Softball: Web gem sparks Antioch over Lakes in 3A sectional title game

Lakes sophomore Liv Tautges’ hard hit grounder to Antioch sophomore second baseman Jadynn Ruiz had “sharp single” written all over it in the top of the sixth inning in Friday afternoon’s Class 3A Antioch softball sectional final.

But Ruiz and sophomore shortstop Claire Schulyer turned into a couple of “editors” shortly thereafter. The ball deflected off the top of the glove of a diving Ruiz and rolled toward a charging Schulyer, who picked up the loose ball and whipped a wicked fastball to sophomore first baseman Sam Hillner to retire Tautges.

“Sensational out” had replaced “sharp single.”

“Teamwork,” a smiling Schulyer would say later. “You could say Jadynn delivered a short pass to me. The play gave us momentum and got us excited to bat in the bottom of the inning.”

The teams were tied at 2 at the time of the entertaining 4-6-3 play.

Sure enough, Antioch’s Sequoits plated 3 runs in their half of the sixth and won 5-2 for their fourth straight sectional championship. Winning senior pitcher and Michigan State-bound Jacey Schuler ripped her second 2-out, running-scoring double of the game ahead of Hillner’s 2-run homer to right-center in the pivotal frame at McMillen Field.

“Claire’s play lifted us and turned the tide of the game,” Antioch coach Anthony Rocco said. “She stayed with it and made a great play. She’s been doing that all year for us.

“Claire,” he added, “is an elite shortstop.”

Antioch (27-5) will face Sycamore — a 3-1 victor over Prairie Ridge in Friday’s Sycamore sectional final — in the Kaneland supersectional at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

“Sam kept fighting and fouling off tough pitches before her homer,” said Schuler (3-for-3, 2 2Bs, 2 RBI), who improved to 21-3 after allowing 1 earned run on 6 hits and fanning 12, including an Eagle with 2 outs and the bases packed in the fourth inning.

“I was so happy for her as she rounded the bases,” Schuler added. “I had the biggest grin ever.”

Hillner, a first baseman last spring and the regular third baseman this spring, filled in for an ill Grace Green at first Friday while junior Taylor Clark played third. Clark came up big twice at the hot corner, short-hopping a scorching grounder on a 5-3 putout in the third before snaring a shoulder-high liner near the bag off the bat of junior Emily Ovaska (2-for-3, RBI).

“I was in a little hitting slump our last two games,” said Hillner, who belted a 1-2 fastball off Lakes senior ace Cassidy Berchtold (12-6) with sophomore Kailyn Bockwoldt (2-for-3) on second base. “Honestly, I don’t remember what I was thinking as I ran from base to base. It was one of those surreal moments.”

Lakes (19-15), which had lost 2-0 and 4-0 to Antioch in the regular season, led 1-0 in the first inning and 2-1 in the fifth in balmy conditions Friday. Eagles senior designated player Lillie Morin connected for a solid single up the middle in the first to advance senior Nia Wright to third base. Ovaska then hit a single to shallow left field to knock in the first run of the game.

Lakes freshman third baseman and leadoff hitter Emily Byrne struck a towering homer — her third of 2024 — over the fence in left to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

“What a great group of kids I got to coach,” Eagles coach Bill Hamill said. “We went toe-to-toe with Antioch and showed we belonged in this game. We had six seniors, and I’m going to miss all of them. We were young and strong this spring, and no one felt more important than anyone else.

“You know what the best thing is about having a freshman like Emily? We get her for three more seasons.”

A sixth-inning, run-scoring single to right by Antioch freshman center fielder Tegan Schuler capped the scoring. Sequoits senior left fielder Aubrey Ultsch went 2-for-3 with a double.

To the surprise of nobody, Antioch performed well, once again, in clutch situation after clutch situation.

But there’s more to the Sequoits than thriving — and virtually shrugging — under pressure.

“It’s about talent too, along with experience,” Rocco said. “But a lot of our experience has come in games against some of the best 4A teams in the state.

“There’s a reason I like loading up our schedule with strong teams each season, especially teams from schools with bigger enrollments.”

The poised Berchtold tossed six innings in her final prep appearance, yielding 4 earned runs and 10 hits while striking out 6.