Madison Moore handed the ball to freshman Erin Johnson with one out in the fifth inning and the Wheaton North senior pitcher went to keep the book in the dugout.

She didn’t check out mentally, though.

“I’m definitely thinking about it, like ‘Hey I might have to go back in.’ I’m always still in the game,” Moore said. “They were talking about putting another pitcher in and then they were like ‘Madison, go in,’ and I was like ‘Oh my God.’”

Brought back in for Johnson with none out in the sixth and Oswego East rallying, Moore grounded that momentum.

She retired the last six batters she faced, and 12th-seeded Wheaton North – which led by seven runs in the fifth – held on to upset fifth-seeded Oswego East 8-7 in Tuesday’s Class 4A Oswego East Regional semifinal.

Moore came back in the game after Oswego East’s Olivia Owles and Katie Maday walked to start the sixth. Moore walked Katie Silva, and a wild pitch scored Owles to make it 8-6.

But then Moore retired the next three batters, two scoring runs.

How’d she settle down?

“Just a lot of deep breaths, telling myself I can do this, that I got it,” Moore said. “I got to let things go. I breathe.”

Wheaton North coach Kirsten Anderson was breathing easier after her pitching tag team held the lead late, despite the Falcons committing six errors.

“Madison came back in and she was lights out,” Anderson said. “Today we said everybody needed to be ready. We brought Erin in, she did her job to get out of the fifth inning. We decided to go back to Madison and she was ready and did her job. I wanted to go back to Madison, senior pitcher. She has that confidence.”

The Falcons (9-22) got confidence early, jumping out with two runs in the first on Makayla Hammer’s two-out, two-run triple to the gap. And then Wheaton North batted around in the third for a 6-1 lead with Delaney Surber drawing a bases-loaded walk, Emma Dodge singling in two runs and Sophia Walter singling in a run.

Hammer, batting fifth, had a single in the middle of the rally.

“We moved Hammer down and that kind of built her confidence,” Anderson said. “We came out firing. We put some bunts down, made them have to work and tried to be a little scrappy to get some runs on the board.”

Hammer, a starter on Wheaton North’s sectional final teams the last two years, admitted she’d been in a slump – but found her own way out.

“The thing is, it’s basic – don’t think," Hammer said. “That sounds easier said than done but if you’re not thinking about it it helps. Just try to have fun. That’s when you play your best.”

Hammer’s contributions weren’t limited to her bat too, her running catch in center saving two runs with two outs in the fifth.

“She’s like a vacuum cleaner out there,” Anderson said.

Oswego East (25-10) had won 12 of 13 coming in, with a number of rallies like Tuesday’s.

Katie Silva, who reached base all four times and singled in a run in the first, tripled in Maday in the fifth. Megan Halverson drove in a third run with an RBI groundout and Makaylie Malburg delivered a pinch hit RBI single to make it 8-4 that eventually became a one-run game.

“I’m really proud of them for doing that,” Oswego East coach Sarah Davies said. “To come back from 8-1 down is incredible. It’s just incredible softball we’ve been able to play. It’s just too many mistakes early let things get out of hand.”

Still, a season that started with seven straight wins was one for Davies to savor.

“Probably my best year, other than going farther in the playoffs,” Davies said. “This is one of my best groups. They all got along, they all love each other and work their butts off.”

Wheaton North, which made the sectional final the last two years, will play for a regional championship Friday after a regular season that left limited playoff expectations. Dodge and Madilyn Schumacher had two hits for the Falcons.

“We had a lot of doubts, how we were seeded, in years prior we were ranked higher,” Hammer said. “But as our old coach used to say the postseason is a whole different season. It doesn’t matter who did what during the season. It just matters how you come out.”