After finishing in fourth place at the Class 4A state softball tournament last season, Lockport entered the year with some key players returning in hopes of making another playoff push this year.

In two games, that’s exactly what the Porters have been doing.

An outstanding day from pitcher Brigit Faut was complemented by an 11-hit attach by the offense Friday.

The result was more than enough to power the third seeded Porters past sixth seeded Plainfield Central for a 6-0 victory in the Class 4A Lockport Regional final.

Lockport (23-12-1) advances to face Lincoln-Way East in a sectional semifinal Tuesday at Lincoln-Way West.

The Porters this week blanked Bloom to the tune of a 7-0 win on Tuesday and had little trouble against the Wildcats in front of their home crowd on Friday.

“Life feels good,” Lockport coach Marissa Chovanec said. “One last time on this field for the seniors winning a regional championship? You can’t take that for granted.”

Faut has done a quality job all season long in the circle, piling up 180 strikeouts and a 2.63 ERA while going 13-9 as a starter. She only gave up one walk and two hits Friday to go with 10 strikeouts.

Coley Sievers (2 for 3, two RBIs) and Addison Way (2 for 3, two runs) had big days on Friday as their remarkable seasons went on.

“I think we’ve really been focusing all year as a team of having energy and doing it for each other,” Faut said. “I think we really did that today. Postseason is when it counts so I’m glad we pulled it through.”

After both teams were retired in order in the first inning, the action began to pick up. A two-out RBI double by Sievers scored Way in the bottom of the second. Noelle Sustersic’s RBI single the next at bat scored Sievers and made it 2-0.

In the bottom of the third, Olivia Picciola kept the scoring going with a RBI double to send Giavanna Diciolla and Alexis VanderTuuk home and extend the lead to 4-0. The same inning, Sievers’ connected on a double to send Sofia Schmitt home and add another run to the board.

Sustersic hit a sacrifice fly to score Way the next at bat and make it 6-0.

Plainfield Central (21-13) beat Plainfield South 11-1 to reach the regional championship.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they were only able to put up two hits as Faut was a girl on fire all afternoon.

Still, Wildcats coach Kate Welsh was proud of her team for the effort they put up throughout the year.

“We had a great senior class to lead our young ones,” Welsh said. “We have a strong group of kids coming back next year and we’re returning quite a bit. We’re looking forward to next year.”

Next up for Lockport will be Tuesday’s Lincoln-Way West sectional semifinal at 4:45 p.m.

The Griffins and the Porters faced off twice in the regular season with Lockport winning the first game 6-3 on April 13 and Lincoln-Way East winning the second 7-5 on May 7. In order to make the sectional championship, Faut believes Lockport will need to keep doing what’s worked.

“I think it’s going to take the same energy and the same confidence,” Faut said. “We have to be ready for anything.”