Standing in the dugout in the bottom of the seventh, Oswego sophomore Adalynn Fugitt never got her final at-bat of the season. But the second baseman is ready to lead the Panthers forward after finishing fourth at state.

Glenbard West volleyball and Wheaton Academy boys lacrosse won state championships, Fenwick softball won the Class 3A third-place game behind Sofia Kateeb's one-hit shutout and Michael McMahon's three-run homer paced Fenwick baseball to a sectional title.

For the first time in school history, Lincoln-Way West has won a team state championship as the softball team downed Mundelein 6-1 in the Class 4A title game on Saturday.

The Seneca softball team battled to the very end but came up just short in a 3-1 loss to Carterville in Saturday's IHSA Class 2A championship on OSF Healthcare Field inside the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria. The Fighting Irish ended the season 39-3.

Lincoln-Way West takes on Mundelein in the 4A state softball title game Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Peoria. Lincoln-Way West took the title 6-1.

Seneca and Carterville clash for the 2A softball title Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Peoria. Carterville took the win 3-1 in a tight game.

Oswego senior shortstop Kennedy Gengler has seemed to have the knack for clutch hitting in the postseason, and did again Friday with two hits and an RBI, but Mundelein scored five runs in the first inning and went on to a 13-3 win in the Class 4A semifinal.

Lincoln-Way West's softball team upset top-ranked Marist 2-1 and advanced to the IHSA Class 4A state championship game behind a gutsy performance from pitcher Abby Brueggmann and the rest of the Warriors.

Fenwick sophomore Sofia Kateeb, who threw 162 pitches in her team's 12-inning supersectional win Monday, retired the first seven batters she faced in relief Friday, but the Friars' comeback ran out of gas in a 9-3 loss to defending champion Glenwood in a Class 3A semifinal.

Lincoln-Way West defeated Marist 2-1 in the Class 4A semifinal game on Friday, June 5, 2026 at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria. The Lady Warriors will play Saturday in the State Championship at 4:45p.m.

Marengo's Brady Kentgen was named the Kishwaukee River Conference Player of the Year and Johnsburg's Peyton Mesce earned Pitcher of the Year honors. Here is the rest of the 2026 All-KRC baseball team, as selected by coaches.

Fenwick fell 9-3 in the Class 3A state softball semifinal in Peoria on Friday, June 5, 2026.

Some unlikely heroes – and some likely ones too – came through when the Seneca softball team needed it most Thursday in the Fighting Irish’s wild 8-6 Class 2A state semifinal victory over IC Catholic at Peoria’s Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.

Gardner-South Wilmington's softball team dropped a 10-inning thriller 2-1 to Waltonville in Thursday's IHSA Class 1A state semifinals in Peoria before bouncing back with a 10-5 win over Okawville in Friday's third-place game, ending the program's historic season with a win.

Separated by 9 years, Oswego sisters Hailey and Sophie Morland seem inseparable in softball. Hailey is in her fourth year as assistant coach while Sophie is a freshman third baseman as the Panthers return to state for the third straight year. 'It makes my heart want to explode.'

Seneca and IC Catholic play a thrilling game in the 2A softball state semifinal Thursday in Peoria. Seneca took the win 8-6 and will advance to the finals on Saturday.

Gardner- South Wilmington fell to Waltonville 2-1 in extra innings in the Class 1A softball state semifinal in Peoria.

Lemont sophomore Mila Mardjetko, who struck out 15 to lead Lemont past De La Salle to the Class 3A sectional title, is the Suburban Life Athlete of the Week in an online vote.

Oswego sophomore Adalynn Fugitt, who was 8-for-11 with four runs scored across three playoff wins to help lead Oswego back to state for the third straight year, is the Record Newspapers Athlete of the Week in an online vote. Here is her Q&A with Sports Editor Joshua Welge.

Sycamore pitcher Bella Jacobs was voted conference MVP by Interstate 8 coaches as the champion Spartans had five first-team selections. Ottawa and Morris had four selections each, Kaneland and La Salle-Peru had two each and Rochelle had one.

IC Catholic Prep senior pitchers Maddy DiNino and Leilani Mendez have not allowed a run so far in the playoffs. Next up? The Knights' first state tournament appearance and a Class 2A state semifinal on Thursday in Peoria against Seneca.

The Seneca softball team is looking to take two more steps, starting with Thursday's 2:30 p.m. IHSA Class 2A state semifinal against IC Catholic at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria.

Meet this week's Daily Journal Athlete of the Week, Gardner-South Wilmington senior softball player Maddie Simms.

Marengo's Gabby Christopher was named the Kishwaukee River Conference Player of the Year and Woodstock North's Kylee Nicholson earned Pitcher of the Year honors. Here is the rest of the 2026 All-KRC softball team, as selected by coaches.

Prairie Ridge faces Antioch in an IHSA Softball Class 3A Supersectional game on Monday, June 1, 2026 at Kaneland High School in Maple Park.

