Softball: Johnson, Mundelein escape jams vs. Huntley, earn trip to 4A state tourney
One out stood between Mundelein and its first Final Four appearance in 30 years when Huntley No. 3 hitter Ava McFadden turned on a pitch from Shae Johnson and sent it screaming over left fielder Sophia Zepeda’s head for a two-out triple.
As cleanup hitter Lyla Ginczycki stepped into the batter’s box in the bottom of the seventh inning, jitters became a bigger distraction for the Mustangs sophomore ace.
“I’m not going to lie, I was shaking,” said Johnson, who entered Monday with 301 strikeouts in 163 innings. “I was really stressed. I just needed to trust myself, and that’s what I did. I knew she was going to be just as nervous as I was.”
Senior catcher Karina Benes offered a few words of encouragement to Johnson, who fired one last strikeout and lifted the Mustangs to a 2-1 win over the Raiders at The Ballpark at Rosemont.
Mundelein (36-1) advances to play Marist – a 2-0 winner over Lincoln-Way Central – in the state semifinals at 3 p.m. Friday at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria.
It’s the first time the Mustangs have reached the Final Four in the four-class system.
“It’s crazy, we know we can play with anyone that comes our way,” said Benes, who had an RBI double in the third inning. “It’s just the best feeling. No one thought we could get this far, and we just proved people wrong. Here we are going to state.”
Johnson, who threw as fast as 63 mph, finished with nine strikeouts in the complete game, but Huntley did not make things easy.
The Raiders (30-10) threatened to score every inning against Johnson, who stranded nine and walked none.
“She has ice in her veins, just a true competitor,” Mustangs coach Heather Ryan said. “Karina did a great job behind the plate, calming her down and calling the right pitches. Just nerves of steel. More calm than I was.”
Huntley collected six hits against Johnson, with McFadden’s two-out triple in the seventh giving the Raiders’ hope.
“I knew I had to pick up my teammates,” said McFadden, a junior center fielder. “I knew we needed one more run. We have three seniors and we love them so much. When Lyla was up there, it was a lot of pressure and I tried my best to calm her down. [Johnson] is an incredible pitcher, but we beat ourselves today.”
Huntley left runners on second and third base in each of the fourth and sixth innings.
In the bottom of the sixth, senior third baseman Christina Smith reached on an fielding error, Mundelein’s fifth error, after the ball was bobbled in the infield and Smith beat the throw to first. Sophomore shortstop Aubrina Adamik followed with a bunt hit to put runners on first and second.
Johnson struck out the next batter, and the Raiders bunted with junior catcher Madison Rozanski, moving Smith to third and Adamik to second. But as she did most of the game, Johnson got a big out with a strikeout of senior right fielder and No. 9 hitter Elly Winter. The pitch before, Winter barely missed an extra-base hit down the third-base line.
“It’s a never-give-up approach,” said Huntley coach Mark Petryniec, whose Raiders were trying to get to state for the third time after winning the school’s first championship in 2019 and finishing third in 2021. “These kids have fought all year. I couldn’t be more proud of everything the kids did. This was one great ride. I’m sad it’s over, but I’m happy I had a front-row seat to watch it.”
Mundelein took a 1-0 lead in the third on Benes’ RBI double, bringing in sophomore center fielder Kieley Tomas. Huntley tied the game in the fifth after a lead-off triple by Winter, who scored on an RBI groundout by junior left fielder Ajai Bonner.
Junior first baseman Claire Connelly drove in the go-ahead run for Mundelein in the sixth after a leadoff walk by Tomas. Tomas went to second on a fielder’s choice and Connelly followed with an RBI single past Huntley junior pitcher Gretchen Huber to bring in Tomas.
Mundelein still had runners on second and third with one out in the sixth but Huber got a strikeout and fielded a bunt to escape the jam.
Huber allowed two runs on seven hits, striking out six and walking one. The junior was seemingly unaffected by the pressure of the playoffs.
“There’s a lot of pressure with the crowd environment and noise, and Gretchen just handles it,” Petryniec said. “Unfazed, she just kept battling and kept us in this game. She pitched outstanding today. Nothing I would take back from what she did out there.
“There’s nothing to hang your head about, not on this stage.”
The Raiders, who captured their ninth straight regional title, third sectional title in program history and fourth consecutive Fox Valley Conference championship, finished with 30-plus wins for the fifth time in six seasons.
Huntley loses three seniors – first baseman Meghan Ryan, Smith and Winter. Only Smith is playing in college (Washington University in St. Louis).
Ryan, who Petryniec called the glue of the team, played varsity all four years after being called up in 2021 as a freshman because of an injury to catcher Lindsay Morgan. Ryan caught big games that season as Huntley went on to take third at state.
“This is the best team dynamic we’ve had,” Ryan said. “It’s been so much fun to play with these girls. We were so close, and we wanted it so bad. I think we let the pressure kind of get to us. We had an opportunity and we didn’t take it.”
Still, Ryan is confident the Raiders will find success again.
“They’re going to be a force, and I really hope I get to come back and watch them,” Ryan said. “We were a special team, but next year they can be just as special.”