Lockport keeps eye on prize
Win over JT has Porters tied for 1st place
JOLIET -- By the high standards that the program has set, it's been a long time since the Lockport High School softball team has won a conference championship.
But the Porters are in a position to earn at least a share of the SouthWest Suburban Blue crown with Sandburg if they win at Stagg on Thursday and the Eagles win at Bolingbrook.
Lockport moved a step closer to winning its first league title since its state championship season of 2004 after it rolled to a 12-3 victory over Joliet Township on Tuesday.
Things were close for 4 innings before the Porters (24-6, 10-2) scored 4 times in the fifth inning to break open what had only been a 4-3 lead over the Steelmen (9-20, 4-8).
"The score definitely doesn't reflect the type of game that it started out to be," Porters coach Marissa Chovanec said. "Joliet has a lot of speed so a lot of things could happen, and in the first inning they did. But our defense settled down and offensively we came out and attacked and put some runs on the board.
"Alyssa Vorel also settled down on the mound and we needed that type of game going into the postseason. We're now tied for conference going into Thursday and we want to get that next win. But we know it will be an emotional game since we're fighting for the conference title while it will be their senior day."
Picking up the victory was Alyssa Vorel, who tossed a 6-hitter and struck out 7 in a complete-game effort. She retired 9 of the last 10 hitters that she faced.
Lockport took control in the fifth when Brittaney Gonsoulin smacked a 3-run blast to center that also scored Katelyn Braget and Samantha Stanicek. It added a run when Courtney Kutsulis came home on a wild pitch.
In the sixth inning, the Porters boosted their advantage to 10-3 when Kutsulis (2 RBI) drove in Braget (2-for-2, 2 RBI) and Gonsoulin (3-for-4, 4 RBI, 3 runs) with a double to left.
Lockport closed out the scoring with 2 more runs in the seventh as Jordan Halata doubled in Kayleigh Bertram and then scored on a single by Gonsoulin. Amanda Stanton also was 2-for-3 for the winners.
"This is really exciting because we haven't won a conference title in awhile," Gonsoulin said. "We'll be tied for first place in conference if we can beat Stagg, but they're a tough team so we know that it won't be easy.
"Joliet came out and got a few runs but then we started to execute better. When I came up in the fifth, I wasn't thinking about hitting a home run, I just wanted to drive the ball and it just happened to be a home run."
Both teams scored a pair of runs in the opening inning after getting only 1 hit. Lockport struck quickly as Braget smacked a 2-run double to center that brought in Jenny Festin and Bertram.
Joliet evened things up in the bottom of the frame, however, when Jhavon Hamilton scored on a wild pitch and Emma Plese came home on a 2-out error.
Lockport moved in front at 4-2 after scoring a pair of runs with 2 outs in the third inning. Vorel (2-for-5, 2 RBI) doubled to left to drive in Stanicek and Gonsoulin.
The Steelmen got a run back in he fourth when Plese slapped a ball in front of home plate and the Porters made no play as pinchrunner Krystal Buchenau scored.
"We kept coming at them, but we just have to get it done defensively and on the mound, that's what it boils down to," Steelmen coach Laurie Markatos-Pappas said. "In softball when you score three or four runs you should win the game so we have to bear down and be tough.
"You can't give a team like Lockport extra chances with the errors and walks and their big inning started out like that. We hit very well against their pitcher and we're still improving as a team. We were on the cusp of doing something really good today and then we gave it away."