Some unlikely heroes – and some likely ones too – came through when the Seneca softball team needed it most Thursday in the Fighting Irish’s wild 8-6 Class 2A state semifinal victory over IC Catholic at Peoria’s Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.

The Marquette baseball team banged out 15 hits, including four home runs, in a 15-3 victory over IC Catholic Prep in Wednesday's Class 2A Herscher Sectional semifinal. The Crusaders will take on Wilmington at 10 a.m. Saturday in the championship game.

The Seneca softball team is looking to take two more steps, starting with Thursday's 2:30 p.m. IHSA Class 2A state semifinal against IC Catholic at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria.

Seneca junior pitcher Hayden Pfeifer scattered four hits, walked one and struck out 11 in leading the softball Fighting Irish to a 3-0 Class 2A supersectional victory over Brimfield at EastSide Centre on Monday.

Ottawa senior Joey Liebhart finished fourth in the Class 2A 300-meter hurdles in Saturday's IHSA Boys Track and Field State finals in Charleston, while Somonauk senior Landin Stillwell earned a pair of medals in 1A. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

Twin brothers Case and Caden Christensen handled the pitching, and the whole lineup chipped in on the hitting Saturday to lead Gardner-South Wilmington baseball to a 6-1, Class 1A title win at regional host Dwight.

Down to their last out, Marquette's Anthony Couch delivered a walk-off two-run home run to give the Crusaders a 4-3 win over host Bishop McNamara in Saturday's Class 2A regional title game.

The Ottawa baseball team was limited to just three hits by Metamora's Mason Sauder and the host Redbirds put together two big scoring innings in Saturday's 9-1 loss in the Class 3A regional championship game. The Pirates finished the season at 19-13-1, the most wins in 13 years.

Behind elite defense and another dominant outing from ace Maddie Simms, Gardner-South Wilmington punched its ticket to the supersectional while ending Serena‘s cinderella postseason run with a 4-1 victory on Friday night.