July 02, 2025
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Diamond roundup: Winners and losers in postseason

By Kevin Hieronymus
Ottawa Marquette defeated Newman 12-2 on Monday, May 30, 2022 to earn a chance at the state tournament.

Ottawa Marquette defeated Newman 12-1 on Monday, May 30, 2022 in Monday's Rockford Supersectional. (Chris Johnson/For Shaw Media)

Here’s a look at the winners and losers in postseason baseball and softball play over the Memorial Day weekend:

• Ottawa Marquette blasted Sterling Newman 12-1 in Monday’s Class 1A Rockford baseball super sectional. The Crusaders (31-3) will face Mt. Sterling Brown County (23-5) at 10 a.m. Friday in the state semifinals at Dozer Park in Peoria.

In Saturday’s sectional finals, Marquette clipped Putnam County 4-1 at Elgin while the Comets defeated Stockton-Warren 12-5 at Lena-Winslow.

• The Dixon baseball team won its third straight Class 3A regional title on Saturday afternoon, defeating Rockford Boylan 2-0 behind senior Gage Burdick’s two-hitter.

The Dukes (23-2) will play Maple Park Kaneland (23-7) in Wednesday’s sectional semifinals at Sycamore.

SOFTBALL

• Senior Elizabeth Palumbo singled up the middle with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday afternoon to send the Sterling softball team to a 7-6 victory over Dixon in the Class 3A Sterling Regional final. It was Sterling’s 10 straight regional title.

Sterling (15-6) will face Maple Park Kaneland (22-7) in Tuesday’s sectional semifinals at Sycamore.

• No. 1 ranked Rockridge returns to the state softball tournament in Peoria after defeating Richmond-Burton 1-0 in the Class 2A East Peoria Supersectional on Monday. Rockridge sophomore Kendra Lewis improved to 23-0 this season in the circle and notched her 40th career victory.

The defending state champion Rockets (33-0) ride a 63-game win streak to state for the fourth straight year and fifth time in six years.

• LaSalle-Peru fell to Rock Island 3-1 in the finals of the Class 3A Dunlap softball regional. L-P finished 25-5.

• Biggsville West Central, which knocked out St. Bede 2-1 in Friday’s sectional softball finals at Williamsfield, lost 6-5 to Forreston in the Class 1A Sterling Supersectional on Monday.

• Little Ten Conference softball champ Newark edged Heyworth 1-0 to win the Class 1A Bloomington Supersectional. The Norsemen (31-3-1), which makes its first appearance at state, will play Glasford Illini Bluffs (15-2) at 10 a.m. Friday in the state tournament at the Louisville slugger Complex in Peoria.

Newark, lost to Princeton 5-0 in the Tigresses’ season opener, beat Streator Woodland 6-3 in 10 innings to win the Dwight Sectional finals on Saturday.