Softball: Warren rolls by Prospect, will face Barrington for sectional title
Warren softball coach Jenna Charbonneau says there have been times when her young Blue Devils have made mistakes on the base paths and defense.
"But when we put it together, good things happen," the veteran coach says.
The timing was good for those good things to happen on a muggy late Tuesday afternoon in Gurnee.
Playing on their home field in a Class 4A sectional semifinal, the No. 2 seeded Blue Devils got a stellar performance from sophomore Sydney Jackson on the mound and in the batters box as they topped No. 3 Prospect 12-2 in six innings.
The right-handed hurler (13-2) threw a 4-hitter with 7 strikeouts and went 4-for-4 with 3 RBI at the plate, missing the cycle by a home run.
The win advanced Warren (19-5) to Thursday's 4:30 p.m. sectional title game at Barrington (32-1).
No. 9 hitter Bianca Gallegos (2-for-4 with two sharp lineouts to center fielder Emma Muehlenbeck) laced a singled to center to drive home Sophie Furniss and Brooke Mangler for the final 2 runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning.
"That felt good to be able to get a walk-off hit and give us a chance to play Barrington," said Gallegos, a senior center fielder. "That's a great confidence booster because I was kind of in a slump. That brought my confidence up and I'm really excited for our next game."
The Blue Devils took a 2-0 lead after one inning as sophomore Hailey Conger (2-for-4, triple, RBI) led off with a single to right, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Kaitlyn Weidemann's single to center. Weidemann (2-for-4, walk, RBI) then came home on freshman Hannah Conger's groundout to shortstop Erin Pinter.
Ally Badgley (RBI double), Furniss, Mangler (1-for 2, 2 walks, 2 RBI) and Emily Craig also had hits for the winners.
"We kept chipping away every inning," Charbonneau said. "That was the difference maker. We haven't really been doing that a lot, We've kind of scored a lot and then ease up. But this game we kept on. And they're a great team (Mid-Suburban East champion). I thought they put out a great squad. Hats off to them. When we put it all together, we are going to have a great game and that's what we did.
Jackson had a 2-run double to right-center and an RBI triple down the right-field line in the bottom of the fourth which gave herself a 7-1 lead.
"When I can help myself on the hitting side, that's an amazing feeling," Jackson said. "I felt good today and I was ready. I was confident and did what I needed to do."
"Sydney was really great on the mound," Charbonneau said. "She was hitting her spots. We kind of changed our game plan halfway through. We told the kids they had to make some adjustments and that's what Sydney and everyone else did,"
Junior Kathryn Keehn doubled in her first 2 at-bats and scored Prospect's first run in the second inning on Erin Pinter's sacrifice fly to right.
Pinter (2-for-3 2 RBI) then drove home Prospect's other run in the fifth when she singled to center to score Carley Jagiello, who led off the inning with a walk.
Prospect pitcher Riley Depa was robbed by left fielder Cynthia Mobile with a diving catch near the foul line and right fielder Furniss took away a hit from Amanda Pinter with a diving catch. Alexandra Garnmeister was 1-for-1 with 2 walks.
"It definitely wasn't our best defensive game of the season," said Prospect coach Krystina Mackowiak. "So it was bad timing for that. We had some baserunners but we just couldn't produce that breakout inning that we typically have had. So that hurt us today
"But we have a lot to be proud of, especially for as young as we are. Obviously we didn't want our season to end but we are looking forward to next year. Our seniors were part of a lot of great moments this season and for four years so we are going to miss them."