Kaneland senior right-hander Ellie Peck has pitched exclusively in the postseason, ditching her hitting duties as coach Mike Kuefler prefers her to focus on throwing.

The formula has worked very well for Peck and the Knights.

Peck tossed her third complete game of the playoffs and fired 11 strikeouts as third-seeded Kaneland upset second-seeded Woodstock North 7-4 in the the teams’ Class 3A Belvidere North Sectional softball semifinal on Wednesday in Belvidere.

The Knights (18-12-1) move on to face top-seeded Prairie Ridge (22-7) for the sectional title at 5 p.m. Friday. Kaneland last won a sectional championship in 2022.

“I love hitting, but I think it’s helping a lot right now,” said Peck, who allowed only one earned run on five hits and three walks Wednesday. “I don’t have to get in my head hitting and stuff. It’s good that I’m not hitting right now.”

Peck has allowed just two earned runs in three playoff games. She has 28 strikeouts in 21 innings.

“With the heat, you always get concerned how they’re going to react, especially because we haven’t played in it much,” Kuefler said. “Today’s the hottest day of the year. I thought she did outstanding. We just let her pitch, so she can focus on what she has to do (in the circle).

“She’s absolutely stepped up for us.”

The Thunder (21-6) weren’t sure who they were going to face, with Kaneland senior Brynn Woods another possibility.

“We did not think she was pitching. We thought Brynn was pitching. I think that was a shock to us,” said senior first baseman Makayla Nordahl. “We knew they had her and we’ve seen her before. She’s good. She threw hard, she hit her spots. We took a lot of strikes that we could have swung at. When we did put the ball in play I thought we hit it hard.”

Kaneland junior Madi Kossakowski had some of the hardest-hit balls of the game, hitting two doubles and a triple in her first three at-bats. She hit a double halfway up the center-field fence in the top of the first inning, hit an RBI double in the third and drilled a line-drive RBI triple in the fifth that got past a diving Allyson Schaid in center field to score Ansley Ruh.

Sophomore Addison Coulter hit a first-pitch, opposite field two-run homer to right field on the first pitch after Kossakowski’s triple to give Kaneland a 7-3 lead.

“Any of these games can be our last,” Kossakowski said. “I’m just going up there with a confident mentality, just swinging and seeing whatever happens.”

“She’s money,” Kuefler said. “The kid just comes up to the plate and puts the ball in play. They pitch around her and she’s got really good command of the plate and she knows where she needs to put the ball.”

Lillyana Crawford was 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI for Kaneland, while Riley Cooper was 1 for 3 with two runs scored.

North junior left-hander Kylee Nicholson, who helped lead the Thunder to their first Kishwaukee River Conference title this season, allowed seven runs (four earned) on eight hits, walking one and striking out eight.

“She’s been a workhorse all season for us,” North first-year coach Gwen Malecke said. “They have a good hitting team. Their top five are phenomenal. She was a little nervous going against the top of the lineup, but I told her, ‘You’re a great pitcher, learn how to adjust, make those changes and make them do something different,’ and she did just that in the last inning.

“I’m super proud of her for pushing through that.”

Maddie Nordahl went 1 for 3 with two runs and two stolen bases for North, Schaid added a double and Nicholson had two RBIs. Hailey Campos had a double and drove in a run.

Trailing 7-3, North had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the fifth but hit into an inning-ending double play. Makayla Nordahl hit a pop up on the foul side of first base, but first baseman Coulter made a running catch, turned and fired home to catcher Crawford, who tagged out Maddie Nordahl running from third to home.

“That was awesome,” Peck said of her defense. “They make the plays when we need them.”

North graduates eight seniors, including cousins Makayla Nordahl and Aly Jordan, who shared a postgame hug on the infield dirt one last time after the final out was recorded. They both had a sister on the team – Maddie Nordahl, a junior, and Kylee Jordan, a freshman.

The Thunder tied the program record with 21 wins.

“Gwen came in and created a great philosophy for us,” Makayla Nordahl said. “We’re all working hard, we’re all working toward one goal. She told us we have to be there for each other, we have to pick each other up and I think that’s what we have done.”

“It was a really special season for everyone,” Aly Jordan said. “This season everyone came together, which is something we haven’t had in the past few years.”