Natalie Bender didn’t pitch in either of her team’s games against Jacobs during the regular season, but the McHenry senior was nevertheless confident in her stuff and ability Wednesday against the Golden Eagles.

The cool right-hander was lights out, retiring 12 of the last 13 batters, including the final nine, as Bender and the Warriors picked up a 3-0 shutout in a Class 4A McHenry Regional softball semifinal in McHenry.

The win comes a year after McHenry took a tough 7-6 loss in nine innings to Grant in the regional semifinals, a game that Bender started.

“Always calm. Always within herself,” McHenry assistant coach Doug Primus said of Bender’s best abilities. “She understands her game, she understands what she does well, and she executes that. She remains calm, even under duress, and does a great job of bringing that calm to everyone.”

Thanks to Bender’s stellar pitching, the fifth-seeded Warriors (15-13) will get a chance at winning their first regional championship in five years when they meet top-seeded Barrington (33-0) at 4:30 p.m. Friday. The fourth-seeded Golden Eagles saw their season end at 14-20.

Bender allowed four hits against Jacobs, including only one in the final four innings. Emily Popilek and Molly Hoch connected on long doubles off the fence in the second and third innings, respectively, but Bender stranded them both times.

Bender appreciated the work of the defense behind her, with the Warriors committing no errors in the field.

“The rise ball was working for sure,” said Bender, who fired two strikeouts and walked no one. “They weren’t really hitting it, and if they did, it was just straight up, which is really good for our defense because I know they’ll always catch it.”

Jacobs put the most pressure on Bender and the Warriors in the bottom of the third. A leadoff single by Kate Takasaki and one-out double by Hoch put runners on second and third but the Eagles ran into an out on interference. Bender then retired cleanup hitter Talia Di Silvio on a groundout to shortstop Hailey Townsend to end the threat.

“I thought we worked some counts and hit some balls hard – just right at people,” Eagles coach Jessica Turner said. “Sometimes the ball falls our way, sometimes it doesn’t, and I felt like that was just kind of the name of the game today.”

McHenry scored two runs in the top of the third inning, getting an RBI hit by Danica McCarthy (1 for 3, stolen base, run scored) and RBI groundout by Bender. The inning started when No. 9 hitter Kendal Rogers hit a high flyball that dropped in for a double behind third base.

Jacobs sophomore Skylee Ferrante stranded 11 runners total, including two in the third and three apiece in the fourth and fifth. She struck out the final two McHenry batters in the fourth after walking the bases loaded, keeping her team in the game.

“We had a few mistakes here and there, and she showed a lot of maturity today,” Turner said of Ferrante, who went all seven innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits with eight strikeouts and six walks.

“When her back’s against the wall, she excels. She likes a little bit of pressure.”

McHenry added its third run in the fifth on an error, one of two in the inning for Jacobs.

The Warriors, who put up 17 runs in a win against the Eagles on May 4, were able to do enough offensively to back Bender.

“I feel like it was a total team effort. If someone didn’t have their best game, we just picked each other up,” said McCarthy, a sophomore who hits leadoff. “I was really proud of (Bender) today. She’s always really good and she really pushed through.”

Takasaki, a four-year varsity player, and Hoch, a three-year varsity player, were the Eagles’ only two seniors this year. They believe the Eagles will return stronger.

“Our bus rides are never quiet. We’ve got a lot of chatters, and I love them to death,” Takasaki said of her young teammates. “This team’s really, really close. We all have a great bond.”

“I think they’re capable of a lot,” Hoch said. “They’ll come back hungrier. I believe in them because they all work very hard.”