STREATOR – Despite playing much of the season short-handed, the American Family Insurance-Christina Reynolds 12-to-15-year-old softball team roared through the Streator Girls Softball regular season and into Friday night’s city championship with only one loss.

MJ Track Works saw an opportunity in that title game, however, and took advantage of it, putting up a five-run third inning without the benefit of a hit on its way to a 6-5 win over American Family and the 12-15 Division city title.

“They really came out to play tonight,” said MJ Track Works coach Casey Phillis, who took over the team partway through the summer season. “I’ve been waiting to see it ... and I’m glad they came out to play tonight, because they deserved to win.”

MJ Track Works scored first when Harmonee Green tagged a double to left field, scoring Carmen Turner in the top of the first. American Family quickly responded, putting up two runs in the first on back-to-back RBI singles by Natalie Smith and Kaylee Henert, and two more in the second with Da’Mya Farris and Crissy Clay scoring on passed balls to lead 4-1 heading into the fateful third.

“We played with eight [players] almost the entire season,” American Family head coach Rhonda Hensley said. “We were short from the very beginning, and it’s been challenging, but our girls have learned to play almost every position. So I’m very proud of them.

“The girls only lost once throughout the season. So I’m very proud of them.”

“Even if we didn’t have enough players,” Henert, American Family No. 5 hitter, said, “we were still all a team. It was a really fun summer. Even when we lost, we still all had fun.”

With the top of the order due up against American Family No. 3 pitcher Farris, forced to the circle because of the team’s ace missing the contest, patience proved to be key. Green provided the only ball put into play in the half inning – a sacrifice fly scoring Addie Henderson for the inning’s first run – while walks and hit by pitches allowed MJ Track Works to put up the five-run maximum and take a 6-4 lead.

“My dad said don’t get comfortable and to tell everybody [on the team] that, and I did,” Green said. “And then, boom, we did what we did. The summer’s been good. At the beginning, it was off because we had new players, and everybody was getting frustrated because they didn’t know what they were doing. But then, everybody got used to what we were doing, and we got to the point where we are now.

“It feels good.”

Henderson, Turner, Ryleigh Zavada, Green, Ava Palko and Emma Vazquez all scored in that third inning, with RBIs by Green, Abbey Arevalo, Cessily Patton and Jordan Hatzer.

American Family got one of those runs back in the bottom of the third when Natalie Smith ripped a leadoff double and scored a few pitches later on a Henert sacrifice fly.

That would prove to be all of the scoring before the time limit ended things after four innings, about 45 minutes before a lightning storm hit the area. MJ Track Works reliever Henderson (2 IP, 1 ER, 1 K) got the save for starting and winning pitcher Green (2 IP, 2 ER, 2 K), outdueling the American Family pitching duo of Kaleigha Brown (3 IP, 1 ER, 7 K) and Farris (2/3 IP, 3 ER, 1 K).

Smith proved to be the only player with multiple hits on the night, while Henert and Green each drove home two runs. Top defensive plays were put in by Hatzer in center field and Smith at shortstop.