Softball: Joliet West takes two from Joliet Central, clinches SPC East title

JOLIET – For the Joliet West softball team, it all came in one nice package.

The Tigers honored their two seniors and clinched the East Division of the Southwest Prairie Conference with a 12-0 victory in five innings over Joliet Central on Monday afternoon at Joliet West.

Before the regularly scheduled game, the two teams completed their SPC game from April 19 which started at Joliet Central and was suspended by rain. It resumed in the top of the third, and Joliet West ended up winning 16-0 in three innings.

Madison Jadron fired a no-hitter and Brooke Schwall hit a grand slam in the scheduled game, which clinched the conference for the Tigers (15-12, 11-4).

“We’ve been super excited and we wanted this coming off of last year. We've found our connection this year and it's crazy."

—  Mya Millsaps, Joliet West senior

“I’m very proud of this group,” Joliet West coach Heather Suca said. “They all contributed to it. There’s not anyone who didn’t have a part in this. It was a great package, and I’m happy for our seniors.”

The two Tigers’ seniors are first baseman Karley Talkie and left fielder Mya Millsaps.

“We’ve been super excited, and we wanted this coming off of last year,” said Millsaps of the Tigers’ losing record a season ago. “We struggled last year, but we’ve found our connection this year and it’s crazy.

“It was a good day. It was warm out, and our bats were out.”

Millsaps, a three-year varsity player who will play at St. Ambrose next year, was 2 for 3 with a two-run single to right center which highlighted an eight-run second inning. She also had two hits, two RBIs and scored two runs in the suspended game.

Talkie, a two-year varsity player who will continue to play softball at Joliet Junior College, was 0 for 2 in the game, but walked and scored a run in the second. She had a hit and scored in the suspended game.

“I felt really confident coming into the season,” Talkie said of the conference crown. “I felt it was attainable for us. We only had two seniors last year as well. Our juniors are the future of this team.

“We’re a cheery team and keeping our spirits high will help us have a really good postseason experience.”

Jadron, a sophomore right-hander, was one pitch away from a perfect game. She issued a two-out full-count walk to Krista Sierra, who was the starting pitcher and one of only two Steelmen seniors, in the fourth. That was the only Joliet Central baserunner as Jadron had 10 strikeouts and caught a line shot back at her off the bat of freshman third baseman Haydn Voss in the first.

“Madison is throwing better and better and has really stepped into the top pitching role as a sophomore,” Suca said. “She and the whole team have just done whatever it takes out there, and we’ve played as a team.”

It was quite a day for Schwall. The junior finished 3 for 4 with two runs scored and three RBIs and pitched the suspended game. As the designated player in the scheduled game, she came up with the bases loaded and no outs in the first and swatted a line drive grand slam to left field for a quick 4-0 lead. It was her second grand slam and 13th home run on the season.

“I’ve been hot, and she left the pitch out there,” Schwall said. “I’m very excited to win conference. It was a very obtainable goal that we believed in and we did.

“In the postseason we just have to look at the first game and every game one at a time. But we’re in a groove now.”

Schwall also reached on one of the two Steelmen errors in the game in the second and later walked with the bases loaded in the same inning to finish with two runs scored and five RBIs. Also with RBIs in the eight-run inning was Jadron, who went 2 for 3 and scored a run, as well as freshman right fielder Ella Featherston (1 for 1, BB, HBP), junior shortstop Avery Houlihan and junior center fielder Shelby Fraser (2-for-2, BB, 2 runs scored) who had a pair of singles in the inning and scored the first run on a passed ball.

Joliet Central’s other senior is center fielder Sam Hernandez. The Steelmen (2-21, 0-15) brought up a trio of players from the JV team and they all started. They were freshman Neveya Ibarra at catcher, her older sister, Sienna Ibarra at second base and fellow sophomore Vicky Godinez, who made a nice catch to end the first in left field.

In the completion of the suspended game, Voss, who hit a home run onto the railroad tracks against West Aurora last week, and Sierra, had back-to-back singles in the bottom of the third, but the Steelmen left the bases loaded.

“We brought up three JV players, and Neveya did a good job behind the plate for us,” Joliet Central coach Jon Rashid said. “As a whole, our defense looked better, and we made some plays. We just have to be able to get hits when we get runners on base.”