Softball: Arrambide pitches St. Charles East to state title game
EAST PEORIA - St. Charles East sophomore pitcher Katie Arrambide lost track of her performance on Friday afternoon.
But for Arrambide and the Saints, that's often a good thing.
After retiring the first 11 batters in a Class 4A state semifinal against Joliet West, Arrambide was shocked at her early results. She didn't realize that her no-hit streak had ended until after allowing a double to Joliet West's Morgan Gersch.
"I'm very bad at remembering the entire game, so I felt like they haven't hit a lot of hits," Arrambide said. "I didn't think any further, but when (Gersch) got the hit, I go (to myself), 'Oh, I think that's the first hit.' I was just focused one pitch at a time."
Arrambide continued her playoff dominance, tossing a complete game five-hitter to lead the Saints to a 3-2 victory at the EastSide Centre.
The Saints (26-10) advanced to their second state championship game in program history. They will play Huntley on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The teams met on April 13 at the Marengo tournament with Huntley winning 9-0.
In 2013, the Saints suffered a 14-3 defeat to Minooka in the state title game.
Arrambide has pitched every inning in the Saints' six playoff games, according to St. Charles East coach Jarod Gutesha. Her outing against the Tigers (23-14) was one of her best. Joliet West was averaging 6 runs per game in the playoffs, but managed just 2 hits in the first six innings.
On a sweltering afternoon, Arrambide, a right-hander, struck out nine batters and walked one to win a pitcher's duel with Joliet West's Savannah Fierke (18-7).
Arrambide (17-7) has allowed just 10 runs in the playoffs, while Fierke was the hard-luck loser after giving up 5 hits and fanning 10 in seven innings.
"Katie has been steady and been in the middle, and that's where you perform at your best," Gutesha said. "She's been composed throughout the playoffs."
After cruising through the first six innings, Arrambide ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh. She walked the first batter, then allowed a single before Madison Fraser and Ambria May belted back-to-back run-scoring singles to slice the deficit to 3-2.
But Arrambide avoided any more drama, pouncing off the mound to field Lanie Chizmark's bunt attempt and throwing a bullet to first base to end the game.
"I'm an outfielder, so defensively I'm used to quick-twitch plays," Arrambide said. "When I saw the bunt, I was thinking, 'This is mine, I'm going to get this and call the rest of the infield off and we're going to go to the state championship.' "
The Saints broke up the scoreless game in the sixth. Leadoff hitter Krista Sbarra opened the inning with a single and moved to second base on Maddie Stout's bloop single. Alex Wooten drilled a single to center, as Sbarra used her left hand to tag the plate, in a haze of dust, for a 1-0 lead.
"I knew that the ball was going to be right there (at the plate) so I had to use my hand to tag home plate or I would've been out," Sbarra said. "It was a big moment and sparked the team."
Two batters later, with Paige Ligocki at the plate, the Saints scored their second run on a passed ball and a throwing error. Wooten, a two-year varsity player, led the Saints with 2 hits.
"I just wanted to get that ball through and keep my top hand strong and get it into the green because I knew Krista had the speed to get home," Wooten said of her key hit. "I just kept telling myself to lay off the high (pitches) … This is like a dream come true. I've been working for this throughout high school."