Burlington Central seniors end careers in style

Burlington Central shortstop Kayla Oranger is late with the tag as Glenbard South's Lauren Podgorski is safe at second base during the Class 3A state championship consolation game.
(Larry Kane/For The Sun-Times News Group)

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EAST PEORIA -- It couldn't have been scripted much better for the five Burlington Central seniors on Saturday.

In what was their last game, win or lose, each senior provided key contribution in the Rockets' 3-1 win over Glenbard South, especially Mackenzie Scott.

Not only did she provide the game-winning, two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the sixth to lead her team to a third-place state finish in Class 3A, but she also struck out the final batter looking to end her illustrious four-year career with 66 wins.

When she looks back at her softball career at Central, she'll know that her final plate appearance and final pitch each resulted in game-winners.

"For us seniors, it's really cool, we've never won our last game before and it's just awesome," Scott said afterward. "We worked really hard to get here and I'm really gonna miss everyone."

Scott ended her season at 21-3 with 300 strikeouts. In seven postseason games, she allowed just one earned run, 13 hits and struck out 88 batters.

Fellow seniors Kayla Oranger, Brittany Priest, Lindsay Lange and Jess Herrmann each reached base Saturday. Oranger, who will be playing at the University of Texas-El Paso this fall, had a single, stolen base and a run scored. In the two State Finals games she went 3-for-7 and made three putouts while playing shortstop.

The speedy left-handed batter ends her four-year varsity career with the school record for hits (212), runs scored (177) and stolen bases (159).

Priest had more of a defining moment in the game. With the game still scoreless in the bottom of the third, Priest fell behind in the count 1-2.

It was then that coach Scot Sutherland yelled from the third base box "come on, senior," instead of yelling out the batter's number, which is what he normally does. Priest sent the next pitch into left-center field to give the Rockets an early 1-0 lead.

"She's the one that needed to get us going there, and sure enough, she did," Sutherland said.

"I just thought, 'I need to get it done. Somebody has to do it,' " said Priest, whose second hit of the day also came on a 1-2 count.

"So I just took a deep breath. I was really relaxed, was seeing the ball real well and was just like, 'I'm gonna swing and hopefully good things will happen.' "

Lange reached on an error and scored from second in the sixth when Scott delivered her double. However, Lange's shining moment came while playing left field. With the Rockets up 1-0 in the fifth, Lange prevented the Raiders from taking a 2-1 lead by throwing out a runner at the plate after Brianna Meath delivered a bases-loaded, two-out hit that landed just in front of Lange.

Batting in the No. 7 hole, Herrmann -- who came into the postseason batting .340 -- also made her presence felt by ripping a single to right in the sixth.

"You can't ask for a better way for the seniors to end their season and the great career they've had," Sutherland said. "I'm just so happy for all of them."