2A Softball: Bre VerCautren, Somonauk/Hinckley-Big Rock/Leland advance past West Carroll

SOMONAUK – It wasn’t exactly the start the Somonauk/Hinckley-Big Rock/Leland co-op softball team wanted to get off to in Monday’s Class 2A Rock Falls Regional quarterfinal in its first postseason contest.

However, after the opening half-inning, everything fell into place.

The subsectional No. 7-seeded Bobcats allowed five runs in the top of the first inning to No. 8 West Carroll but used a nine-run second inning and three-run sixth to claim a 14-7 victory over the Thunder. The Bobcats advance to Tuesday’s 4:30 p.m. semifinal against the host and top-seeded Rockets.

Bobcats freshman pitcher Bre VerCautren replaced sophomore starter Morgan Potter after the visitors plated the early runs with just one out. VerCautren quickly retired the next two batters to end the rally before firing the final six innings.

“We started Morgan today with the thought of the whole week in mind, and if we won this game like we were planning on, we’d have Bre fresh for Tuesday,” said Bobcats coach Hannah Bazan. “Morgan wasn’t bad by any means; she was throwing strikes and they had some hits, but we also didn’t play super solid behind her defensively.

“I think as a team there were a lot of nerves at the start, but I think bringing in Bre just really calmed everyone down, gave them a chance to breathe, and we started playing like we can.”

In the Bobcats’ first, VerCautren tripled to left to lead off and scored on a sacrifice fly by Felicity Thornton.

The hosts’ second inning at the plate began with Olivia Taylor lining a single to center before Lily Day, Haley Morris, Potter and Maddie Schubbe walked. VerCautren then poked a two-run single to right to give the Bobcats a 6-5 lead. Thornton walked to load the bases before Taylor Johnson and Haley McCoy did the same to drive in runs. Taylor followed with a sacrifice fly before Morris lined a two-run base hit to make it 10-5.

“We’ve seen every type of pitcher this season, but no matter what, we talk about having discipline,” Bazan said. “I thought we did a great job of staying back, not lunging and not swinging at pitches that weren’t strikes in the second inning.”

Somonauk/Hinckley-Big Rock/Leland (8-9) added a run in the fourth with two outs, as Day reached on an error, stole second and scored on a hit by Morris.

“We jumped on them in that first inning, and coming off a two-hour bus ride, it was a great start,” said West Carroll coach Don Mathey, whose team ended the season at 3-20. “We’ve been hitting the ball pretty well the last couple games against good pitching, and I felt we swung the bats pretty good today as well.

“Unfortunately, on the defensive side we struggled to throw strikes, and that’s the bottom line. Walking 10 batters is just way too many.”

The Thunder scored twice in the sixth on a two-run single by Abbey Skiles to make it 11-7, but the Bobcats countered in their half with an RBI fielder’s choice by Schubbe and a two-run single by VerCautren.

VerCautren finished 4 of 5 with four RBIs, while also allowing just five hits, two walks and striking out 10.

“I’ve started and come in for relief a lot, so today wasn’t that big of deal for me,” VerCautren said. “I just wanted to come in and get that inning over with as quick as I could. My curveball and riseball were working for me, and I feel like I mixed my pitches pretty well.

“Hitting-wise I just wanted to do the best I could each time up and help the team. The second inning for us was awesome. It would have been easy to be disappointed after they scored five runs so quickly, but we all just stayed positive and believed in each other.

“It feels great to be able to play another game this season.”