Mighty Macs find a way to win vs. Reavis

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

The confidence of Mother McAuley¹s softball team is growing by leaps and bounds.

After Saturday's 2-0 win over host Reavis in a Class 4A sectional title game in Burbank, the Mighty Macs (22-13-1) are just one win away from the school¹s first-ever trip to state in softball.

Next up is a supersectional showdown against Loyola, a 1-0 winner over New Trier, at 4:30 p.m. Monday at Loyola University in Chicago.

"We lost 1-0 to Loyola earlier this season," McAuley pitcher Katie Sears said. "We¹re playing with a lot of confidence right now. We¹re finding ways to win."

Saturday's winning formula was simple: "small ball."

Small ball means bunting, which the Mighty Macs did almost to perfection during the key moments of the tense struggle.

With the game scoreless in the top of the sixth inning, McAuley put pressure on Reavis' defense. After a one-out single by Sears, April McMahon dropped down her second perfect bunt of the contest and was off to the races when the subsequent wild throw to first base sailed down the right-field line.

"We were just trying to make something good happen," said McMahon, who made it all the way to third as Sears crossed home plate.

Colleen Sullivan then tried a suicide squeeze bunt, but McMahon was nailed at home on a close play.

"Reavis has a good pitcher (Caitlyn Balandis), so we had to try something different to score some runs," said Sullivan, who plays with Balandis in the Oak Lawn Ice summer softball program.

Mother McAuley stayed with the same formula in the top of the seventh inning.

After a 10-pitch battle against Balandis, Andrea Falco finally delivered an infield single. A bunt by Mary Claire Conway resulted in a forceout of Falco at second base. But when Natalie Gannon executed her bunt, another wild heave by the Reavis defense rocketed to right field, allowing Conway to score the game's final run.

Reavis (27-9) gave it one last shot in its seventh frame, getting singles from Sandra Saunders and Kayla Mangiapane with one out. But a baserunning mistake eliminated Mangiapane, and Sears (four-hitter, six strikeouts) fanned Amanda Raschke to end the game.

"When I pitch, I try to look at every situation like the score is 0-0," Sears said. "We played great defense today and kept the pressure on them."

After the game, disappointed Reavis players went to the outfield to listen to words of encouragement from first-year coach Jim Meskill.

"McAuley made the big plays, and we didn't," he said. "But look at our season. We tied the school record for victories (27, set in 1983) and played for the sectional title. It was a great atmosphere. We¹ll learn from this situation. We're only losing two starters, so now it's up to us to build on this season."

Balandis, who allowed just three hits and will be a junior next school year, agreed.

"We love playing softball," she said, her focus now shifting to the Oak Lawn Ice summer team.

Meanwhile, because of their confidence and ability to execute the fine basics of small-ball, the Mighty Macs have a chance to make more history Monday.