Lockport punches ticket to state with 2-0 supersectional win over BBCHS

BLOOMINGTON − The last 20 seasons of Lockport softball have been filled with plenty of winning teams and postseason success, with regional titles coming in all 20, but something kept proving elusive: a trip to state.

The Porters ended that drought in Monday’s Class 4A Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional against Bradley-Bourbonnais.

Behind a two-hit shutout from senior Kelcie McGraw and a gutsy fifth-inning rally, Lockport took down its SouthWest Suburban Conference rival 2-0 to pick up its fifth playoff shutout win in a row and earned a spot in the state semifinals in Peoria, where the Porters will play Barrington on Friday at 3 p.m.

The game was unsurprisingly a pitchers’ duel, with McGraw and Bradley-Bourbonnais’ Lydia Hammond riding dominant postseason runs coming into Monday’s clash. McGraw had thrown 26 of Lockport’s 28 innings and not allowed a run. Hammond had thrown all 32 of the Boilermakers’ postseason innings and allowed only two runs.

Hammond threw a three-hit shutout against Lockport on April 10, a 5-0 Bradley-Bourbonnais win, and McGraw picked up the win in the Porters’ 5-3 victory in the rematch May 5.

On Monday, it was McGraw and Lockport that came out on top in the rubber game.

“I’m just super excited,” McGraw said. “We have a great team, we have a great bond, and I’m just super happy to have two more games with them. We were talking about it on the way here, it’s like, ‘If we win today, we have two more games guaranteed.’ ”

McGraw is now up to 33 scoreless innings in the postseason. She threw a four-hitter in the sectional semis against Lincoln-Way East and a 10-inning, six-hit shutout against Lincoln-Way Central in the sectional championship before shutting down the Boilermakers.

“We’re making the small plays when we need it, and I’m getting strikeouts, so that always helps,” McGraw said. “But honestly, it’s our defense just being on and being there on every play.”

The offense also had to find a way to come through against Hammond. The Porters threatened early, putting two runners on in both the first and second innings. Hammond escaped the jams, and after a leadoff single in the third, retired the next seven batters in order.

Then with one out in the fifth, leadoff hitter Rheanna Slavicek worked a 10-pitch walk, fouling off five pitches. Addison Way followed with a nine-pitch walk that featured four fouls and set the table for McGraw.

McGraw lifted a pop-up to shallow right-center field that – thanks to a little miscommunication – dropped between Bella Pusateri and Bristol Schriefer and allowed Slavicek to score the game’s first run. Taylor Lane then hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Way, but McGraw already had all the run support she would need.

Slavicek said the team was able to settle in a bit after some early nerves to rally in the fifth.

“Going in, we felt a little nervous, but after a couple at-bats, we felt better,” she said. “We tried to push the momentum towards us. We also saw that [Hammond] was getting tired, so we were just like, ‘Let’s take advantage.’”

The patient approach at the plate is something Lockport head coach Marissa Chovanec said the team has really excelled at this year.

“That’s one thing I think our kids have done a really good job at here late, but all season, is they have really good, long at-bats,” Chovanec said. “They’re making pitchers throw a lot of pitches. They have a good eye at the plate, they don’t swing at a lot of balls, and I think that’s really helping them.”

The Boilermakers (22-13) had their season come to an end after winning their fourth straight regional title and second sectional title in three seasons. Although they came up short of their first trip to state, coach Haylee Austell said this group made its mark.

“We play in a conference with some massive heavy hitters, so we always felt like we have flown under the radar,” she said. “We’ve always had the motto ‘Why not us?’

“We battled to the very last run today, and I’m just really proud what our four seniors have put into this program. They definitely left it way better than they found it.”

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The Lockport softball team celebrates with the Class 4A Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional plaque after defeating Bradley-Bourbonnais 2-0 Monday, June 9, 2025. (Mason Schweizer)