Before last week, Manteno freshman Hannah Stritar was a full-time JV player who’d sparingly made some appearances with the varsity club on JV off days.

But when Stritar walked to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third inning of Wednesday’s Class 2A Manteno Regional semifinal against Coal City, she looked like the most composed of veterans.

Stritar smoked a bases-clearing triple as the highlight of a game-turning eight-run third inning that launched the fourth-seeded Panthers to an 11-6 win over the fifth-seeded Coalers.

The Panthers (21-9) are headed to Friday’s championship game against undefeated and defending state champion Beecher. Coal City’s bid for a regional four-peat ended with a 16-16 record.

In addition to her coaching staff helping her along and getting a feel for the speed of the game in the batting cages, Stritar, one of seven different Panthers with a hit Wednesday, credited the team’s senior leadership for setting her up for success.

“They’ve been really supportive,” Stritar, who was the designated player Wednesday, said. “They’ve always been talking to me in the game and knowing where to go with the ball, always giving me high fives in the dugout and being very supportive.”

Two of those seniors, shortstop Aubrie Goudreau and center fielder Alyssa Singleton, each had three hits to account for half of the Panthers’ 12 hits on the day. After back-to-back one-and-done playoff runs with regional semifinal losses to Coal City and Bishop McNamara each of the last two seasons, the All-State shortstop Goudreau wasn’t going to let that happen again.

“We beat them twice in the regular season, then the postseason came and we fell short (in 2024),” Goudreau said. “That was the No. 1 thing I wanted to do today, was just make it out of the first round against Coal City. There was a little grudge we held against them.”

As the heart and soul of the Panthers, it’s hard for Manteno coach Josh Carlile to decide if Goudreau brings more of an impact with her play on the field or leadership off of it.

“I think the thing I find the most impactful is her leadership out on the field, but her leadership in the dugout, during practices, really guides the team and sets the tone,” Carlile said. “But to have to pick one or the other, I don’t know. She hits a lot of balls over people’s heads, a lot of RBIs. When she comes to the plate we know there’s a chance she’s going to hit the ball very hard, and that generates a lot of momentum we can feed off of.”

With Manteno freshman ace Mady Dye making her postseason debut in the circle, the Coalers pushed two early runs across and got another on back-to-back doubles from Masyn Kuder and Addison Harvey to take a 3-1 lead to the bottom of the third.

But the Panthers did a little bit of everything in their magical half of the third. Singelton reached on an error to start, followed by a walk to Savanna Watkins and line drive single from Goudreau that plated Singleton.

Sophomore catcher Ginny Kvasnicka tied it with a one-out single, and after Sophie Peterson reached on an error to load the bases, Stritar cleared them with her three-bagger.

Whether it was Stritar at the dish or Dye in the circle (CG, 3 ER, 11 H, 1 K) or at the plate, where she singled and drove in a pair, Goudreau was at least as proud of the rookies for stepping up as she was with her own game.

“It’s so amazing. I love my little freshmen,” Goudreau said. “I’ve been their No. 1 fan since the beginning. I’ve been invested in them and they’ve pulled through.”

The freshmen were key pieces of Manteno’s IESA title-winning team last school year, and while they’re no strangers to pressure-filled environments, Dye noted an uptick in intensity Wednesday.

“Both of them are intense, but especially going against older girls is way more competitive,” Dye said. “Last year was really cool, and I think with this team it’s going to be pretty good.”

With their run of three straight regional plaques snapped, the Coalers saw seven seniors play their final prep games, including the four-year battery of pitcher Masyn Kuder (CG, 4 ER, 12 H, 2 BB, 2 K; 1 for 4, 2B, R) and catcher Khloe Picard (2 for 4, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, R) and four-year first baseman Addison Harvey (2 for 4, 2B, RBI, R).

“We just came up short,” Coalers coach Rodney Monbrum said. “We competed, and my seven seniors, I feel for them. Khloe and Masyn have been together for four years together. That marriage is breaking up here, but we’ve had a lot of good memories and I’m glad to be a part of that.”