Richards jumps on Ignatius early

Updated: June 1, 2011 8:53PM

Richards saw how St. Ignatius held Marist down in the regional finals and knew that getting off to a good start Wednesday would be crucial to winning.

The top-ranked Bulldogs did just that and took all the drama out of the Class 4A Morton Sectional semifinal early with a 12-3 victory over the Wolfpack.

Richards advanced to its first sectional final since 1998 and will face either Mother McAuley and Trinity on Saturday. St. Ignatius closed at 19-13-1.

“We know that in the playoffs anything can happen,’’ Richards coach Julie Folliard said. “Our game plan was to jump out to an early lead, and it worked out.’’

The Bulldogs (31-2) put three runs up in the first by using aggressive baserunning. Breanna Kaminski hit a rope to left that brought in Kailie Tobin from third. Kristina Apato was held up at third and Brianna LeBeau at second. On an errant throw home, both Apato and LeBeau came around to score, putting Richards up 3-0.

“It was no shocker that Richards hit the ball,’’ St. Ignatius coach Megan Readler said. “We expected that, but we were disappointed in our defense.’’

Richards put the game out of reach in the second by scoring five runs. The Bulldogs pounded out six hits in the inning, and the heroes were many. LeBeau and Hannah Jenkins both had two-run doubles, while Tobin, Apato, Nicole Ellement, Kristin Renken and LeBeau came around to score.

Meanwhile, LeBeau was cruising through the Wolfpack order. The junior ran into a small bump in the road in the third when she gave up an RBI fielder’s choice to Amanda Pasani. LeBeau allowed two more runs to cross the plate on wild pitches, but then regained her groove.

“I think we lost focus and laid back a little bit,’’ LeBeau said. “We pulled it together after that.’’

Jenkins helped LeBeau stay on course. The junior shortstop was machine-like in the field with seven assists. She also was 2-for-4 at the plate, including a bullet-like line shot for an out.

“Hannah has grown by leaps and bounds,’’ Folliard said. “She is a top-notch shortstop and ranks with the best around. Her and Kristina (Apato) are a great middle infield.’’

LeBeau allowed only two hits and struck out four while also going 2-for-3 from the third spot in the order. Apato and Tobin both had three-hit games.

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