EAST PEORIA — The weather was not perfect Saturday night but the Coal City Lady Coalers still were as they topped off a 40-0 softball season with a state championship.

The Lady Coalers broke open a scoreless IHSA Class 2A State Championship game with a five-run rally in the bottom of the fifth inning. Moments after senior Kristen Ardnt finished rounding the bases following a home run, lightning struck nearby, necessitating a delay. Storms continued to ravage the area around the EastSide Centre and the game was ultimately called, giving the Lady Coalers a 5-0 victory over Johnston City.

Tornado warnings forced players, coaches and spectators alike into a fieldhouse at the EastSide Centre early in the almost 90-minute delay. It was there, rather than on a softball field, that the Lady Coalers were presented with their trophies.

"I can't say enough about this group," Coal City coach Brad Schmitt said. "It's been a special year and it's great that these seniors have a chance to go out on top. I couldn't be happier for them. ... I think we'd rather have gotten our medals and trophy on the field rather than in here, but we'll sure take it."

Freshman right fielder Madison Giordano began the winning rally with her second double in as many at-bats. She hit a 1-1 pitch from Kailey Coonce high and deep into the gap in right-center field. Johnston City right fielder Ashleigh Gregge sprinted and nearly got to the ball before it landed, only to have it glance off her glove.

"I was thinking it was a good hit when I hit it," Giordano said. "I was hoping she wouldn't catch it but wasn't sure. I tried to do my job and get something started for us."

Hannah Boresi tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt but struck out when her third attempt went foul. Bryanna Phelan got Giordano to third base and herself aboard with a single to left field. She stole second base on Coonce's first delivery to Kirsten Verdun, putting two runners in scoring position for a player who entered the State Tournament with a .580 batting average.

Coonce got Verdun to ground a 1-1 pitch back to the mound. Girodano strayed a few steps off the third-base bag as Phelan ran almost all the way to third. Coonce threw to third baseman Cierra Hutchinson, who applied a late tag to Giordano. Phelan retreated to second and Verdun was safe at first on the fielder's choice.

"Well I probably got a little too far off the base, but I tried to hurry as fast as I could to get back," Giordano said. "She tagged me on the arm, but by then, my foot was already back on the base."

The bases were thus loaded for senior catcher Krista Watson. On the seventh pitch of the one-out at-bat, Watson unloaded a blast that sailed over the head of Johnston City center fielder Samantha Watkins. Giordano and Phelan scored easily on the double.

Watson not only drove in the winning run of the state championship with the hit, she notched her 81st RBI of the season. According to the IHSA website, that breaks the single-season state record of 80 which was set by Laura Burt of Lexington in 1988. It also meant the Lady Coalers would not have a repeat of the bottom of the first inning, when they loaded the bases but failed to score.

"It was awesome," Watson said of the double. "My hands were actually shaking I was so nervous. All I wanted to do was come through with a base hit and get a run in. To be able to do it felt great, especially since we had not capitalized on some chances earlier."

Three more runs scored during the Arndt at-bat that followed. Verdun came home and Watson moved to third base on a wild 0-1 pitch. Arndt then tried to lay down a squeeze bunt on the next Coonce delivery. She missed, but Watson scored when the ball got away from catcher Jessa Thomas. Johnston City protested, saying that Arndt's bat grazed the ball, but the call stood.

"Well she went to bunt and I didn't know exactly what the call was," Watson said. "I didn't know if it was a foul ball or not, so I just ran."

Arndt worked the count to 2-2 before getting a pitch she could handle, to say the least. She crushed the ball over the left-field wall and a small set of bleachers beyond it for a solo home run.

Johnston City coach Lyndell Zanotti met with his infielders on the mound after the Arndt blast. Before the summit ended, fans were ordered to the parking lot because of the weather, and the game never resumed. That meant the final play of Arndt's high-school career was a home run during a state championship victory.

"I guess not, no, you couldn't do much better than that, unless you made a gold-glove play on defense that saved a game or something like that," Arndt said. "I didn't know it was gone right away, but I was hoping it was gone. To be able to help the team like that felt awesome."

For the 40th time this season, the Lady Coalers scored more runs than what Verdun allowed the opponent on the mound. The senior lefty improved her record to a best-in-Illinois-history 40-0 by pitching her 29th shutout of the season. Only a Hutchinson single with two outs in the top of the fourth inning separated Verdun from perfection. Her nine strikeouts pushed her season total to 480.

"They're a tremendous hitting team, and if you had told me I would only give up one hit, even if it was only over five innings, I would have been thrilled about it," Verdun said. "I felt that my control was very good today and I never lost my composure like I felt I had been doing too much lately."

Coonce got into and out of trouble in the first inning. Phelan and Verdun started the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back singles before Watson and Arndt hit into fielder's choices. Lauren McGlasson coaxed a walk before Coonce struck out Molly Manietta to leave three runners stranded on base.

Giordano gave the Lady Coalers another threat in the second inning when her line-drive hit into center field got past a diving Watkins for a double. Coonce left Giordano at second base by getting Hannah Boresi to pop out and Phelan to line out. Starting with Boresi, Coonce retired eight straight battters.