ROCHELLE -- Thanks to the best two consecutive hits of the game, Sterling pulled out a 1-0, eight-inning victory over Rosary in the "underdog" semifinal of the Class 3A Rochelle Sectional.
On paper, neither team was expected to be in Thursday's contest, with No. 3-seeded Rosary claiming only its third regional crown in program history, knocking off the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds to reach sectional play for the first time in 15 years.
Sterling surprised its Nos. 1 and 2 seeds as a No. 4 in its regional and made history by claiming the program's first win in sectional softball play Thursday.
The Golden Warriors, whose 19-16 record includes 11 one-run losses in the regular season, advance to Saturday's sectional championship to face Burlington Central, a victor over Sycamore in Wednesday's semifinal, which featured a pair of No. 1 regional seeds.
Defensive plays provided the highlights until the top of the eighth, when Sterling's Lauren Schneidermann singled to right and stole second before teammate Jamie Rehmert blasted an RBI double off the fence in center.
"The pitch was right there. I thought it might be gone, but it was at least far enough that it still got the run in," said Rehmert, who also boosted her pitching record to 13-12. The junior right-hander went the distance in scattering three Royals hits and walking two while notching eight strikeouts.
Sterling had the initial threat in the top of the first with two outs, when Angie Minnick and Ashli King reached on a grounder and a flare, respectively. That's when Rosary pitcher Jessica Fortier (7-11) stopped Sterling with one of her three strikeouts.
Both teams stranded a runner in the second, but in the bottom of the third with two outs, the Royals got their opening hit when Brenda Rocha singled up the middle. However, that opportunity ended when Sterling catcher King threw to shortstop Niki Rivera and the infield umpire called Rocha out. That ruling kept the Rosary sophomore from being a perfect 30-for-30 on the season in stolen-base attempts.
After both sides again stranded runners in the fifth, it was three up, three down for the entire sixth. With two outs in the seventh, Sophia Aponte's hard-hit grounder caromed off Rosary's Tara Pfeiffer at third, but Rocha snared the ball and gunned to first for the latest of the defensive gems.
That's when Rosary had its "golden" opportunity on offense. Elmhurst College-bound Courtney Classen singled up the middle and advanced on Fortier's sacrifice bunt. Rehmert's strikeout pitch then eluded King at the plate, allowing Emily Meyer to reach first while Classen moved to third. With one out, Meyer also stole second before the Sterling right-hander tallied her last strikeout.
The door was still open when Audrey Ruddy eyed four straight balls for a walk to load the bases. However, Sterling dodged defeat when shortstop Rivera handled Cassie Zachmann's grounder.
"I was a little bit nervous; I know my heart was thumping,' Rehmert said after having walked Ruddy. "The key was to keep our composure and fight through that situation."
Having done so, that set the stage for the Golden Warriors' eighth-inning offensive showing.
"Unfortunately, we weren't able to get anyone in or string together any offense," Rosary coach Tara Peters said. "I thought we played some outstanding defense. We had a couple plays that if we don't make them, the game's over. Jessie pitched great.
"We had some great teamwork this year and I'm truly proud of the team. And I'm grateful for my assistants' extra efforts," said Peters, whose pregnancy forced her to coach from the dugout.
Six sophomores and four juniors hope to improve next year on Rosary's 13-18 campaign while the College of DuPage awaits the battery of catcher Andrea DeKing and Fortier.
"The whole game was a struggle with both teams battling," Fortier said. "I know our defense is tough while on offense we made contact. We were so close sometimes, but either we just missed or they made the play. It's certainly disappointing to lose, but especially when we were so close." Softball: Class 3A Rochelle Sectional
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