Softball: Wauconda piles up 15 runs, tops Cary-Grove in 3A sectional semifinal

LAKE VILLA – All season Wauconda has relied on a deep and potent lineup to beat teams.

That was evident in the third inning of Tuesday’s Class 3A Lakes Sectional semifinal against Cary-Grove.

The second-seeded Bulldogs scored seven runs in the third inning to cruise to a 15-7 victory over the sixth-seeded Trojans. The Bulldogs belted 14 hits to set up an all-Northern Illinois County Conference sectional championship game, facing No. 1 seed Antioch at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

The Bulldogs (24-7) split their two regular season games with the Sequoits, who defeated Lakes, 1-0, in the opening semifinal Tuesday. Wauconda suffered a 12-2 loss April 11, but recorded a 2-0 win over the Sequoits (27-3) on May 11. Still, the Bulldogs have waited a long time to face off against the No. 1 team in Class 3A after suffering an 18-11 defeat to Antioch in the sectional finals last season.

“We’ve gone on a nice run, and are playing really good softball at the right time when you should be,” Wauconda coach Tim Orisek said. “We’ve shown in this stretch of games that we can win some tight games with good defense, can win some games when the other teams is hitting the ball just as well. We can also take advantage of other teams’ mistakes well, and do a great job of minimizing the amount of runs scored and don’t let the moment get to us.

“We’ve had those ups and downs, but we found our rhythm and know who we are. We enjoy being on the field together. Our plan is to continue to play our game on Friday. I really like our chances.”

Wauconda shortstop Lily Jurczyk led the hitting parade with a 5-for-5 day, which included two RBIs and one run scored.

“We all adjusted to the pitching and everyone contributed,” Jurczyk said. “It was a great third inning and that helped seal it for us. We’re really excited and have all been working hard. There’s no else we rather face on Friday.”

Wauconda third baseman Haley Baldwin finished with two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored, including a line-drive single to pad the lead to 5-2 in the third.

“It was an amazing (third),” Baldwin said. “Everyone was loud and up and everyone contributed to help us get the lead.”

The Bulldogs’ seven-run explosion in the third was triggered by a two-run tomahawk single with the bases loaded by Lia Taglia, who had two hits and five RBIs.

The Trojans seized a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Madilynn Crick drilled a double off Lakes pitcher Rachel Peat. The Trojans added another run in the third on a single up the middle by Crick.

Crick finished 4 for 4 for the Trojans and drove in three. Becca Weaver was 2 for 3 with two runs and an RBI, Kaley Koltz was 2 for 4 with two runs and a steal, and Aubrey Lonergan had a hit and scored twice.

Emily Green and Allison Garski each had doubles in the season-ending loss, and Grace Kaiser drove in one.

Weaver took the loss, allowing five earned runs on eight hits in 2 1/3 innings.

Cary-Grove finished 11-17-1, won its first regional title since 2011 and was one of two Fox Valley Conference teams, along with Huntley, to advance to the sectional round.

The Trojans will return all but one starter next year in senior Gwenn Moran.

“Cary-Grove is a young and pesky team, and they’re well-coached and got some really good speedy hitters and get on base and put pressure on a defense,” Orisek said. “I was proud of our girls for not having that freakout moment when they scored first.”