Softball: Wheaton North drops heartbreaker to Oswego in sectional final

Jaelynn Anthony, caught up in the moment, rounded first and the Oswego sophomore started running toward the dugout to celebrate before catching herself and scampering back to first.

Did she think it was a walk-off?

“A little bit, yeah,” Anthony laughed. “I had so much adrenaline that I kept going and my feet couldn’t stop. I kind of forgot they had to hit.”

Anthony’s momentary mental lapse only set the stage for more heroics.

She singled in Kaylee LaChappell with two outs in the top of the eighth. With the tying run at third in the bottom half, Anthony struck out dangerous Wheaton North junior Reagan Crosthwaite on a full count.

Oswego, a week after winning the program’s first regional championship in 37 years, beat Wheaton North in a 1-0 thriller of a Class 4A Plainfield North Sectional final for the first sectional title in school history.

“Got ‘em all,” Anthony said.

Call it the confidence of youth or the guts of a burglar, Anthony went right after Crosthwaite, who has 18 homers on the season, with two out and Monica Kading at third after a leadoff double.

On a full count, Anthony got Crosthwaite swinging through a curveball.

“She hits it inside very well, so I obviously didn’t throw it inside,” Anthony said. “I threw a curveball and she missed it.”

Did they consider walking Crosthwaite, Wheaton North’s career record holder in home runs?

Not a chance, Oswego coach Paul Netzel said.

“I said no, we’re going to pitch to her, went right after her,” Netzel said. “We didn’t want to put any extra people on. We had confidence in our players, let them play.”

Wheaton North senior pitcher Erin Metz, marvelous in defeat with 13 strikeouts, was in the on deck circle for the final at bat.

“Reagan is 100% the person I want up in that situation,” Metz said. “Last game she came through. She battled that at bat. You can’t expect her to come through every time.”

Wheaton North (28-7), likewise seeking its first sectional title, nearly had it won in the bottom of the seventh.

Macy Pomatto reached on a hot shot in the infield leading off, and with one out was sacrificed to second.

Alyssa Savenok lined a single to center, but Oswego sophomore Savannah Page unleashed a strike that easily threw the runner out at the plate.

“Coach had me playing in, all it came down to was execution,” Page said. “I was preparing myself mentally to make the play, what you got to do is execute. That was exhilarating.”

“I don’t think they were expecting her to come in as fast as she did and uncork it,” Netzel said. “She saved the day.”

Oswego catcher Kiyah Chavez made the throw count with a demonstrative punch tag of the runner.

“She wanted to make a point,” Page smiled.

Two teams with a combined 93 homers on the season, wind blowing out to left, seemed the elements for offensive fireworks.

The two pitchers stole the show.

Metz, coming off a 15-strikeout one-hit shutout of Plainfield East, continued a masterful postseason run in which she allowed just two runs.

She got back-to-back strikeouts to get out of a two-on, one-out jam in the first and didn’t allow another hit until the fifth when two more strikeouts stranded a runner at third. She allowed just six hits.

Anthony was up to the task matching zeroes and didn’t allow a runner past first base until the seventh with six strikeouts and five hits allowed.

Oswego’s pitching coach, Annie Scaramuzzi, was in Florida this week, and volunteer assistant Nick Schaeflein had a last-minute family emergency, meaning Chavez called the pitches.

Anthony did the rest.

“We said ‘Kiyah, you’re up, you’re calling pitches,” Netzel said. “Jae was on today and she just did a marvelous job.”

Oswego’s win sends the Panthers (27-9) into a 4:30 p.m. supersectional on Monday at Illinois Wesleyan against Minooka, an 11-0 winner over Belleville East. Minooka twice beat Oswego 7-0 during the season.

“We’re winning,” Anthony said. “They do have a really good pitcher. Just like today, we have to come out strong, have quality at-bats.”

Metz, her eyes moist, cherished a final season in which she helped lead Wheaton North to its first conference and regional title in 38 years.

“I wanted to go out on top, but I wouldn’t end the game or end the season any differently,” Metz said. “It wasn’t in the cards for us today.”