MAPLE PARK – Every team enters the state tournament on at least a five-game winning streak.
The Kaneland softball team enters the Class 3A tournament having won 15 straight – the longest of any of the eight teams playing in the Class 3A and Class 4A tournaments this weekend. And the Knights have the confidence to match.
“We can do anything we put our minds to,” Kaneland second baseman Donatella Sommesi said. “We’ve made it this far; there’s no stopping us now. We’re in the final four, and I think we have what it takes to come out on top.”
The Knights (26-9) open the Class 3A tournament against Providence Catholic (28-11) at 10 a.m. Friday, while Mt. Zion (30-7) and Montini (28-9) play in the other semifinal at 12:30 p.m. The championship game will be at 12:30 p.m. Saturday with the third-place game at 10 a.m.
Kaneland coach Mike Kuefler said the Celtics remind him of his Knights, particularly with both teams’ offensive capabilities.
The Celtics boast a lot of power – both Hannah Falejczyk and Lex Leighton have 12 homers and Taylor Young has nine, while freshman Rose Roach leads the Knights with six homers.
Nicole Mucha is hitting .702 for the Celtics but with only 47 at-bats. Among the eight players with at least 70 at-bats, Leighton leads the way with a .407 batting average. Kaneland has four players with at least 70 at-bats who are hitting at least .390, led by Sommesi’s .528.
“Our confidence is at an all-time high, and that’s all we can ask for with a group like this,” Kuefler said. “I don’t seen any kind of nerves. The tournament we played, the section we went through with the quality teams we played – our girls are prepared.”
Emilee Erickson likely will be in the circle for the Knights. She’s pitched all but one inning of the postseason for Kaneland and is 19-4 with a 1.86 ERA. She’s struck out 204 and walked 73 in 131 2/3 innings. Laila Summers has pitched 1542/3 innings for the Celtics and is 16-6 with a 3.21 ERA, striking out 128 and walking 49.
Even with all the power and offensive prowess at the Celtics’ disposal, coach Jay Biesterfeld said they’re taking nothing for granted against Erickson.
“Anytime you face good pitching, you can’t assume you’re going to put up the numbers you always do,” Biesterfeld said. “We played good competition throughout the year, and it’s not like we haven’t faced good pitchers before. But the kids are ready to go out there and make sure they’re getting good pitches to hit, force them to make plays.”
The Knights went on a four-game losing streak earlier this year, including back-to-back losses to Sycamore, a team that hadn’t beaten them since 2011.
But immediately after those losses, the winning streak began. They even got a win against Sycamore, 10-0, in the Class 3A Rosary Regional title game.
“We were kind of freaking out not to lose,” Kaneland center field Lexi Abruzzo said. “Once we realized we lost those games, we dropped them – it didn’t really matter. We weren't thinking about conference, we wanted to stay in it of course, but we were really just trying to play better."
She said the team has tried to make it a point to stay loose.
“We’re kind of goofy,” Abruzzo said. “We know when to get serious, but we like to keep it loose, especially with a pretty young team.”
After the Sycamore loss, the Knights topped Montini, 11-10, after trailing by nine at a tournament in Marengo, going on to beat the hosts and then Huntley to win the title.
“We were just searching for a win, and once we got ahold of one we took it and ran with it,” Sommesi said. “Like I said, there was no stopping us, and there’s no stopping us now. We love to win.”