Sophomore Kyleena Nowinski's walkoff single to center field scored senior Sophia Leonardi in the bottom of the 12th inning as the Friars won a 4-3 marathon over Lemont at the Benedictine University Supersectional.

IC Catholic Prep freshman Sophia Deoudes was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the eighth, bringing in the game-winning run as the Knights beat Stillman Valley 1-0 in the Class 2A Benedictine Supersectional to clinch the program's first state trip.

Hayden Sujack ended her high school career with her 60th career home run, accounting for the lone hit and run for St. Charles East in a 10-1 loss to Marist in the Rosemont Class 4A Supersectional.

The Providence softball team was known for getting it done in late innings last year on the way to a Class 3A runner-up finish, but the Celtics couldn't do it again Monday in a 1-0 loss to Dunlap in the East Peoria Supersectional.

Ahlivia East was a team manager last year during Oswego's state championship run with a torn ACL from basketball. Monday she delivered a pair of two-run doubles – the first, after Barrington intentionally walked Jaelynn Anthony in front of her – to power a 7-5 supersectional win.

Seneca junior pitcher Hayden Pfeifer scattered four hits, walked one and struck out 11 in leading the softball Fighting Irish to a 3-0 Class 2A supersectional victory over Brimfield at EastSide Centre on Monday.

Prairie Ridge was denied a return trip to the state tournament Monday as Antioch walked off an 11-10 win in 10 innings in the Class 3A Kaneland Supersectional.

With their 2-0 upset of Macon Meridian in the Class 1A Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional on Monday, the Gardner-South Wilmington softball team is enjoying something no other GSW softball team has enjoyed before. They’re heading to state.

The Gardner-South Wilmington softball team is headed to state after defeating Meridian 2-0 in the Class 1A Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional at Inspiration Field at Carol Willis Park in Bloomington Monday, June 1, 2026.

Seneca defeated Brimfield 3-0 in the Class 2A Supersectional on Monday, June 1, 2026 at Eastside Centre in East Peoria. The Lady Irish will play IC Catholic in the Class 2A semifinals on Thursday at 2:30p.m at the Louisville Slugger Complex in Peoria.

The Oswego girls softball team beat Barrington Monday in a Class 4A supersectional pairing at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

York baseball upset No. 1-seeded Willowbrook in a regional final, IC Catholic Prep softball won a sectional title, Nazareth baseball won its ninth straight regional championship and Hinsdale Central baseball rallied to beat Benet in eight innings, plus soccer and volleyball.

Facing Barrington for the 10th straight postseason, Huntley saw its season end with a 2-0 loss to the host Fillies on Saturday in a Class 4A Barrington Sectional final. "We all played our hearts out. We wanted it, but just came up a little short."

Hannah Wulf struck out eight in a one-hit shutout to lead St. Charles East past Fremd 1-0 to a sectional title, while Geneva and St. Charles North baseball won regional titles and Batavia lost an 11-inning thriller to Bartlett.

Mila Mardjetko struck out 15 to lead Lemont softball to a sectional title, Timothy Christian's Hudson Tseng advanced to the Class 1A state tennis championship match, Lyons' Joey Bockwell is in first place in the Class 3A shot put at state track and more in Friday's roundup.

Seneca overcame a seventh-inning Beecher rally for a 6-5 victory in the IHSA Class 2A Pontiac Sectional championship on Friday, May 29, 2026.

Behind elite defense and another dominant outing from ace Maddie Simms, Gardner-South Wilmington punched its ticket to the supersectional while ending Serena‘s cinderella postseason run with a 4-1 victory on Friday night.

After Beecher turned a three-run deficit to a one-run lead with a two-out rally in the top of the seventh, Seneca's Emma Mino delivered the walk-off single in the Class 2A Pontiac Sectional championship to give the Fighting Irish their first sectional title in program history.

Prairie Ridge's Reese Mosolino tossed nine shutout innings, and Emma Dallas hit a walk-off RBI double to score Karsyn Ledgerwood as the Wolves outlasted Kaneland 1-0 Friday in nine innings to win the Class 3A Belvidere North Secitonal title.

Oswego needed four batters to score two runs Friday, and Jaelynn Anthony and her defense did the rest. The Purdue recruit struck out seven and only allowed one ball to leave the infield, as Oswego beat Plainfield East 2-0 for its third straight sectional championship.

Providence sophomore Macie Robbins threw a one-hitter and Bella Olszta sparked the Celtics' offense in a 2--0 Class 3A sectional title win over Morris Friday.

Prairie Ridge faces Kaneland in the IHSA Class 3A Belvidere North Sectional softball final game on May 29, 2026, at Belvidere North High School.

Reese Rourke hit two home runs while Abby Brueggmann and the defense held Lockport to one run as Lincoln-Way West won its first ever sectional championship in softball.

L-P fell to Dunlap 10-0 in the Class 3A Sectional final on Friday, May 29, 2026 at the L-P Athletic Complex in La Salle.

Fulton and Dakota softball meet at Eastland Friday, May 29, 2026, for the Class 1A sectional title. Dakota took the title 8-2.