DeMarco's blast lifts Knights to title

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From the edge of the dugout, Lincoln-Way Central's Desi DeMarco peered through the bars of her batting helmet Saturday morning and steamed as Marist intentionally walked cleanup hitter Courtney "Slam" Dunker.

Now on the edge of her seat, DeMarco stood in the on-deck circle and observed senior catcher Brittnie Boerema scorching a lined shot that Redhawks pitcher Alyssa Thompson knocked down for the second out in the bottom of the sixth inning -- the torch passed.

You. It has to be you.

"Well, before the inning started, coach said, 'You always want to be the person who gets put in that big-hit position,' " DeMarco recalled. "Once Dunker got on and Boerema got [out], I knew that I wanted to win. I was hoping, and any person wants to be in that position, so it was cool."

As cool as Desi Arnaz in an episode of "I Love Lucy," DeMarco positioned Lincoln-Way Central's softball team to make history. She launched a three-run homer to left-center, sending the long-ball Knights to a 4-1 victory in the championship game of the Class 4A Andrew Sectional.

A first-year varsity starter, DeMarco mauled her second homer of the spring to spark second-seeded Lincoln-Way Central (30-9) to a third straight 30-win season. More importantly, the Knights gained a series of firsts with a sectional title, a supersectional berth and an Elite Eight appearance, all in one.

That trip to Monday's 4 p.m. Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional against Moline, a 3-1 winner over Belleville West, appeared to be in doubt again when seventh-seeded Marist (27-11) marked a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth on back-to-back bunt singles. The Redhawks had seven hits, five on bunts and one on a slap.

Small ball, however, helped Lincoln-Way Central return the favor in the bottom half on senior DH Amanda Rafferty's RBI suicide squeeze. After University of Illinois-bound senior second baseman Gabe Gavoni blasted a one-out double to right-center in the sixth, DeMarco followed Rafferty's earlier aplomb with her long-range bomb.

Us. It has to be us.

"I had all the confidence in the world that our team would be able to do that," said Rafferty, who also walked in her two at-bats, both unofficial. "Being down a run doesn't stop us. We're going to keep on going until we score, and I'm so excited. It's so awesome."

"Actually, when it hit it, I didn't really know it until I was halfway to second base," said DeMarco, a junior center fielder. "I thought maybe it was a long fly ball at first, but when I looked over at third base and coach was jumping up and down, I knew it for a fact."

On DeMarco's drive, the fact of finality elevated Lincoln-Way Central coach Dick Mandella. Despite five regional titles in the past seven years -- this after previous regimes only produced regional crowns in 1979 and 1994 -- the stigma of regular-season success and postseason hiccups haunted the Knights.

While Marist managed to dent their armor with the 1-0 lead and seven hits and two walks against junior right-hander Jackie Dugan (17-7), the Knights rallied with Gavoni's double, Dunker's walk, DeMarco's homer -- Lincoln-Way Central's fifth in the past three games -- and a trio of Dugan's 9 strikeouts in the closing 2 innings.

We. It has to be we.

"We've been knocking on the door, and we know how hard it is to get out of this sectional," Mandella said. "I don't know if it's a monkey off the back, but it's like I told the girls, 'We never have anything to be ashamed of.' I'm just happy for the kids. We did this for all the kids in our program over the years who have worked just as hard and didn't advance."

"Definitely," nodded Gavoni, who's in her fourth varsity season. "I've been waiting for this ever since I was a freshman, and we've always been so close to winning it, so this feels great."

Feeling the grate of Marist's bunting barrage was Dugan. Catcher Katie Freeman, the Redhawks' leadoff hitter, finished 3-for-4, each a bunt. Inclusive was the RBI to the vacated shortstop spot with runners on second and third in the fifth. A rundown on Freeman's hit created the first out, with Dugan escaping with a mere 1-0 deficit.

"Seeing it from a pitcher's point of view, I know how to judge when they're going to come off the bat," Dugan said. "I was trying to throw a lot of riseballs so the balls would go up and then I would know what they were doing. It was hard to get through, but we had to beat it."

Unbeatable in the clutch, sophomore third baseman Gina Brown blooped a one-out single to center in the bottom of the fifth. Dugan responded with a double to left-center, a deep dagger that landed barely out of the grasp of a diving Erin Bradarich, bringing Rafferty to the plate.

"I think it's more nerve-racking for me being up to bat than pitching," said Dugan, who notched 64-of-108 pitches for strikes. "I'm used to going out on the mound and my concentration is there. It's definitely tougher in hitting or bunting situations."

"Coach told me he was going to give me the bunt sign and I've been confident in my bunts," Rafferty pointed out. "I just did what I was told to do. I was so nervous, so excited, and it was huge."

Huge as in the category of Hulk Hogan, Rafferty's sacrifice bunt on a 2-1 count brought in Brown for the 1-1 tie. Although senior shortstop Cassie Redman, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi recruit, almost added another RBI with a liner to left, the Knights were like AC/DC in being as back as their black uniforms.

"You look how we tied the game and it was awesome with the suicide squeeze," Mandella said. "We hung in there. Amanda was excellent on the bunt, and it was great to see Gavoni get that double because she has been struggling with the bat this last week. Dugan did a good job, and it was everybody. Everybody."

Nobody would be surprised that Gavoni, the Ryne Sandberg of the Knights' program, gave LWC the lift it needed in the sixth with her double. Dunker walked and junior pinch-runner Michelle Marklez, in for Dunker, scored when DeMarco's smash climbed the left-center fence with ease.

"Oh yeah, it was very important," Gavoni said of scoring immediately after Marist. "They were on a high, and we had to bring them down right away and build on it. My teammates were encouraging me, and I had my head down on the homer because we were running on anything. But I was like, 'All right, Dez.' "

Kudos, as well, to Knights hitting coach Bob Schaper. Lincoln-Way Central located the long-ball mojo with homers by Dunker and senior first baseman Rachel Larson in a 10-3 win over Joliet for the regional title and Dunker's pair in a 6-2 sectional semifinal win over Stagg. DeMarco's dandy tops a strong list.

Team. It has to be team.

"Desi was questionable in terms of playing the other day before we played Stagg because she had hurt her ankle," Mandella said. "Our trainer, Chris Hack, did a great job of rehabilitating her, and when you talk about a big-time play in a big-time game for your team ... wow."