Softball: Madi Reeves, Yorkville move past Oswego East into sectional final

OSWEGO – Madi Reeves is rested, she’s healthy for a change this time of year and she’s ready for more.

That’s good news for her, and it’s good news for Yorkville.

The Foxes’ senior ace and Miami of Ohio recruit revealed that health wasn’t necessarily a given the last two seasons. Reeves played through a stress fracture in her spine, and a knee problem.

“I try not to remember it – it was still a good season,” Reeves said. “It looked like I just got off a horse.”

She’s trying to avoid injury now – “otherwise, I would be three-for-three in high school” and trying to pitch the Foxes into history.

Reeves took the next step Tuesday.

Feeling extra strong on three days’ rest since her last start, she struck out 13 batters – including her 300th of the season – and took a shutout into the seventh inning. Sara Ebner delivered two key run-scoring hits and Kaitlyn Roberts hit a solo homer to lead the offense, and top-seeded Yorkville went on to a 6-1 win over fourth-seeded Oswego East in the Class 4A Oswego Sectional semifinal.

A year after an upset loss in this round to West Aurora, Yorkville (33-2) moved into Friday’s sectional final against the Wheaton Warrenville South/West Chicago winner.

Reeves (23-1) as a sophomore led Yorkville to its first-ever sectional title. Now she sounds like a senior not nearly ready to be done.

“This was big for me – but we’re not settling. We want more,” said Reeves, who allowed four hits and a walk. “We know what this team is capable of. This was where we ended last year, so this win was big – but we’re never satisfied.”

Reeves on Tuesday went head-to-head with an opponent that knows her as well as anybody. It was her seventh start against Oswego East.

That familiarity didn’t seen to faze her during the game, and she brushed it off afterward. Reeves didn’t allow a runner to reach second base until the seventh, when Mia Corres touched her for a solo homer. Nicole Stone, 2-for-3 for the Wolves, followed with a two-out double, but Reeves came back with her 13th strikeout.

“I know they’ve seen me, but I’m prepared for it. I just have to focus on hitting my spots and I know my defense will back me up,” Reeves said. “What has worked in the past should work now. If they adjust, kudos to them, I have my defense.”

The Foxes indeed played error-free ball behind Reeves. Roberts finished it off with a stellar running catch in center in the seventh.

“They had seen Madi, they knew what to expect, so we knew that we have to be ready for balls in play,” Yorkville coach Jory Regnier said. “I thought the defense was well prepared. She threw a great game.”

Yorkville, meanwhile, broke ahead with two runs in the third and three in the fourth. Its best run producer, naturally, was at the center of both rallies.

In the third inning, with two outs, Ebner laced an opposite-field single to right to score Kayla Kersting from second base. Sam Davidowski followed with a single to drive in Ebner, who reached third on a two-base error, to make it 2-0.

Next inning, with a run already in on a Makenzie Sweeney double and the bases loaded, again with two outs, Ebner rocketed a first pitch off the third baseman’s glove into the corner for a double to drive in two runs for a 5-0 lead.

“Those moments aren’t that big, and you can’t let it get to you,” Ebner said. “That’s why I stay calm and cool, take a deep breath between swings, step out of the box and have confidence. It doesn’t bother me who we are playing, what count it is, what the score is – got to be in the moment.”

There is no hitter that Regnier has more confidence in during those situations.

“She’s just so mentally locked in for her at-bats. She knows exactly what she wants to do,” Regnier said. “She’s hitting the ball where it’s pitched. The best hitters hit the ball where it’s pitched.”

Oswego East (24-11), even in defeat, could reflect well on a 24-win season that was the program’s most since the 25-win 2018-2019 “dream team.”

Fitting, too, for third-year center fielder Corres to go out with a homer in the seventh that left Wolves’ coach Sarah Davies in tears.

“If anybody deserves a big hit to go out, it’s her. She’s meant everything to us,” Davies said. “She’s one of the best outfielders in the state, she’s one of the best kids in the world. She’s worked so hard and cares so much. Mia Corres is one of the best.”

So, too, Davies could recognize, are the seniors on the other side. The Wolves’ coach shared a moment afterward with Ebner and Reeves, girls Davies’ team has faced eight times the last three years.

“I just told them both that it’s been really fun to play against them,” Davies said. “It’s been cool to see Madi grow the last three seasons. She’s tough, but it’s been awesome to fight against her and to see my girls get excited to face good pitching. Sara has been their most consistent hitter for three years. When you see good players, you respect good players.”