Prucak's big day leads Oak Forest to 3A title

The Oak Forest softball team hold hands as they line up for the medal presentation following Saturday's Class 3A softball championship against Glenwood.
(SouthtownStar)

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Senior Alyssa Prucak couldn’t have scripted Oak Forest’s Class 3A state championship any better than what actually occurred on Saturday.

On the way to defeating Chatham Glenwood 7-1 at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, the Bengals’ entire lineup contributed, sophomore pitcher Emily Norton dominated again, their defense was flawless, and, of course, Prucak had a day to remember. She drove in two runs, scored another, stole the first base of her career and put an exclamation on the program’s first state championship with a game-ending diving grab at third base.

“It was a dream come true because it was my last time playing ever,” Prucak said. “It was awesome to finish it like that. It was perfect. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

It was a sentiment shared by Oak Forest coach Paige Stryczek. A day after the Bengals (31-4) looked sloppy at times while advancing to the title game, Oak Forest bounced back and put it all together against Glenwood (28-9).

“It was a whole team effort,” Stryczek said. “We hit the ball well; we pitched well; we played defense. … We calmed down today. We were ready. We wanted it. We played to the best of our ability. I think that’s why we won today.”

Oak Forest opened its rout with back-to-back hits by Amanda Sheppard (2-for-3, two runs) and Cassie Bilotto (2-fo-4, two RBI, one run) to go ahead 1-0 in the first inning. Prucak’s two-run double came in part of a four-run fourth.

In the sixth, the Bengals capped off their scoring with two more runs. Oak Forest finished with a total of nine hits, and all nine batters found a way on to base.

“This is the best way to go out,” said Sheppard, who will play next season at Northern Illinois. “You always want those close games where you’re like, ‘Ooh, who’s going to win?’ To go out like this, it does feel good.”

Norton (29-3) took care of the rest. She allowed one run, five hits, walked one and struck out 11. In her two games at state, she struck out 24 batters in 14 innings.

“I can’t describe this,” said Norton, who also went 2-for-4 with a run. “I have no words to describe how I feel right now. It’s like the happiest moment of my life right now. I knew we were going to do it the whole time, but now the feeling that it’s done, that we just won, it’s amazing.”