Class 4A softball: Lincoln-Way Central, Lockport advance to sectional championship

NEW LENOX – Lincoln-Way Central and Lockport used different methods Wednesday in the semifinal games of the Class 4A Lincoln-Way Central Sectional, but they were both effective.

The Knights (32-4) rode the talented right arm of junior Bella Dimitrijevic to top Lincoln-Way East 4-0 in the first game, while the Porters got contributions up and down their lineup to defeat Andrew 8-4.

The two teams will meet at 5 p.m. Friday for the sectional championship.

In the opener, Dimitrijevic dominated. She allowed a one-out double by Maddie Henry in the top of the second inning, but no other Griffin reached base.

Dimitrijevic retired 21 of the 22 batters she faced, striking out 11. She struck out the leadoff batter in six of the seven innings, and the only one she didn’t strike out hit a grounder right back to her.

“I had already faced them [Lincoln-Way East] earlier in the season, so I kind of knew what they would swing at and what they wouldn’t,” Dimitrijevic said. “During the game I am not thinking about who we are playing, but after it’s done it feels a little better to beat Lincoln-Way East.

“Everything was working well today. I was throwing strikes and I mixed up the speeds on them.”

Her teammates got her all the support she needed in the bottom of the first.

Teagan Berkshire (2 for 3, RBI) led off with a single to deep short and went to second on an error on a ball hit by Kayla Doerre. Josie Jager followed with an RBI double to left, scoring Berkshire and sending Doerre to third. Dimitrijevic then hit a grounder to second and the Griffins tried to throw out Doerre at home, but she slid in ahead of the tag. An out later, Mia Guide grounded to first, scoring Jager for a 3-0 Central lead.

“I feel pretty confident that if I get on [base] to start an inning, my teammates are going to bring me home,” Berkshire said. “We have a lot of good hitters.”

Dimitrijevic was happy to have the runs to work with.

“Getting some runs early really helps,” she said. “It takes a lot of pressure off me and I can just go out and throw strikes. I know we are going to score.”

After the first, however, East pitcher Jess Szafoni allowed just one more run.

Lucy Cameron led off the sixth inning with a double and a single by Isabella Olmos moved courtesy runner Ellie McLaughlin to third. An out later, Berkshire hit a sacrifice fly to score McLaughlin.

“This was a solid game for us all around,” Central coach Jeff Tarala said. “Bella was incredible as always, we played well in the field and we put the ball in play on offense. With the wind blowing in, the ball wasn’t going anywhere, so we concentrated on hitting the top half of the ball and keeping it on the ground.

“Teagan Berkshire had a great game, and that’s good to see. When she is going, we are going.”

Lincoln-Way East finishes with a record of 23-12.

“We played hard all game,” East coach Elizabeth Hyland said. “We had a little bit of a rough first inning, but we played very well after that. We put the ball in play about as much as anyone can against Bella.

“We had a very young team this year, and a lot of those younger players got some real good experience. And our seniors had a phenomenal year.”

In the second game, Lockport went ahead 2-0 in the top of the first on an RBI single by Ava Swain (2 for 4, RBI) and a sacrifice fly by Brooke Keltner, only to see Andrew answer with three runs in the bottom half.

The Porters (28-8) took the lead back in the top of the second on a bizarre play. With one out and runners on first and second, Mikayla Cvitanovich hit a grounder back to the pitcher. The pitcher threw to third for a force out before things got interesting. The throw from third to first got past the first baseman, allowing Giuliana Giordano to score. The throw home to try to get Giordano got away from the Andrew catcher and rolled near the Lockport dugout as Cvitanovich motored all the way around to score for a 4-3 lead.

The Porters tacked on three more runs in the top of the third. With one out, Keltner singled and courtesy runner Marcy Curry moved to second on a wild pitch. Ava Kaspar followed with an RBI double to left-center before winning pitcher Bridget Faut doubled to left. Kaspar had to hold at second in case the ball was caught and stopped at third. An RBI single by Marie Baranowski scored Kaspar and Giordano brought home courtesy runner Addison Way with a fielder’s choice.

Lockport’s final run came in the sixth on an RBI double by Morgan Spodarek, scoring Cvitanovich, who had singled.

“We have been in this situation before,” Swain said. “That experience helps in a game like this. It keeps everyone together. This group does a really good job of motivating each other.”

Faut allowed only one more run after the first and worked 5 1/3 innings. Kaspar threw the final 1 2/3 to record the save.

“This was quite a win,” Kaspar said. “Everyone came through at some point tonight. We all push each other and have great energy. When I came in to pitch, after I got the first out, I knew the team had my back.”

Lockport coach Marissa Chovanec was happy to see the production from up and down the lineup.

“The girls have been working hard,” she said. “All of them had good at-bats and got their job done. These girls have great energy.

“We’ve been trying to get Bridget up to varsity level, and she has been great. The last time we played Andrew, she only allowed four hits and struck out seven. Then she shut out a good offense in Joliet West in the regional. It should be a fun game Friday.”