Softball: Kaylee Killelea, Marquette almost perfect in capturing regional crown

GRANT PARK — The Marquette Crusaders softball team and ace Kaylee Killelea weren’t quite perfect in the championship game of the Class 1A Grant Park Regional.

But they were awfully close.

Marquette was energetic, efficient and just plain overpowering, using a five-inning, no-hit shutout in which Killelea faced the minimum in the top halves of innings and scoring in every turn at bat in the bottom halves to dismiss a 17-win Illinois Lutheran ballclub 10-0 Saturday in five innings.

“As long as we go in and keep playing how we’ve been playing and just play, not get in our heads, we should be fine.”

—  Kaylee Killelea, Marquette softball

The regional title, the eighth for the program, sends the Crusaders (23-6) on to next Tuesday’s Walther Christian semifinals in Melrose Park, where they’ll play Serena at 4:30 p.m. before the Newark vs. Woodland/Flanagan-Cornell late semifinal. If the Cru plays like they did Saturday, they’ll be an extremely tough out.

“The girls, they’ve been hitting really good lately, and the pitching has been really good lately. So, yeah, we had a good day,” Crusaders coach Brad Oakes said.

“I’m really proud of them, and I also want to say something about Curt Johnson, our hitting coach, Brian McCallum who does the defense and Curtiss Johnson, he takes care of the outfield, just everyone. We’ve got a good group all together, we put a lot of time in, and the girls work hard. It’s paying off, so it’s a lot of fun.”

Illinois Lutheran (17-14) leadoff hitter/pitcher Kailey Van Es managed a deep flyout to Marquette right fielder Emma Rinearson to open the game. As it turned out, that would be the most success the Chargers would manage with their bats all game, as Killelea struck out the next eight would-be hitters.

Killelea surrendered her lone baserunner in the fourth, hitting Van Es with a pitch. That lone runner didn’t remain one for long, though, as Cru catcher Eva McCallum gunned down Van Es inexplicably trying to steal second down seven runs, and Killelea proceeded to strike out the last five batters she faced to finish with 13 Ks against no walks, no hits and no runs allowed.

“I’m looking forward [to the sectional],” Killelea said. “It’s exciting but nerve-racking because you’re getting to the end. But as long as we go in and keep playing how we’ve been playing and just play, not get in our heads, we should be fine.”

As for the bottom halves, Marquette plated four runs in the first (Taylor Cuchra and McCallum RBI singles, Avery Durdan a two-run double), one in the second (Killelea RBI single), two in both the third (Kealy Rick sacrifice fly) and fourth (Cuchra a two-run homer to left-center) and the game-ending single run with one out in the fifth (Lindsey Kaufmann doubling in Rinearson).

Maisie Lyons, Kiillelea and Cuchra each delivered two hits apiece for the Cru — Cuchra’s second her no-doubt-about-it blast in the fourth.

“I know I do not do as well with slower pitching, because I don’t time it up well,” Cuchra said. “So I try to think of right field, whatever it takes to help my teammates push and win the game.

“The feeling today, it’s wonderful.”