IC Catholic Prep freshman Sophia Deoudes struck out in each of her first three at-bats against Stillman Valley ace Kaiya Hildreth on Monday.

So IC coach Frank Reaber had some advice for Deoudes before she went to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the eighth inning of the Class 2A Benedictine University Supersectional in Lisle.

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IC Catholic’s Sofia Bucaro (14)and Madelynn Dinino (10) present the IHSA championship plaques to teammates following their win over Stillman Valley in the Class 2A Benedictine Supersectional game on June 1, 2026 at Benedictine University in Lisle. (Jon Cunningham for Shaw Local Ne)

“Their pitcher is phenomenal and she’s got a great rise,” Reaber said. “We worked on it but some girls chased her, which I figured they would.

“I told Deoudes to get on top of the plate because (Hildreth) was going outside with the rise. If you get on top of the plate, it takes away the inside pitch. So that’s what we did.”

Deoudes worked the count to 3-2 against Hildreth, a freshman who allowed only two hits while walking three and striking out 17. The next pitch hit Deoudes, forcing home pinch runner Jaida Cervantes.

“It hit me on the elbow,” Deoudes said. “It hurt pretty bad.”

Deoudes deemed the pain worth it because the run turned out to be the game-winner for the Knights, who won 1-0 to earn their first trip to state.

IC (30-5), which had lost all six of its previous supersectionals, will play Seneca at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the state semifinals at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria.

“I was very nervous,” Deoudes said of her pressure-filled final at-bat. “I was just trying to do what’s best for the team. At the end of the day, I did good.”

IC senior pitcher Maddy DiNino screamed when Deoudes was hit.

“I thought, ‘Let’s fricking go,’ because I knew Deoudes is a special kid and I knew that she was going to be the one to do it somehow,” Dinino said. “Clearly, her coaches coach her well and she knew what she had to do under pressure.

“She had to push herself to stay calm. Honestly, she kept me calm because she was calm and I was crying and sobbing. I needed her to calm me down.”

DiNino, a St. Norbert commit, was hyped up throughout a terrific outing. While not as dominating as Hildreth, she pitched a five-hit shutout with two walks and five strikeouts.

Stillman Valley (29-6) had a golden chance to win in the bottom of the sixth when Sage Sweet led off by reaching second base on a two-base error and went to third on a groundout.

DiNino walked the next batter, then caught a break when Sweet tried to steal home. IC catcher Kelly Cahill caught DiNino’s pitch, stood up and easily tagged out Sweet.

Going into extra innings, the Knights seemed to have something extra.

“I think our energy changed,” DiNino said. “We knew in the eighth inning that we had to attack this team and go after them as hard as we can.

“That’s exactly what we did. We kept our energy up and kept pushing and pushing.”

The winning rally began when Lexi Hoffman reached on a one-out single to right. With two out, Ema McMillen and Sophia Bucaro drew consecutive walks to load the bases for Deoudes.

After hitting Deoudes, Hildreth fanned the next hitter to strand the bases loaded. But DiNino was confident with the 1-0 lead.

“Yes, because I knew what I had to do when I stepped on that mound,” DiNino said. “That one run was enough for me.”

DiNino made sure of that. She gave up a leadoff single to pinch hitter Aubrey Adler but proceeded to retire Stillman Valley’s 1-2-3 hitters. Hildreth grounded to Deoudes, who fired to senior first baseman Leilani Mendez to end the game and touch off a celebration unprecedented in program history.

“I don’t even know what to say,” DiNino said. “I’m just so happy.

“We had to go through three years of us losing (in the sectional final in 2023 and supersectionals in 2024 and 2025) and now we’re winning. I’m so proud of this team.”