Any team that feels it has nothing to lose can be a dangerous one, especially when that team has more to offer than most outsiders might believe.

The Lincoln-Way West softball team made believers out of top-ranked Marist and the rest of the state Friday with a 2-1 win over the top-ranked RedHawks that boosted the Warriors into the state championship game for the first time in school history.

L-W West will play Mundelein, which defeated defending 4A state champion Oswego in the other semifinal. First pitch is scheduled for Saturday at 4:45 p.m. back at Peoria’s Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.

Warriors pitcher Abby Brueggmann stranded two Marist runners in the top of the first inning before her team rewarded that effort in the bottom half.

With one out, Reese Rourke walked and went to third when the throw to first on a bunt by Paige Seivert was dropped by the Marist second baseman. After a strikeout, Seivert took off for second, and the throw went all the way through. Rourke took advantage and broke for home, completing the double steal and giving her team a 1-0 lead.

“I honestly didn’t think I would hold them to one run before the game started,” Brueggmann said. “But we were playing very loose. I figured the longer we could stay in it, the better chance we would have, so getting that lead early was huge.

“I would say that my mindset was the thing that worked best for me today. I just knew I didn’t want to walk any batters. I wanted to make them earn it.”

Relying on cunning, movement, changing speeds, moving locations and a competitive streak second to none, Brueggmann had the normally explosive Marist offense spinning its wheels. She held the RedHawks scoreless through three innings, including working out of a bases-loaded jam in the second. That inning may have produced a run were it not for a 6-3 double play started by the North Carolina State-bound Rourke.

In the bottom of the third, the West offense got Brueggmann another run. Reese Forsythe led off the inning with a triple and, an out later, Seivert launched a deep fly to center. The ball was plenty deep enough to score Forsythe from third, but the Marist center fielder dropped it, and Seivert ended up at third. She was thrown out trying to score on a passed ball and Marist escaped the inning with no further damage.

It would be the last time the Warriors (29-7) advanced a runner past first, but enough damage had been done.

“I am absolutely ecstatic right now,” Seivert said. “We had nothing to lose. All year, we have felt like this is our season. We’re so excited to play for the title.

“The run early really helped. Once we got ahead, we knew that Marist hasn’t been behind very often, so they were a little out of their comfort zone. And we have so much faith in Abby. She just doesn’t crack under pressure.

“When Reese was on third, I was just looking for a fastball I could drive, but I got behind 0-2. Then I saw a fastball, so I went after it and tried to get it into the outfield to get the run home. ...

“We all definitely play for each other. We are all best friends, and it’s been a great year. We figure that we’re here, we might as well win the whole thing.”

Marist quickly cut the gap in half by scoring in the top of the fourth on an RBI squeeze bunt by Alia Rowles that scored Ellie Holmstrom.

That was all for Marist, though, as Brueggmann scattered eight hits and struck out four, including Marist cleanup hitter Soleil Tate with a runner on third to end the game.

“The girls just played great,” West coach Heather Novak said. “They listened to the coaches’ game plan and trusted us and themselves.

“This is a special team. Seven seniors have been up on varsity since they were freshmen, and they understand what it means to be leaders, have pride and enjoy the opportunity to represent Lincoln-Way West. It’s been really neat to see.

“Seeing the growth of Abby Brueggmann over the last four years, not only the skills, but the competitive nature and being a leader. She just attacks the strike zone and trusts her defense absolutely. Reese Rourke is one of a kind. She doesn’t take her offense out into the field with her if she makes an out. Reese Forsythe and Paige Seivert have been doing things like this the whole postseason.

“We can trust all of the players to do the little things it takes to win, and that has been really fun to see. We get to play in the last game of the year, and it’s very exciting.”

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Lincoln-Way West's Reese Rourke, Abby Brueggmann, Molly Finn, and Jess Noga react after defeating Marist during the Class 4A State semifinals on Friday, June 5, 2026 at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria. (Scott Anderson)