Madi Petersen leads Coal City’s comeback over Bishop McNamara for regional 4-peat

COAL CITY – Coal City senior center fielder Madi Petersen began her varsity softball career as a freshman, helping the Coalers to an improbable extra-inning comeback win at state power Beecher to snap a 12-year regional championship drought.

And when the Coalers took on Bishop McNamara in Friday’s IHSA Class 2A Coal City Regional championship, Petersen played perhaps the biggest role as the Coalers made it a regional four-peat during her career.

Facing an early five-run deficit, Petersen hit a three-run home run in the third inning and later had the go-ahead RBI single as part of a four-run sixth to give the Coalers a 7-5 comeback win.

“It’s amazing to be those seniors going from my freshman year when I looked up to them,” Petersen said. “Now people can look up to me, and I was in the class that did this four times. That’s just insane to me.”

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Coal City's Madi Petersen, left, brings the Class 2A Coal City Regional championship plaque to her Coaler teammates after their 7-5 win over Bishop McNamara Friday, May 23, 2025. (Mason Schweizer)

The last checkpoint on the road to that fourth straight plaque saw the third-seeded Coalers (20-12) with their backs to the wall against a red-hot, six-seeded Fightin’ Irish (21-6) team that came into Friday’s game riding high after a two-day, nine-inning upset win over No. 2 Manteno on Wednesday.

The Irish kept their momentum rolling Friday when Analeah Ramirez drove in Teagan McCue on an RBI double, and Vivian Dole brought in Ramirez and Bridget Bertrand to give the visitors a 3-0 lead through one frame. McCue led off the second with a solo blast to left-center, then Rhaya DePaolo scored on Gabby Burnett’s two-out single, giving them a 5-0 lead.

But the Coalers never lost their composure, and as starting pitcher Masy Kuder settled in with a perfect top of the third, the bats got going. Kuder led off the bottom of the inning with a walk before DArcy Ness’ single put two on and nobody out. After a Juliana Covington fielder’s choice nabbed Kuder at third, Peterson sent Victoria Torres’ 1-1 offering over the center field fence.

“I just had to scream and yell,” Petersen said. “It doesn’t happen very much as a slapper, and it was just surreal to me. I knew that would put us back into the game.”

Kuder didn’t allow another hit until DePaolo’s two-out single in the top of the seventh. By then, the Coalers had just claimed their first lead of the game.

With two outs and runners on the corners in the bottom of the sixth, Covington delivered a two-run triple to tie the game and give Petersen a chance to bring her home for the go-ahead run, which she did with a line drive to right field. After stealing second, she scored on Kaycee Graf’s single for an insurance run.

“For our girls to keep the energy, come back and chip away at it, you could feel the momentum,” Coalers head coach Rodney Monbrum said. " ... You could just feel the energy just shifting and shifting. I’m just so proud of the girls."

Petersen led the offense by finishing the day 2 for 4 with a homer, a stolen base, four RBIs and a pair of runs. Graf and Ness each had two hits, as well, with Ness and Covington each scoring twice.

Kuder allowed nine hits, walked two and struck out six in a complete game.

McNamara’s leadoff hitter, McCue, also was 2 for 4 with a homer and two runs scored. Ramirez and Gabby Burnett each had two hits and drove in a run, with Ramirez also scoring.

Torres allowed three earned runs on nine hits and a walk in a complete game.

Despite a second straight undefeated run through the Chicagoland Christian Conference and a 20-5 regular-season record, the Irish entered the postseason in an underdog role in one of the state’s deepest sub-sectionals. After her seven seniors sparked Wednesday’s comeback upset victory, coach Alee Rashenskas had a sudden final postgame talk with those seniors after finishing four outs shy of the program’s 14th regional plaque.

“Their passion for the game, their love for softball. The majority of them are going on to play in college, but more than that who they are as people,” Rashenskas said she’ll miss most of this group. “I’ve just gotten to know them so well over the past three, four years, and I’ll miss the love they bring to the team.”

The Coalers face host Seneca in a Class 2A Sectional semifinal at 6 p.m. Tuesday.