NL_061418

38 | June 14, 2018 | The New Lenox Patriot SPORTS
newlenoxpatriot.com
Celtics triumphant, take third place at state
Providence’s Young
hits clutch home run
during comeback in
bottom of seventh
Randy Whalen
Freelance Reporter
It was an unforgettable
ending to and 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 atbat
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 teamleading
13th of the season.
“Honestly, this [comeback]
was because we’re all so connected,
all so close,” said
Falejczyk, who hit a two-run
home run on her 18th birthday
with two outs in the bottom
of the sixth to give the
Celtics a 4-3 win over Morris
on May 24 in the opening
postseason game. “We can
all hit, but this [third-place
game] was stressful, exciting,
emotional. It was a lot, but it
was real emotional, as it was
the last high school game that
I was playing in, and I got to
go out with a win.”
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 two-run
single in the third and finished
a home run short of hitting for
the cycle.
But the Braves banged 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 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.
“I just got an inside pitch,
threw my hands at it and
went with it,” Smith said of
the triple. “As I got to first,
[first base coach Jim] Holba
told me, ‘Three.’ It was great
to win it. It was a pretty long
game (two hours and 42 minutes).
It was crazy. It was like
a slug fest.”
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
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, eightinning
contest. Clark Brooks/PhotoNews Media
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.
The sophomore right-hander
started the game and then left
in the fifth, only to reenter in
the seventh. She pitched six
total innings, allowing nine
runs, seven earned, on 11
hits with four walks and four
strikeouts. She got the win to
finish the season at 17-7.
“We just had to get back up
to score; we knew we could,”
Summers said of the late innings.
“We were just having
fun, and everyone on this
team brings something to the
table. At the end, I was so excited
and happy.”
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 thirdbase
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.
On Friday, June 8, the Celtics
lost to Kaneland by a score
of 8-1 in a state semifinal
game that had nearly the same
amount of delay for lightning
strikes (one hour and 44 minutes)
as it actually took to play
(one hour and 47 minutes).
Kaneland (27-10) gave up
12 runs in the top of the seventh
and saw an 8-3 lead turn
into a 15-8 loss to Montini
(30-9) the next day Saturday,
June 9, in the Class 3A state
championship game.
“Give credit to them,
since they were putting the
ball in play,” Biesterfeld
said of Kaneland. “A lot of
those were just hard ground
balls, and the infield is hard
and fast, so those balls were
scooting through, and that’s
all that you have to do, put the
ball on the ground. They took
advantage of how the field
was playing, and you have to
give them credit for that.
“I know that we can play
better, and it wasn’t our best
game, but they beat us. They
deserved to win the game.”
Providence had six hits
and committed three errors.
Joutras (2-for-2, BB) got on
all three plate appearances
from the No. 9 spot. Sopczak
(1-for-4) had the only RBI on
a groundout in the bottom of
the seventh.
In the end, though, it was
the memorable triumph in the
third-place game the Celtics
will long remember.
“That was pretty crazy;
there were so many runs
scored and everything,” Sopczak
said of the game versus
Mt. Zion. “[At the end], I just
didn’t try to do too much. It
was an outside pitch, and I
stayed back and went with it.
I had confidence, and it was a
relief to win.”