High school softball: Richmond-Burton upsets Lakes for regional championship

LAKE VILLA — The Richmond-Burton softball team's bats were so red-hot during Saturday's Class 3A Lakes Regional championship game, it probably would've taken a fire hose and a steady stream of water to cool them off.
 
The No. 6 seed Rockets (15-10) pounded out 16 hits, drew five walks and had seven different players score runs, en route to a 13-8 upset victory over No. 3 seed and host Lakes (21-13).
 
The end result was the program's first regional title since 2011, and it came with a huge exclamation point attached.
 
"This is a surreal moment for me," Rockets senior Haylie Regnier said. "This is my fourth year on varsity, and this moment means everything because I knew this was my last chance to make a stand. I've dreamed of this moment since I was a freshman, and to be standing here actually experiencing it ... it's just unbelievable."
 
Senior center fielder Ashley Rodriguez kicked off the scoring in the top of the second when she belted an opposite field line drive solo homer to right-center off Lakes starting pitcher Kayla Foote, whom the Rockets tagged for 10 runs through 4 2/3 innings. It was part of a three-run inning.
 
The lead was short-lived, however, as the Eagles responded with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the second. Undaunted, Richmond-Burton scored twice in the top of the third — and three more times in the fourth — to capture the lead for good.
 
Rodriguez then homered again to right-center in the fifth — her second of the game, and eighth of the season. It was her first multi-homer game as a varsity player. Her second longball chased Foote from the game.
 
"I'd really struggled against Kayla in the past," said Rodriguez, who was 4 for 4 with four RBIs and a walk. "I wasn't trying to hit the ball the opposite way or anything, or doing anything different. I just got good pitches to hit, attacked them, and that's where the ball wound up going both times."
 
Third baseman Kaitlin Regnier had a pair of hits and an RBI in the leadoff spot, freshman Peyton Bannon went 3 for 5 with a double and four runs scored, and senior Ashley Turner was 4 for 5. Freshman Isabella Spittler was 2 for 4 in the ninth spot in the order, while fourth-year varsity player Rachael Hayden drove in a pair of runs and walked once.
 
It was collective redemption for a group that lost handily to Lakes earlier in the season, 9-3. And a huge sigh of relief for Rockets junior starting pitcher Sophie Schwegel, who allowed 12 hits and walked four during her complete-game victory. Five of those hits were doubles. But she also stranded nine runners and struck out seven.
 
"I was definitely a little nervous out there," Schwegel said. "But the way my teammates hit the ball, it took all the pressure off me."
 
Pressure wasn't something first-year coach Vicki Klopf wanted to apply too much of to her young team early in the season. But they've since embraced it.
 
"Coming into this year, my goal was just to see consistent improvement from these girls," Klopf said. "We only have four seniors, and this group was coming into a new situation, new coaches and even a new conference. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect.
 
"To see how far we've come and to watch these girls celebrating a regional championship against a team that flat-out beat us up the first time we played ... I'm speechless. This is a product of these girls' hard work. They're the ones who had to go out on the field and make this turnaround happen. They're the ones who had to bust their tails to keep getting better all year. This is all on them. I'm just here to help guide them."
 
Since starting the season 1-3, the Rockets have won 14 of their next 21 games. They'll face No. 2 seed Grayslake Central in an Antioch Sectional semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
 
"Honestly, these girls don't seem to be fazed by the pressure," Klopf said. "And there's a lot of it. They're just out there having fun. And that's a wonderful spot for them to be in. I'm beyond proud of what they've accomplished."

UNSUNG HERO
Richmond-Burton
Ashley Turner, sr., C

Despite playing with a sprained toe she originally thought was broken, Turner did a solid job blocking numerous pitches in the dirt. She also had four hits, scored three runs, and routinely shouted words of encouragement to her teammates from behind home plate.

THE NUMBER

6: The number of years it had been since the Rockets' softball program captured a regional title prior to Saturday's win.

AND ANOTHER THING...

Rockets coach Vicki Klopf partially credits a midseason meeting where players openly aired their frustrations for the team's mid-season turnaround. After the meeting, there was an obvious newfound bond and trust among the girls in the dugout, she said.