PEKIN – Edwardsville’s softball team did all they could against Rock Island, grabbing an early lead off Rocks pitcher Ashley Peters but seeing Rock Island take the lead in the fifth.
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The Tigers found themselves on the ropes but took the lead back with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, only to see the Rocks tie it up in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.
In the end, however, one big hit from the Rocks’ Delaney Kelley was enough to bring Edwardsville’s season to an end.
Kelley’s RBI single in the bottom of the 11th drove in Sophia Thorner with the winning run as Rock Island defeated Edwardsville 4-3 in 11 innings in Friday’s IHSA Class 4A Pekin Sectional final, eliminating the Tigers at 22-4 on the year and sending the Rocks to Monday’s Normal Super-Sectional against the winner of today’s Joliet West Sectional final between Minooka and Frankfort Lincoln-Way East; Rock Island improved to 28-5 on the year.
“It went back-and-forth; it had to be a great game to watch from a fan perspective – they got their money’s worth and both teams competed hard,” said Tiger coach Lori Blade. “It’s just a tough one to take the loss on and fortunately, in the past, we’ve been celebrating usually at this time; hats off to Rock Island.
“It was an old-school game, just back-and-forth; Emma (Lewis) has a home run and they get two back and then we take the lead in the seventh and we give back one. That’s how this game goes and it’s a game of inches; that ball to tie it up in the seventh goes right off (Anna) Burke’s glove – she got up for it and made a great attempt, but just couldn’t come down with it.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group of kids to battle the way they did today and throughout the season.”
Lewis gave the Tigers the lead with a solo homer off Peters to the left-field corner to put EHS to the lead early; both Peters and Jordyn Henricks then settled in for what looked like was going to be a pitcher’s duel; both pitchers kept retiring the sides quickly until the fourth, when Henricks found a way to get out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam before Peters got out of a top-of-the-fifth situation that had runners at the corners for Edwardsville with one out kept the game at 1-0 in Edwardsville’s favor.
Rock Island then took the lead in the fifth when Mackenzie Melody and Peters scored on a wild pitch and single, but Edwardsville responded in the seventh when Makenzie Owens scored on a grounder to second by Brooke Webber after reaching on a leadoff single; Lewis then tripled in Lauren Taplin, who had singled previously, to put the Tigers back on top.
During that Rock Island rally, Peters got to third on a Lauryn Stegall single and crashed into Maria Smith, who was covering the base and knocking her out, forcing Smith from the game.
The Rocks drew even with EHS in the bottom of the frame when Peters drew a two-out walk from Meghan Gorniak, who had stepped into the circle in the fifth for Henricks, then conceded a single to Stegall to put runners at first and second before Kelley stepped up and lined a single off Burke’s outstretched glove to bring in Peters and tie the game.
Things stayed even through the next three innings, though the Rocks did have a chance in the bottom of the 10th when Emma Spurgetis and Raghen Walker singled off Gorniak before she struck out Janey Harris to end the threat. Thomer then led off the 11th with a single and after Gorniak got Peters to fly out to left, Stegall then singled to put runners at first and second to bring up Kelley, who got the game-winning RBI single to bring around Thomer to give the game to Rock Island.
Lewis led the Tigers with a 2-for-5 day with a triple and homer, two RBIs and a run scored; Burke was 2-for-4, Taplin 2-for-5 with a run scored, Owens 1-for-4 with a run scored and Henricks 1-for-5 on the day. Gorniak took the loss, striking out four while Henricks had eight strikeouts on the day before Gorniak stepped in.
