Sports
Softball: Benet Looks To Continue Roll in State Semifinals
Redwings enter Class 4A state playoff rounds for first time Friday at 4:30 p.m. in East Peoria.
After a four-game stretch that saw Benet’s softball team lose twice each to Marist and Marian Catholic in late April, a trip to the state tournament seemed remote.
But since the last of those defeats on April 30, the Redwings are 18-2 and reached this weekend’s state tournament rounds at East Side Centre in East Peoria for the first time in program history.
Benet will face Moline in Friday’s Class 4A semifinals at 4:30 p.m.
Find out what's happening in Napervillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“We just played badly that day,” Benet coach Jerry Schilf said of the doubleheader sweep at the hands of Marian on April 30. “[After that] we had some opponents we could compete against and we started to hit the ball. Even through the playoffs, we do the same exact thing every day.
"It may be kind of boring, but the kids have confidence and we don’t want to change anything. I think the confidence started to build. Before you know it, we have 18 of the last 20 games we won.”
Find out what's happening in Napervillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The Redwings (31-9) finished third in the East Suburban Catholic and earned a No. 5 seed in the sectional but got hot at the right time.
Schilf points to the team’s final loss, a 5-3 defeat to Mother McAuley on May 21, as the precursor for the Redwings’ current run. Since then, Benet has six straight wins, all against quality opponents.
“I thought that game got us really ready because they’re a great team and we had them down,” Schilf said. “Then we came back and beat a really good Leyden team. That really got us going.”
Seven of the team’s current players were a part of the supersectional team that won 31 games in 2009, but fell one win shy of advancing to the state round. Senior pitcher Allyson Staats, who tied a school record with 28 wins this season, is one of those leaders that remain from the '09 team.
Staats has been the key to the postseason success for Benet. In Monday’s upset win over nationally ranked Richards, Staats escaped several key jams, including leaving two runners on base in three separate innings.
“She’s an awesome pitcher and we can count on her to get us out of jams,” said Benet freshman Marissa Panko. “We made them leave a lot of people on base, which was big, because if they scored those runs, the game would have been totally different.
"It’s great to have a pitcher like her. We just want to back her up.”
Offensively, it’s a pair of underclassmen who have been the key, infusing the veteran team with power numbers. Sophomore Maeve McGuire (.475) and freshman Julianne Rurka (.474) are the team’s top two hitters and are tied for the Redwing lead with five home runs each.
Moline (26-8-1) is built similarly to Benet. The Maroons only have five seniors on the roster, including ace pitcher Jordan Kasbohm (24-5, 1.37 ERA).
Offensively, it’s underclassmen that rule the day for the Maroons. Juniors Brittny Drish (.282, six home runs, 38 RBIs) and Kaitlyn Knary (.480, 41 runs) and sophomore Jordan de los Reyes (.385, five home runs, 38 RBIs) lead the way.
The difference is in the pedigree of the programs. Benet is making its first trip to state rounds. Moline is in the state tournament for the 13th time since 1986, including five state championships and a third-place finish last year.
Because of the path Benet has followed to state, that legacy doesn’t faze the Redwings.
“We just keep believing and going strong,” Panko said. “We know we can do it because we worked so hard. We know we can do it.”
