Stay Connected with YourSeason
McGuire powers Benet to crown
Updated: May 30, 2011 9:13PM
Prior to Saturday’s regional championship game, Benet softball coach Jerry Schilf made a short but powerful speech that was especially directed to the four seniors who were four-year starters.
The longtime Benet coach stated that no matter what happens, it would be the last game that the Redwings would play on their home field. Why not make it a win?
Benet responded accordingly and the No. 5-seeded Redwings defeated No. 4-seed Plainfield Central 7-2 in the Benet Class 4A Regional final.
With the wind blowing out, the balls were flying out of the park as the teams combined for four home runs during the game.
However, the one that did the most damage came off of the bat of Nora McGuire. McGuire’s three-run blast over the left-center-field fence capped a four-run fifth inning and gave the Redwings (27-10) the lead for good.
“At first I thought she was going to catch it because it hung in the air a while but when I saw it go over I was really pumped,” McGuire said. “It felt good to give my team runs when we needed them the most.”
Benet’s fifth-inning rally started when the first two runners got on base making it second and third with no outs. Redwings pitcher Allyson Staats hit a soft grounder that dropped for an infield single, however, the Benet runners froze because they were not sure if the ball was going to be caught. Kendall Duffy, who was originally on second base was caught in a rundown between second and third.
Maeve McGuire saw that defenders weren’t paying attention to her on third so she darted toward the plate. Instead of making the sure play in tagging Duffy, the Wildcats shortstop threw a ball that was high, allowing McGuire to score and Duffy and Staats advanced a base.
“I was just trying to hit the ball to the right side to score a run. When I popped it up I was like, ‘Oh no’ but it fell and I got the job done,” Staats said.
Then, McGuire stepped in against a rattled pitcher and smacked her third home run of the season on a 1-1 pitch. The home run chased Wildcats starting pitcher Corey Shanan from the game after giving up five runs on eight hits with a walk.
Staats (25-9) went the distance for Benet, giving up two runs on five hits with two strikeouts. Both of her runs allowed were solo blasts. In the last four innings of the game, the senior only surrendered two hits.
Benet (26-10) also got a home run from Julianne Rurka to open the scoring in the second inning.
“We really got out and hit today, but the key was our defense,” Schilf said. “We had an error on a tough ball in the air but overall we were making plays.”
Benet faces Naperville North on Wednesday in the Oswego East Sectional semifinals.
© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.
Cell Phone Alerts
Comments Click here to view or make a comment