For a young Oregon squad, there were some jitters before Wednesday’s Class 2A Oregon Regional semifinal against Somonauk.

But with sophomore Izzy Berg dealing in the circle, the offense had time to find its groove in a 6-0 victory at Oregon Park West. The Hawks will take on Rock Falls in Saturday’s regional title game.

Berg struck out 14 in a one-hitter, walking one and allowing just three baserunners. She was especially tough against the bottom of the Somonauk order, as the Bobcats’ 5 through 9 hitters were a combined 0-for-12 with 11 strikeouts.

“I feel like my curve was working a lot, just moving the ball quite a bit,” Berg said. “I definitely had some nerves, but I would say my teammates helped me there. They relax me a lot, kind of goof around and make me smile, which helps in tough situations.”

Oregon (18-12) broke open a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third, as sophomore shortstop Ashlee Mundell ripped a two-out single to center to drive in a pair of runs.

After a slow start, the Hawks started raking the second time through the batting order, knocking out six hits and scoring all six of their runs.

“I was just thinking I wanted to hit the first ball down the middle,” Mundell said of her clutch single. “Once we get that second time through the batting order, we know we’re hitting. That ball just felt so good, and having those two girls on base just made us feel a lot more confident about it all.

“When I rounded first and heard my teammates cheering and saw the runners going home, that’s when I felt like we were really into this game and we were going to win it.”

Mundell added a sacrifice fly to cap a four-run fourth inning; senior Hayleigh Heuerman, sophomore Giselle Zavala and freshman Kylie Morrow also had RBIs in the rally. Morrow, junior Brooke Halverson and freshman Avery Young each had two hits for the Hawks.

That was more than enough support for Berg, who retired nine straight hitters after allowing a first-inning single to MacKenna McMahan and then seven in a row after issuing a fourth-inning walk to Kennedy Barshinger.

“It helps a lot, takes all the stress off when we score runs. Especially in a game that tight, it’s big to get the lead,” Berg said. “I have a lot more confidence. It can be kind of tough throwing some pitches knowing that they could hit it hard and far, but it’s really nice when my defense works behind me and our offense gets rolling.”

“It’s 100% more confidence once we get going,” Mundell added. “Izzy alone gives us so much confidence, but when we bring our bats with it, we’re such a good team.”