Softball: Lemont Advances to Championship After Win Over Illiana Christian

With rain halting play for two days, Illiana Christian and Lemont faced off for the regional semi-finals Friday at Tinley Park.

Due to a scheduling conflict with their prom night, Illiana Christian started mostly junior varsity. After the melee, Lemont seniors were forced to rush back to their homes because of graduation taking place.

Lemont flexed their muscles offensively, after it was said and done, marching to a 16-1 victory in five innings for a Regional Championship berth.

Lemont senior starting pitcher Becka Anderson went the distance, tossing five innings, allowing one run on three hits and striking out five.

“Becka is pitching great,” Lemont sophomore Carly Jaworski said. “(Her) speed is great and she knows how to get all the outs. It takes a lot of pressure off of us at the plate."

After Lemont senior Erin Keefe’s two-run homer in the first inning, Lemont opened the door with a seven-run second inning. Five Lemont players posted multi-hit games.

Lemont sophomore Erica Nagel went 3-for-4 with three runs, while senior Courtney Johnson displayed a 3-for-4 day with three runs, two RBIs and a double. Keefe registered a 3-for-4 day with a three runs, two RBIs and a homer, as junior Alexis Valone also connected on a two-run homer and added just as many RBIs, going 1-for-2.

Jaworski recorded a 3-for-4 day with a homer and two RBIs.

“We start like our record is 0-0,” Jaworski said of entering the regional championship. “We play every game like it’s our last. When we put our skills together, and play our game, we can go pretty far.”

Lemont went on to score four runs in the third innings and three runs in the fourth, to take a commanding 16-0 lead heading into the top of the fifth.

Illiana Christian did all they could to climb back, but an RBI single from Jessica Bombino is all they could muster up. Illiana Christian will lose three senior players to graduation soon, but coach Dale Fieldhouse is optimistic about his underclassmen.

“The girls had the right attitude coming in,” Fieldhouse said of the loss. “We had four varsity players today. We knew we were playing one of the top teams in Illinois, so we just played to enjoy ourselves. We have a strong group of sophomores coming up. I think next year we’ll be better.”

Lemont advances to play in the championship against regional’s host Tinley Park on Saturday. In Tinley Park’s regional semi-final, they won 18-0 against Washington.

Lemont and Tinley Park have met twice this season, splitting the two games with one win a piece. Tinley Park won game one 1-0 off an unearned run at their homefield. Lemont took the second game 6-3.

“We haven’t played for almost a week and we played solid (last Saturday),” Lemont coach Christine Traina said. “I’m happy about the win because this boosted the girls' confidence levels. Hopefully we can carry this and hitting and the momentum into (this Saturday)."