Lockport falls in sectional finals
NAPERVILLE -- Whether Saturday's Class 4A Neuqua Valley Sectional championship softball game between Lockport High School and Naperville Central went seven or extra innings, the matchup had the earmarks of a good one.
The talented adversaries entered with identical 29-6 records. Each team had outstanding senior pitchers -- Naperville Central's Natalie Wunderlich and the Porters' Dana Bowler.
herald news file photo
And as the adage goes, something would have to give before too long.
After eight scoreless innings, the Redhawks broke through with a 3-spot in the top of the ninth.
That was more than enough support for Wunderlich, an Eastern Illinois University-bound right-hander who recorded her fourth consecutive postseason shutout in a 3-0 win over Lockport.
"You could tell that this was going to be a close one from the start," Lockport coach Marissa Chovanec said. "There were two good teams going against each other. Not many runs would be scored."
With Wunderlich (20-5, 11 shutouts) and Bowler (9-3) on the mound, runs were going to be at a premium.
After junior left fielder Kacey Rogers led off the third inning with an infield single, the Porters' next, and only other baserunner, came in the seventh. Senior first baseman Maggie Dugan singled with two outs.
Wunderlich retired 14 straight batters before Dugan collected her two-out single. Wunderlich struck out 5, walked none and allowed just the 2 hits.
After her hit, Rogers advanced to third on consecutive grounders before another ground ball ended the game's first scoring threat.
"Both teams playing here in this game are talented," said Lockport senior catcher Samantha Stanicek who will play at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. "We had difficulty getting hits or runners on today. We played as hard as we could, but it was just more of Naperville Central's day."
Bowler, who will play at Ferris State University (Mich.), finished with 9 strikeouts and 2 walks around a yield of 6 hits.
Bowler, who pitched three scoreless innings to record the save in a 3-1 semifinal win over Hinsdale South, had her four-pitch repertoire -- fastball, rise, curve and changeup -- working during the early going.
"Dana always goes to the mound and gives it her best shot every game," said Lockport senior right fielder Brittaney Gonsoulin, who will play at Southeast Missouri State. "She did that again in this game. We just came up short."
In the top of the ninth, a single, fielder's choice which got no outs, and a Lockport error on a sacrifice bunt loaded the bases with no outs for the Redhawks. Bowler retired the next two batters before walking the No. 9 hitter to force in the game's first run.
Freshman leadoff hitter Kelsey Gonzalez (2 hits) then delivered a 2-run single for Naperville Central, which plays Bartlett at 4:30 p.m. Monday in Lisle Supersectional play at Benedictine University. Bartlett advanced with a 2-1 win over St. Charles North.
"I went out there and pitched my heart out," Bowler said. "As a team, we fought as hard as we could until the very end. We never gave up. We've remained a close team the entire year."
The Porters once again had a very good season. They won the competitive Southwest Suburban Conference Blue championship with an 11-3 record.
"We were able to win the conference and that was one of our goals," said Lockport senior center fielder Morgan Kramerich, who will also play at Ferris State. "We hoped to not make mistakes today, but the breaks did not go our way in the end."
