HH_061418

homerhorizon.com sports
the Homer Horizon | June 14, 2018 | 39
fastbreak
Provi softball triumphs 16-15 to get third at state
22nd Century Media File Photo
1st and 3
Providence softball
ends season with
third-place finish at
state
1. Prevailing in a slug
fest
The Celtics softball
team (29-12) won 16-
15 with a thrilling rally
and tally in extra innings
Saturday, June
9, to capture third
place in the Class 3A
state tournament at
EastSide Centre in
East Peoria.
2. Young delivers
Homer Glen’s Taylor
Young, a shortstop
for the Celtics, went
2-for-5 in her final
high school game,
including a two-out,
two-run homer in
the bottom of the
seventh to cut the
deficit at that time to
15-14.
3. Mucha mashes
Freshman second
baseman/pitcher
and Homer Glen
resident Nicole Mucha
had three hits
and scored two runs
for her team in its
victory.
Homer Glen’s Young
hits clutch home run
during comeback in
bottom of seventh
Randy Whalen
Freelance Reporter
It was an unforgettable
ending to an unforgettable
game and capped off an unforgettable
season.
Down much of the game
and down to its last strike
at one point, the Providence
softball team rallied for a
wild 16-15 victory in eight
innings over Mt. Zion on
Saturday, June 9, to capture
third place in the Class 3A
state tournament at EastSide
Centre in East Peoria.
The Celtics (29-12), who
also finished third in Class
3A in 2012, matched their
highest finish ever. They did
that by never giving up in a
game that was as wacky as it
was wonderful. The 31 combined
runs shattered the record
for most in a state tournament
game in any class.
Providence had 22 hits,
which tied the record set by
Lebanon in a 2010 Class 1A
22-2 semifinal win over Serena.
“That’s got to be one of
the most exciting third-place
games that you’ll ever see,”
Providence coach Jay Biesterfeld
said. “We’d battle
back to take the lead, and
then we’d lose it and battle,
and then would get the lead
again. We knew that we
would score some runs, so
we told them to fight to the
end. Just keep swinging, and
we’ll find a way to get the
runs that we need. It just had
that feeling that whoever had
the last at-bat was going to
win. It came down to our last
strike, and it worked out.
“[The team] all just got it
done in pressure situations,
and I’m so proud of them. It
wasn’t the most well-played
game by any means, but both
teams had no quit in them,
and it didn’t matter what the
score was. We just had to
stay positive, stay with it and
see if we could find a way to
pull it off, and we did.”
Providence led 1-0 after
an inning, then trailed 4-1
after sophomore left fielder
Stephanie Hurm (3-for-4, 2
R, 6 RBI) hit a grand slam in
the top of the third and 5-3
before battling back to lead
6-5 after four. But Mt. Zion
(30-9) got five in the top of
the fifth to lead 10-6. The
Celtics got three runs back
in the bottom of the fifth
on a three-run homer by senior
designated player Hannah
Falejczyk (2-for-3, R, 3
RBI), her team-leading 13th
of the season.
Providence retook the lead
at 11-10 with a pair of runs in
the bottom of the sixth on a
two-run double by Shannon
Smith (4-for-5, 2 R, 4 RBI).
The junior catcher also had
a double in the first, a tworun
single in the third and
finished a home run short of
hitting for the cycle.
But the Braves banged
Providence Catholic seniors (left to right) Hannah
Falejczyk, Homer Glen resident Taylor Young, New Lenox
resident Courtney Mahalik and Emily Pilon pose with the
spoils of their victory from the Class 3A third-place game
at this year’s IHSA State Softball Finals played Saturday,
June 9, at EastSide Centre in East Peoria. The Celtics
prevailed to leave with bronze medals and a new trophy
after knocking off Mt. Zion 16-15 in an exciting, eight-inning
contest. Clark Brooks/PhotoNews Media
out five runs in the top of
the seventh, four of them
after two were out, to take a
15-11 lead. Providence was
down to its last three outs
but staged an amazing rally
in the bottom of the seventh.
Junior third baseman Maggie
Joutras (1-for-5) led off
the inning with a towering
homer to center, her second
of the season. But after the
next two batters made outs,
things looked grim.
However, the Celtics rallied.
Sophomore right fielder
and Tinley Park resident
Teagan Sopczak (3-for-5, 3
R, 3 RBI) doubled to right
center. Senior shortstop and
Homer Glen resident Taylor
Young (2-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI)
followed with a homer, her
10th of the season, to center
field. That was the 61st and
final round-tripper of the
Celtics’ season, as they easily
established a new homer
record for most in a season.
“My first few at-bats, I
was too anxious, but then [in
the seventh], I got the barrel
of the bat on it,” Young
said of her home run. “At
the end, we just fought. We
wanted that game, and we
were not finished. We have
such a great lineup. That was
the craziest game ever, but it
was my last game with the
team, and to win is special.”
Now within a run, Smith
stepped up to the plate. With
the count 2-2, she smashed a
ball into the left-field corner
and raced all the way around
for a triple.
Junior center fielder and
Green Garden resident Lex
Leighton (3-for-5, R, 2 RBI)
followed by smashing a 1-1
pitch past third for an RBI
single, and, amazingly, the
game was tied. Freshman
second baseman/pitcher and
Homer Glen resident Nicole
Mucha (3-for-5, 2 R) then
had an infield single, but a
pop out ended the inning,
and the teams went to the
eighth.
In the top of the eighth,
pitcher Laila Summers sat
Mt. Zion down in order for
the only time during the
game.
Joutras was robbed of a
hit to open the bottom of the
eighth. But no matter, senior
first/second baseman Emily
Pilon (3-for-4, R, BB)
singled to left. Sophomore
left fielder Maggie Hurley
(1-for-2), who entered the
game as a pinch hitter in the
seventh, then doubled down
the third-base line to put
runners at second and third.
Up stepped Sopczak, who
smashed a single to right
center to score freshman
pinch runner Allysa Ibarra
with the winning run to end
the wild game.
Providence graduates only
four seniors. Left fielder
and New Lenox resident
Courtney Mahalik (0-for-1,
2 SAC, RBI) was the other
senior and knocked in a run
with a sacrifice fly in the
fourth.
LISTEN UP
“At the end, we just fought. We wanted that game, and we
were not finished.”
Taylor Young — Celtics softball player and Homer Glen resident, on how
her team was able to rally to win in the third-place game at state
Tune In
Youth Football
Off to camp — June 11-27, at LTHS’s East Campus
• The Porter Football Youth Summer SKILLS
Camp is for players ages 5-14 to practice and
develop skills in a safe setting and meets twice
a week.
Index
38 - Team 22
37 - Athlete of the Week
FASTBREAK is compiled by Editor Thomas
Czaja, tom@homerhorizon.com.