Raena DelAngel made sure the Wilmington softball team got its postseason off to a good start Monday.
She homered, doubled and drove in four runs as Wilmington advanced with a 9-3 win over Reed-Custer in the Class 2A Coal City regional quarterfinal played in Wilmington. Freshman Taylor Stefancic homered as part of a three-hit day, and Tannya Gross drove in a pair for the Wildcats. Reed-Custer (7-15) got RBIs from Emma Wilson and Leah Grace.
Sixth-seeded Wilmington will face second-seeded Coal City on Tuesday in a regional semifinal matchup.
Plainfield Central 11, Romeoville 1 (5 inn.): At Plainfield, six runs in the first inning proved all the Wildcats would need in the Southwest Prairie Conference contest. Brialynn Mica had a double and three RBIs, and Tricia Hogrefe had three hits and drove in two for Central (9-19, 5-9 SPC). Morgan Walker had an RBI single for the Spartans (5-16, 3-10).
Beecher 7, Coal City 5: At Coal City, Abby Gagliardo doubled twice and drove in three for the Coalers, who lost in their tune-up for the state tournament. Addison Harvey hit a two-run home run for Coal City (27-8).
Plainfield East 5, Plainfield South 0: At Plainfield, Avery Welsh was on her game in the SPC contest with the host Cougars. Welsh struck out 16 and faced three batters over the minimum for the Bengals. McKenna Repovich homered and drove in a pair, and Lauren Brock had two doubles for East (13-13, 6-8).
Lemont 4-12, Tinley Park 0-0: At Tinley Park, the defending Class 3A state champions look every bit the ready to defend their title, and it helps to have Sage Mardjetko. The South Carolina signee struck out nine in Game 1 and another 12 in Game 2. She faced two batters over the minimum as Lemont improved to 26-1, 15-1 in the South Suburban Conference. Natalie Pacyga had two hits and drove in three for Lemont in Game 2.
Ottawa 10, Morris 0 (6 inn.): At Ottawa, Morris was limited to four hits in the Interstate 8 Conference game. Ella Davis, Alyssa Jepson, Karson Dransfeldt and Kylee Claypool had singles for Morris (21-11, 8-5).
Plainfield North 4, West Aurora 3: At Aurora, Addison Conrad tied the game for North with an RBI single in the top of the sixth, then Isabella Palermo was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in the game winner for the Tigers (15-12, 8-6 SPC). Giana Winge homered for North.
Yorkville 12, Minooka 0 (5 inn.): At Minooka, the Indians fell to the top team in the SPC and were held to one hit. Gracie Anderson had a single for Minooka (15-15, 8-5).
Lockport 7, Munster (Indiana) 6: At Lockport, the Porters jumped out to a big lead then held off the Mustangs. Morgan Spodarek hit a home run and drove in four runs for Lockport (23-6-1). Brooke Keltner added two RBIs, and Kelcie McGraw did the rest from the circle, striking out 13.
BASEBALL
Seneca 7, Herscher 2: In a Class 2A Coal City regional quarterfinal game played in Seneca, the sixth-seeded Irish opened regional play by jumping out to an early lead. Junior Casey Clennon doubled and drove in two for Seneca (18-8). Aidan Vilcek and Austin Aldridge combined to strike out nine for the Irish. Seneca will face top-seeded Joliet Catholic Academy on Wednesday.
Bishop McNamara 14, Peotone 5: In a Class 2A Manteno Regional quarterfinal game in Kankakee, Bishop Mac broke the game open with nine runs in the bottom of the sixth. Joe Hasse, Dylan Sroka and Jacob Eaheart had RBIs for Peotone (3-20).
Plainfield Central 8, Joliet Central 1: At Plainfield, the Wildcats smacked 12 hits to cruise in the SPC contest. Hector Corona doubled twice and knocked in three for Plainfield Central (26-7, 12-1). Gavin Garnica had two hits and two RBIs for the Wildcats. Jose Huizar-Ledezma had an RBI for Joliet Central (9-22, 2-11).
Joliet West 9, Plainfield South 5: At Plainfield, James Love had three hits and drove in two of the Tigers runs. Parker Schwarting drove in two, and Jimmy Anderson fanned seven for West (20-9, 11-3 SPC). Arturo Roldan drove in two for South (11-15-2, 6-8).
Lockport 8, Bolingbrook 3: At Lockport, the Porters broke the game open with a five-spot in the fourth inning of their SouthWest Suburban Conference win. Giovani Zaragoza had three hits, and Jake Moerman and Joey Manzo had two RBIs apiece for Lockport (19-9, 9-4). Jonny Carrera and Danny Van Tholen had RBIs for Bolingbrook (8-21, 2-9).
Lemont 7, Tinley Park 4: At Tinley Park, five runs in the first and a solid effort from the bullpen lifted Lemont (24-6, 16-0) to the South Suburban Conference win. Mike Biscan came into the game in relief and struck out eight in five innings. Pat Gardner drove in two, and Carter Storti homered and doubled for Lemont.
Lexington 6, Gardner-South Wilmington 5: In a Class 1A Lexington Regional quarterfinal in Gardner, the Minutemen plated three in the top of the seventh to complete the comeback. GSW (12-12) scored twice in the last of the seventh. Senior Dan Halpin had four hits, including a pair of doubles, for the Panthers.
Homewood-Flossmoor 6, Lincoln-Way East 5 (9 inn.): At Flossmoor, the Griffins came back with two in the top of the seventh inning to force extras but fell in nine. Tyler Bell hit a home run as part of a two-hit day for East (25-7, 10-2). Aiden Knipper and Blake Binkowski had RBIs for the Griffins.
Andrew 3, Lincoln-Way West 2: At Tinley Park, Connor Essenberg had two hits and struck out five for the Warriors (22-8, 9-3) in an SWSC loss.
Minooka 10, West Aurora 0 (6 inn.): At Aurora, Ryan Anderson, Tyler DeLuca and Ben Muhich combined to strike out 12 for the Indians in the SPC win. Nate George and Andrew Forillo doubled twice, and Issac Goddard tripled and drove in two for Minooka (17-13, 5-8).
Plainfield North 5, Oswego East 0: At Plainfield, Kash Koslowski went six-plus striking out five to lead the Tigers in the SPC. Aiden Zelenski had two RBIs to pace North (13-15, 6-9).
Romeoville 5, Plainfield East 3 (9 inn.): At Plainfield, Carlos Otero and Braden Lee scored on an error in the top of the ninth for Romeoville (14-18, 7-6) in the SPC win. Jonny Lee struck out six to lead the Spartans. Nolan Holgado and Justin Perez had RBIs for Romeoville. Tayden Washington drove in two for East (7-23, 2-11).
Manteno 6, Dwight 1: At Dwight, the Trojans dropped their seventh straight in a nonconference contest. Sophomore Luke Gallet smacked a solo home run in the first inning for Dwight (9-18).
Wilmington 6, Pontiac 2: At Pontiac, Lucas Rink’s two-run single in the top of the seventh lifted the Wildcats to the win. Ryan Kettman drove in two runs in support of Joe Cortese, who struck out nine in six innings for Wilmington (16-9).