Both Seneca and Manteno are heading into the final week and a half of the regular season with the same goal: ramping up for the upcoming softball playoffs.

Both teams appeared in the latest 2A ICA poll, with Seneca ranking third and the Panthers 13th, and will each be participating in the loaded Rockridge Spring Into Playoffs Classic next weekend before heading into opposite halves of the IHSA Class 2A Pontiac Sectional.

But when they met in Manteno Friday afternoon, it was the visiting Fighting Irish (29-1) that got the better of the host Panthers (18-6) 11-1 in six innings.

Camryn Stecken, who’s two-run single in the top of the first gave the Irish an early lead, said it was important to get off to a hot start against a tough team.

“I think it was a really big momentum boost for us,” she said. “When we’re getting a lot of runs or we’re producing a lot of hits, it’s big for us because it makes the rest of the team want to keep hitting and keep that train going.”

Hayden Pfeifer followed Stecken’s first-inning single with an RBI double.

The Irish tacked on four runs in the third on an error, an RBI triple from Stecken, and RBI single from Pfeifer and an RBI double from Tessa Krull.

Krull also picked up the win after working through some early command issues. She walked two of the first four batters she faced and had 11 of her first 20 pitches miss the zone, but threw only five balls in her final 29 pitches and retired nine of the final 10 batters she faced.

The only damage Krull allowed was in the fourth when Manteno’s All-State senior shortstop Aubrie Goudreau hit a solo home run to left.

Krull struck out six batters in four innings, allowing just that one hit, while Pfeifer pitched the final two innings, allowing a hit and striking out three batters.

Stecken was 2 for 3 with three RBIs and two runs and Pfeifer was 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run. In all, seven different players had a hit and eight players scored at least one run.

Few teams have had as much success in the regular season and regional round as Seneca has in recent years, and with a large group of players back two straight trips to the sectional championship, the team has its sights set on its first sectional title and more.

But no matter what happens the rest of the way, head coach Brian Holman said this group of players has more than made their mark.

“They’ve kind of put us on the map,” he said. “The ability to earn respect, do things the right way, play hard, they’ll have those all the time. We’re going to try to play really good softball next week and the week after that into the postseason. I’m confident, and we’re comfortable with who we are.”

Krull and Stecken lead a senior class that has contributed to 119 wins and counting over the last four years.

After having their last two seasons end with one-run losses to Beecher in the Sweet 16, and with these two perennial powerhouses on a potential collision course once again, Krull said she thinks the team has all the pieces in place to break through this year.

“Honestly, I hope nothing changes,” she said. “I hope we keep consistent. Everyone in the lineup is hitting great. And our defense, I know any time the ball is going to get hit, ‘my infield’s got it. My outfield’s got it.’ We just have to keep leaning on each other.”

For Manteno, Alyssa Singleton hit a sixth-inning single to join Goudreau in the hit column while Savannah Watkins and Ginny Kvasnicka both walked.

While happy with the overall effort, head coach Josh Carlile said four errors were too much to overcome, especially against a team as good as Seneca.

“I was telling the girls we just made too many mistakes,” he said. “With that being said, I thought we stayed in the game decently. If we’re able to remove a couple errors here and there, I think we can compete with a team like that.

“...We try to schedule really tough games at the end of the season just to feel the tempo and the energy that comes along with playing those high-level, playoff kind of teams.”

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Softball: Manteno vs. Seneca Seneca's Emma Mino prepares to tag Manteno's Savanna Watkins out at second base during Seneca's 11-1 victory over Manteno on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Tiffany Blanchette)