Softball: Whitney Young ends Leyden’s season in 4A sectional semifinals
Cleanup hitter Abigail Cortez drilled a two-out blast over the left field fence, giving the Leyden softball team a quick 2-0 lead in the semifinal of the Class 4A Maine South sectional semifinal Thursday in Park Ridge.
However, Chicago Public League power Whitney Young flexed its muscles in the bottom of the first inning with 3 runs and never looked back in a 10-3 win over the No. 7 seeded Eagles.
The No. 3 Dolphins (27-11) will face No. 1 Oak Park-River Forest (27-8) on Friday at 3 p.m. for the title. Young won 3-2 at Oak Park earlier this season.
Leyden (16-15) will begin its summer break with a lot of confidence.
"The coolest part is that seven of our nine starters return so we're still relatively young which is really cool," said Eagles veteran coach Kurt Schuett, who along assistants Laura Scafidi and Mallory Ranallo completed their 18th year of coaching varsity together with a record of 315-227-1 and competed in their fifth sectional.
"We played a really tough schedule with close games with Barrington, Glenbard North, Sandburg and Elk Grove to name a few. It will be very exciting to watch these kids next year. I know Oak Park and Whitney Young are graduating a bunch so it should be really exciting."
Cortez, who pitched all six innings for the Eagles and did not give up a run in the final three, made things exciting for Leyden fans with her fourth homer of the season to start the game.
The junior's long ball was one of the Eagles' 6 hits, which included two apiece from classmates Arianna Gallo (2-for-3) and Gianna Olan (2-for-2, walk, RBI) and one from junior Carmen Richardson who scored Leyden's second run in the third inning.
One Eagle missing from the lineup on Thursday was sophomore Elise Bertsche, who played a key role as the Eagles' leadoff batter this spring and backup pitcher.
"She was 3-for-4 vs Maine South in the regional championship game," Schuett said. "She left the country for a school-sponsored trip to France. Because of that, we had to make some adjustments offensively and defensively. It's one of those deals where you've got some people playing out of position. We had a couple of key defensive blunders and we just lacked some timely hitting."
The Eagles graduate just two starting seniors: catcher Arlette Guzman (Triton recruit) and centerfielder Bella Kmilek (Harper pledge).
"What I'll remember the most from this season was the team chemistry," Cortez added. "I feel like we all worked well together. We had a lot of fun. We all hung out a lot outside of softball and I think that brought us together a lot."
Whitney Young brought a productive offense to Park Ridge, led by leadoff batter and winning pitcher Nyah Allen. The Chicago Public League Player of the Year and Rock Valley (Rockford) recruit (12-2 on the mound) went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
"She has been hot all through the playoffs," said Dolphins coach Mike Hinrichs , a 16-year veteran who guided his team to supersectionals in 2019 and 2022. "She got us going. She had a great at-bat to lead off the bottom of the first inning. We've got upperclassmen at the top of the order and when we get behind, they kind of know what is expected of them."
Hinnrichs has three other college recruits: second baseman Kate Coonan (Case Western Reserve), center fielder Sydney Gilbert (Miami University) and third baseman Gigi Martinez (Buffalo State).
"Everyone got to play," said Hinrichs, whose team outhit Leyden 13-6. "It's nice to give everyone a chance. They worked so hard all season and I'm happy for the kids."