Vikings lost to both earlier this season.

"The girls really played well today," Dierks said. "In these big games they are confident, they look sharp, they are capable of winning big games."

Yorkville (26-7) scored its only run against winning pitcher Shelly Deisz in the first inning.

Deisz, a sophomore, only struck out one in her 7 innings but kept the Foxes off the board after the first allowing 5 hits with no walks. Carissa Bombardiere made a pair of key catches in center field.

Deisz improved to 8-9.

"She really kept them tied up pretty well," Dierks said. "Shelly was really sharp. She has certainly been at her best against the toughest competition. And we needed it. She gets in a nice groove and keeps people off-balance."

Yorkville ace Lauren Howard eased through Geneva's lineup the first time through before the Vikings broke through in the fourth.

Emily Viebrock doubled and scored the tying run on Alyssa Kramer's double. Madison Femia, who delivered the game-winning hit in a 1-0 win over St. Charles East, came through again with a well-placed RBI single for a 2-1 lead.

"She's had a great year for us," Dierks said. "She's a competitor and has as much desire to play well and help her teammates. She's an amazingly great teammate so it's really fun to see her contribute like this."

Deisz made the lead stand up as she pitched around singles in the sixth and seventh to complete the win.