‘Like the Super Bowl’: Prairie Ridge ready, excited for 1st trip to IHSA state tournament

When Prairie Ridge’s Ady Kiddy, Kendra Carroll and Autumn Ledgerwood walked up to receive the Class 3A Kaneland Supersectional plaque after an exhilarating 1-0, eight-inning win over Antioch on Monday, the Wolves trio of seniors felt on top of the world.

Three years ago, Kiddy, Carroll and Ledgerwood were freshmen on a 10-19 team, not sure how or if things would get better.

“You would have never thought we’d make it here,” Kiddy said.

Prairie Ridge, with a new leader in Scott Busam, went .500 (14-14) in 2023 and last year really took off with a 25-6 record.

Now the Wolves (28-1-1) are among the state’s top teams and one of a handful with only one loss entering the final weekend of the season.

“It’s been amazing,” said Carroll, who scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning on a wild pitch against Antioch. “Being able to get that supersectional plaque with Ady and Autumn means so much. Just being able to ride out our dreams, because this is like the Super Bowl for us.

“Of course we’re hyped and so excited.”

That excitement will continue this weekend when top-seeded Prairie Ridge makes its first state appearance. The Wolves play No. 1 Glenwood (35-1) at 12:30 p.m. Friday in a state semifinal at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria.

The winner will face No. 1 St. Laurence (23-7) or No. 1 Providence Catholic (25-11) for the championship at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. The third-place game is scheduled for 9 a.m.

“Coming off last season and keeping that going this season, we kept getting closer and closer,” said Kiddy, whose Wolves earned back-to-back regional titles and their first sectional championship since 2009 — and second in program history.

“It means the world to us that we’ve made it this far and we have an opportunity to go and do something great.”

Prairie Ridge junior Reese Mosolino has been lights-out with four shutouts in five playoff games. The only two runs she has allowed came in a 5-2 win over Crystal Lake Central in the Sycamore Sectional final – a game in which the Wolves scored five runs in the sixth to come back and stun their crosstown rivals.

Mosolino, who is committed to Indiana, is 5-0 in the playoffs with a 0.39 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 36 innings. On the season, she is 18-0 with a 0.70 ERA, 179 strikeouts and 38 walks in 140 innings.

“She’s amazing,” Kiddy said of Mosolino, who pitched a no-hitter against Woodstock to open the postseason. “She works so hard, and she’s just dialed in right now. I couldn’t be more proud of her.

“She’s the best teammate ever.”

The Wolves defense, too, has been on its game all postseason, committing one error in five games. On Monday, the infield defense of Carroll (catcher), Mary-Kate Center (first base), Parker Frey (second), Kiddy (shortstop) and Bella Moore (third) were flawless.

Prairie Ridge’s outfield defense of Ledgerwood (left field), Kylie Carroll (center) and Emma Dallas (right) didn’t have much action Monday with just one ball hit in the air.

But they’ve been spotless, too.

“It means the world to us that we’ve made it this far and we have an opportunity to go and do something great.”

—  Ady Kiddy, Prairie Ridge senior shortstop

Busam took over as Prairie Ridge’s coach in 2023 after spending 15 seasons as the head coach at Crystal Lake South, stepping down in 2019. He was South’s all-time winningest coach with 285 wins and served as a JV assistant at Prairie Ridge in 2022.

When he was named head coach the next year, he couldn’t have dreamed up a scenario like the one that unfolded Monday.

“I just envisioned doing something I love, trying to help the girls have a great experience, and building a culture here that [former] athletic director [Mark Gilbert] felt like was missing,” Busam said. “But this is all about the kids – the buy-in, the intensity and the effort that they show all the time.

“You hope for the best when you come into a [new] situation, but this is really a dream come true. This group of kids, this season, everything that’s happened, this is a coach’s dream.”

Kiddy, Carroll and Ledgerwood have been varsity players all three years under Busam.

Their impact goes beyond wins, Busam said.

“Ledgerwood is this really quiet, but fun and supportive kid,” Busam said. “She has this strange intensity about her where you’d never know if her heart rate was up or down. And then you’ve got Kendra, who is the fire. She’s just tough as nails. If I get in a fight, I want her on my team.

“And Ady, there’s just ice water running through her veins. She’s so supportive of Reese in the circle, and of all her teammates. She takes the lead in practices and games.”

Kiddy, who was named Prairie Ridge’s Female Athlete of the Year, will play next year at Illinois after she committed there before the start of her junior year. But Carroll’s and Ledgerwood’s softball playing days will soon be over.

They understandably want to go out on top.

“I’m not playing any summer ball or anything anymore. This is it,” Ledgerwood said. “This is going to be my last at-bat, my last time on the field, my last everything. It means everything to us to be here.”