(Crystal Lake, IL) – Fifth-seeded Waubonsee Community College knocked off fourth-seeded McHenry County College in three games to advance to the semi-finals of the Region IV Division II District B Tournament. The Chiefs (20-19) scored twice in the top of the seventh to take game one 4-2. The Fighting Scots then held on for a 2-1 victory in the second game to force a winner-take-all game in the best-two-out-of-three quarterfinal series. Waubonsee's bats carried them to the decisive victory, scoring seven times in the first inning on the way to a 10-6 win.
The Chiefs are now set to play top-seeded Bryant & Stratton (WI) College (34-9) this coming Saturday, May 14, beginning at 11:00 a.m. at Read Park in Freeport, Illinois. Second-seeded Kankakee Community College (34-6) and third-seeded Highland Community College (32-16) will square off at 1:00 p.m. The winners of each semi-final contest will play later in the day at 5:00 p.m., while the losers will battle in an elimination contest starting at 3:00 p.m. The championship round is scheduled for Sunday, May 15. For more information on the tournament, go on-line to https://region4sports.com/tournament_central/2022-softball-d2.
In downing McHenry, the Chiefs were able to win twice on the Fighting Scots diamond after having lost to them twice during the regular season in Sugar Grove. Waubonsee also overcame the heat, having played only twice all Spring in Illinois with the temperature above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. After numerous cancellations all Spring due to rain and cold temperatures, the teams took the field under sunny skies and temperatures suddenly in the low 90's with a heat index in the upper 90's, an increase of nearly 50 degrees from their previous games played three days before.
In the opener McHenry scored twice in the bottom of the third before the Chiefs tied it with two runs in the top of the fifth inning. A sacrifice fly by Jori Peters allowed Ronnie Latka to score from third, and Breanna O'Malley-Molk followed with a line drive single to right field to knock in Hailey Ruhl and knot the score at two. Waubonsee then won the game in the top of the seventh after there were already two outs and no runners on base. Peters ripped a shot to right field that was misplayed and she scampered all the way to third base on the play. She scored a moment later on a passed ball to put Waubonsee in front 3-2. O'Malley-Molk then singled to the right side of the infield, stole second base and scored on Taylor Wyeth's single to center field to give the Chiefs an insurance run. After retiring the first two Scots' batters in the seventh, Taylor Warren surrendered a double to left to put the potential tying run at the plate. However, the Yorkville High School product retired the next batter for the final out to put Waubonsee up one game to none.
Game two was a pitcher's duel as both Waubonsee's Jesika Lowe and McHenry's Chloe Vermett kept the hitters in check for the most part. The Scots scored a run in the bottom of the first on a single and an error by the Chiefs. Waubonsee tied it with a run in the third as O'Malley-Molk delivered a clutch two-out single to right field to drive in Sarah Sandusky, who had walked and stole second base. The game remained tied at 1-all heading to the bottom of the sixth. McHenry loaded the bases with no outs, but the Chiefs escaped with a double-play and a ground out. The Scots were then able to push across a run in the bottom of the seventh on two singles and a two-out error to even things at a game apiece.
Waubonsee's bats then broke out in a big way in the third contest of the day as they erupted for seven runs in the bottom half of the first inning. Lowe, Latka and Janeen O'Reilly all knocked in runs with base hits while the Chiefs also took advantage of two McHenry errors and a wild pitch. The Scots scored three in the third, two more in the fourth and one in the sixth to pull within 8-6. However, Waubonsee answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out, two-run home run to center field by O'Reilly to acquire some breathing room with three outs to go. Warren then set down the Scots in order in the seventh to send the Chiefs on to the tournament's semi-finals. Of the six runs Warren surrendered, only two were earned as she scattered seven hits, struck out six and walked only one to pick up her 10th win of the season. Kayla Tranter finished the game 3 for 4 with a run scored, while O'Reilly, Latka, Lowe and O'Malley-Molk each registered two hits. Waubonsee ended the game with 14 hits total, twice as many as McHenry, to help offset four fielding errors on defense.