High school softball: Dionne tosses shutout as Marengo wins Class 3A state championship

EAST PEORIA – Marengo first baseman Megan Anthony and second baseman Anna Walsweer met Mariah Dionne just outside of the pitcher’s circle after her eighth pitch against East Peoria’s Ashley Emert in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday in the Class 3A state softball final.

Emert, headed to Illinois State, ripped a ball foul of third base moments earlier with runners on second and third and the Indians one out away from securing the second state championship in program history.

"We were like, 'Mariah, you got this. That run on third means nothing,'" Walsweer said. "You have an entire defense behind you. We believe in you."

Two pitches later, Emert hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Leah Secor. Dionne thought it was headed for left field. Instead, the sure-handed senior gathered the ball on one hop and threw across the diamond to Anthony for the final out.

Anthony hopped off first base, dropped her glove and the ball as the rest of Marengo's infield converged around Dionne and celebrated a 2-0 victory over the Raiders at EastSide Centre in East Peoria.

"As soon as that ball hit my glove and I saw the umpire throw his fist up, I just threw everything and ran," said Anthony, who had an RBI hit in the top of the sixth to give Marengo a 2-0 lead. "I don't even know what happened. I just dropped everything."

East Peoria (31-5) and Butler-bound pitcher Alyssa Graves shut out all six of their opponents going into the state final, but it was Dionne who baffled the Raiders on Saturday.

A day after holding Nazareth scoreless in a 1-0 semifinal win, Dionne kept East Peoria off the scoreboard entirely, allowing four hits with seven strikeouts and three walks in her final high school game before heading to NAIA Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida next fall.

Graves (29-2), a 6-foot-1 left-handed pitcher, allowed two unearned runs on three hits over seven innings with eight strikeouts and a walk.

"We were crying so much, you would of swore we lost the game," Dionne said of winning the title after placing runner-up as a sophomore in 2015, a 2-1 loss to Washington. "I couldn't have asked for a better way to go out. I definitely didn't want to see second place again.

"I had no idea what to throw that girl (Emert). She literally hit every pitch I threw her. I tried to jam her. I was trying to throw her inside, and she just ripped one down the line. I was like, 'Coach, no more. We can not do that again, that was way too close.' I thought (the final out) was in the gap. I didn't know Leah was playing that deep and that far over, but once I saw she was, I started crying instantly."

Dionne (20-5) finished 7-0 in the postseason with a 1.10 ERA along with 56 strikeouts and nine walks in 51 innings.

Marengo's last title came in 2011, when Chloe Montgomery threw back-to-back shutouts in the semifinal and final. The Indians finished runner-up in both 2012 and 2015.

"It's so difficult to do what we just did and win seven in a row in the postseason," said Indians coach Dwain Nance, who is 340-94-1 in 11 years at Marengo, going 2-2 in the championship.

"Just a complete team effort. Hard-nosed kids that are very resilient. Mariah Dionne comes down here, and doesn't allow a run. In 2011, we didn't allow any runs either. Maybe that's the key, shut them out."

Assistant coach Wayne Montgomery was there in 2011 when his daughter, Chloe, pitched the Indians to their first state title.

"Mariah had her way early (in her career), but by the end we were great friends," Montgomery said with a laugh. "She's phenomenal. Her first year, I didn't think she had much of a changeup. She worked on it her freshman, sophomore year and she's got a phenomenal one now. It's just about unhittable. Four years, she's got way more control than she had two years ago.

"She's Mariah. That's what she does."

While Dionne outpitched Graves, it was No. 9 hitter Hannah Ritter who helped get the Indians' offense going in the top of the sixth. After hitting a walk-off single against Nazareth on Friday, she busted out an infield single to start the inning that worked just as well as a bunt.

"She started to mix up speeds later in the game, and, honestly, I was anticipating a changeup," Ritter said. "I got ahead of it, but I was still able to put the ball in the field."

Riley Connell sacrificed Ritter to second with a bunt. After a strikeout by Secor, Dionne walked on five pitches. Walsweer, hitting cleanup, got down, 0-2, but made just enough contact on the next pitch.

"Once I got down, I knew I had to do anything I could to move the runner at least," Walsweer said. "I was like, 'This pitch, I have to hit it no matter where it is.' I hit it and I just ran as fast as I could."

Walsweer topped a grounder to Emert, who threw wide of first baseman Savannah Bell. The wild throw allowed Ritter to score all the way from second base. The next batter, Anthony, lined an 0-1 pitch to right to left, scoring courtesy runner Lillie Simons for a 2-0 Indians lead.

Both runs came with two outs.

"I hadn't done anything my first two at-bats, and I knew I wanted to come through for my team," Anthony said. "I depended on them a lot because I was struggling for awhile. I knew I wanted them to depend on me when it really meant something. I saw the ball and just took it where it was pitched."

Dionne, who stranded Raiders runners in scoring position in the both the first and fifth innings, walked No. 6 hitter Kat Smith on four pitches to start the seventh. Bell then popped out to Anthony in foul territory before Caitlin McWhirter singled to left field.

The No. 9 hitter, Peyton Dearing, grounded back to Dionne for the second out, which moved runners to second and third.

Dionne went ahead, 0-2, against Emert, who fouled off six pitches before grounding out to Secor. After trying to go inside on her multiple times, Dionne finally got Emert out on a outside rise ball.

Secor, who was on the 2015 state runner-up – along with Dionne, Walsweer, Anthony, Rachael Jasinski and Nina Reed – said she was calm when the potential final out came her way at short.

"I've just made those plays before, and I knew I had to get this play and get her out," Secor said. "I was so happy. Tears immediately went down my face. I was just so proud of what we all did to get here.

"There's no feeling to describe it. I'm just super proud of my team, and what we've done to get here."

UNSUNG HERO

Megan Anthony

Marengo, sr., 1B

Anthony tacked on the Indians’ final run with an RBI hit to right field with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, scoring pinch runner Lillie Simons from second base and giving Marengo a 2-0 lead.

THE NUMBER

2: Class 3A state titles for Marengo after Saturday's 2-0 victory against East Peoria

AND ANOTHER THING…

East Peoria senior pitcher Alyssa Graves (29-2) entered the Class 3A state final with one loss in 31 games and had tossed a shutout in 12 out of her last 13 games. Marengo was the first team to score against the Butler commit in seven postseason games. Overall, Graves allowed 19 earned runs in 183 1/3 innings going into the state final with 317 strikeouts.

Marengo 2, East Peoria 0

Marengo 000 002 0 – 2 3 0          East Peoria 000 000 0 – 0 4 2

WP: Mariah Dionne 20-5 (7IP, 4H, 0R, 0ER, 3BB, 7K). LP: Alyssa Graces 29-2 (7IP, 3H, 2R, 0ER, 1BB, 8K).

Top hitters–Marengo: Anthony 1-3 (RBI), Ritter 1-2 (R), Secor 1-3, Simons 0-0 (R). East Peoria: Graves 1-2, Emert 0-3 (SB), McWhirter 2-3 (SB), Dearing 1-3.