Lockport outlasts Lincoln-Way Central in 10-inning thriller to win 4A sectional softball title

LOCKPORT — This one was an instant classic.

Lockport and Lincoln-Way Central locked horns Friday in the Class 4A Lockport Sectional championship game. Neither team had allowed a run in the postseason and, after nine innings, they still hadn’t.

Pitchers Lisabella Dimitrijevic of Lincoln-Way Central and Kelcie McGraw of Lockport strung together zeroes until the Lockport scoreboard was full of them.

That changed in the top of the 10th.

Marie Baranowski led off the inning with a single to right, just the fifth hit for the Porters all day. Marcy Curry followed with a sacrifice bunt that moved Baranowski to second.

Up stepped RJ Slavicek.

The left-handed Slavicek caught hold of a 1-2 pitch and drove into the right-center field gap, sending Baranowski home with the game’s first run and ending up on third with a triple. An out later, McGraw singled through the middle to score Slavicek for a 2-0 Porter lead.

“I hit what I think was an inside riseball,” Slavicek said. “I hardly ever pull the ball, but I did this time. It felt great running around the bases and when I landed on third, I was so proud of myself and of my team.

“It was just amazing. To beat a team that only had one loss all year, it feels unreal. But we didn’t quit and it was an amazing team effort.”

Lincoln-Way Central made it very interesting in the bottom of the 10th.

With two outs, Ellie McLauglin hit an infield single to deep short, and Kayla Doerre followed with a walk to bring up Dimitrijevic. A wild pitch sent the runners to second and third before Dimitrijevic hit a blooper toward left. For just a moment, it looked like the ball might drop in and tie the game, but it hung in the air long enough for Lockport shortstop Mikayla Cvitanovich to run under it and catch it for the final out.

It put the cap on a 10-inning shutout by McGraw, in which she allowed six hits, struck out 10 and walked one.

“All of my pitches were working well today,” McGraw said. “We were able to mix them up and keep them off-balance.

“We thought all of the pressure was on them. We were just going to go out there and put everything we had into it, win or lose. This is definitely going to be a game I remember my whole life.”

Jaimee Bolduc had three hits for Lincoln-Way Central, which finishes with a record of 34-2, while McLaughlin had two hits. Slavicek and Taylor Lane each had two hits for Lockport (30-9), which will play Bradley-Bourbonnais at 6:30 on Monday in the Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional.

The Porters had chances to score in the first and sixth innings, putting runners on first and third with two outs, only to have Dimitrijevic end the inning with a strikeout. She finished with 15 strikeouts and three walks while allowing seven hits.

“[Assistant] Coach Ang [Cushman] said before the game that neither team had allowed a run in the postseason,” said Lockport coach Marissa Chovanec, still soaked from the water cooler bath her team gave her. “Defense wins championships, so we knew we had to make the plays in the field, and we did that. We had good at-bats, maybe struck out more than we’d like, but we kept at it and I am super proud of these kids.

“It was definitely a team win. Marie Baranowski’s hit to start the 10th was huge, obviously RJ’s triple was big, and Kelcie’s hit to bring in that second run was great. Having that extra run is such a big difference. And, everyone who came in off the bench did what we asked them to do.

“Kelcie has just been getting better and better every time out, and the whole team has done a great job. We have grown a lot and figured things out. These girls bring such energy to the field every day. It’s infectious.”

The Knights’ best scoring chance was in the 10th. Prior to that, only two runners got as far as second base.

“This was a great high school softball game,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Jeff Tarala said. “Give credit to Lockport. They are the toughest hitters we face every year. They change their approach in the box with the pitcher and situation. There aren’t many high school teams that can do that. Credit to Marissa and her staff.

“They were able to get a big hit when they needed it and we didn’t. You can’t win if you don’t score.”