Prairie Ridge players and coaches huddled in right field for the final time of the year after Antioch stunned the Wolves 11-10 in 10 innings Monday to claim the Class 3A Kaneland Supersectional softball championship.

The Wolves, just a year ago, defeated Antioch 1-0 in the same game on the same field on their way to the state tournament for the first time in the team’s history.

After taking the lead in the top of the 10th inning on a Kylie Rosene double, the Sequoits came back with two runs in the bottom half. Addison Housh hit an RBI double and then Claire Schuyler ended the game on a game-winning single that just got under the glove of second baseman Parker Frey, who tried to stop the hot smash from reaching the outfield.

Frey, one of three seniors on Prairie Ridge (23-8), along with pitcher Reese Mosolino and center fielder Emma Dallas, had hopes of returning to the state tourney one last time – and possibly winning it all.

But even getting to Monday’s supersectional was an accomplishment for a Wolves’ team that was unsure of its talent level after graduating key starters. Prairie Ridge became the first District 155 team to win back-to-back sectional titles in softball.

“We had no idea what to expect this season,” said Frey, whose dad Mike is one of the Wolves’ assistants. “We knew we had a lot of new players and moving pieces, and we weren’t sure if it would all mesh together.

“Just the fact that we were able to get here, again, it’s just like, surreal.”

Mosolino pitched nine-plus innings for the Wolves, unable to hold down a relentless Antioch lineup that banged out 13 hits. Entering Monday, Mosolino had allowed five hits total in three postseason games.

“They’re awesome hitters, all of them, top to bottom,” said Mosolino, who gave up 11 runs (nine earned) with three walks and seven strikeouts. “They’re good hitters, they have good defense, and that’s how they win games.

“They’re a good team all together, and I hope they do good at state.”

Rosene (2 for 5), the Wolves’ No. 9 hitter, gave Prairie Ridge the lead with two outs in the top of the 10th on a double that dropped between Antioch’s second baseman and right fielder near the foul line in short right.

The hit drove in Morgan Powal (3 for 6), who singled and advanced to second on a groundout.

“I’ve had a rough season. I was out for months and months because of illness and injury and everything,” said Rosene, a junior. “I went up to bat and just thought, ‘I could do this.’ We had BP this morning and I was doing pretty good. I tried to take that out to the field, and it played out pretty well.”

Junior first baseman Bella Moore had a big offensive game for the Wolves, going 3 for 4 with a home, double, three runs scored and four RBIs. She was intentionally walked twice, as was leadoff hitter Kylie Carroll.

Mary-Kate Center finished 3 for 5 with a double and two RBIs, Dallas added two hits, including a double, and an RBI, and Carroll had a double, two runs scored and walked four times total.

Prairie Ridge sent nine to the plate in the fourth, scoring five runs on five hits, to take an 8-3 lead. Antioch, however, kept chipping away, scoring six runs over the next three innings.

With the Wolves leading 9-7 following an RBI double by Center in the top of the sixth inning, Antioch tied the game in the bottom half on back-to-back hits by Sam Hillner (2 for 5) and Schuyler (4 for 6, three RBIs).

Prairie Ridge made two errors after playing almost flawless defense the entire playoffs.

“They made fewer mistakes than we did today, and they came up with the clutch hits in big moments, where we’ve been doing that in the postseason,” Prairie Ridge coach Scott Busam said. “We had a great run at the end of the regular season, too, getting big hits out of different heroes every day.

“Their pitcher just did a nice job spotting the ball, and we couldn’t execute in those final moments.”

Antioch sophomore Addison Osborne started and tossed 9⅔ innings, allowing six runs on 11 hits with five strikeouts and six walks. She was relieved in the fourth inning but re-entered the game in the same inning.

Busam never had thoughts of lifting his ace.

“Reese is a monster and I would have had to wrestle her off the field,” Busam said. “Reese was going to finish this no matter what today.”

Despite some errors in the field, the Wolves also made a few spectacular plays to keep the game alive.

In the bottom of the ninth with a runner on third and two outs, Carroll, the Wolves’ starting shortstop, made a bullet of a throw to first to send the game to the 10th.

Earlier in the inning, Carroll hurt her knee after a collision at second base on a slide.

“Kylie’s been nursing a bruised bone on her knee for weeks,” Busam said. “It flared up (today) ... and then when she caught the ball on the throw from (catcher Reese Vrba), her knee went into the bag. It’s a kind of a big, red swollen mess right now. I asked her if she wanted a pinch-hitter to to come out but there was no way she was coming off that field today.”

Vrba, who missed last year with a torn labrum, caught all year. She said that catching Mosolino was a blast. The two have played softball together for awhile, but not always on the same team.

“The bond between a pitcher and catcher is really special,” Vrba said. “We were already friends but we were lucky to able to share that together. She’s so amazing, just with everything. A lot of the times when I go out there to talk to her, it’s more her calming me down. She’s such a leader.”

Prairie Ridge won its third straight regional and third sectional title in program history.

Busam, who took over the program four years ago, said Mosolino, Frey and Dallas were model teammates.

“These three seniors were patient with me, they adapted to me, I adapted to them, and these three seniors are so special,” he said. “They are the heart and soul of this team and the program, and I can’t say enough about them and the faith they’ve put in me the last four years to coach this team.”