Softball: Burlington Central wins 3rd straight regional

The Burlington Central softball team carried a positive vibe into Saturday afternoon's Class 3A Sycamore regional final against Freeport.

The Rockets came out focused from the start and delivered a series of clutch two-out hits to built a comfortable 6-0 lead after just two innings.

Rockets junior shortstop Kristina Ahlers belted a pair of home runs from there while senior Emily Kisch made short work of the Pretzels' lineup, allowing just 4 hits with 10 strikeouts in an impressive 10-1 victory.

"Before the game our intensity was up there and we were into it, and that definitely transitioned into our game," Ahlers said.

"It was funny, the coaches were talking during our warm-up and we just had a good feeling," said Rockets coach Erica Maisto. "The way they just came out and attacked was phenomenal."

The No. 2 seed Rockets (26-7) collected their third straight regional crown and will face top seed Marengo (28-8) in the Genoa-Kingston sectional semifinal Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

The Indians, last season's Class 3A runner-up, have beaten BC twice this season and knocked them out with a 4-0 victory in last year's sectional final.

"We're going by the phrase that it's hard to beat a good team three times," Ahlers said. "We really want this game and keep our season going."

"We're just going to go out and do what we can do and see what happens. I like our odds by the way we played today," Maisto added.

Gretchen Schrubbe put the Rockets on the board in the first with an RBI single up the middle scoring Kelly Wiater. Danielle Yurgil and Ashley Ratliff kept the inning alive for Jill Neisendorf, who drove in a pair with a double to right-center.

With two out and one on in the second, Ahlers stroked a single up the middle to plate Sarah Kinney. Schrubbe followed with a run-scoring single to right and later scored on a Freeport error.

Kisch took advantage of the early run support, retiring 13 of the first 14 hitters before Maggie Bowen broke up the shutout for Freeport (21-9) with a home run to center. Kisch closed out the win by fanning three of the final four batters.

"I felt a lot more comfortable after the first inning with three runs on the board and I knew my teammates would get more," Kisch said. "My riseball was really working today and so was my changeup."

Ahlers cranked a solo home run to right-center to extend the lead to 7-0 in the fourth and lined a 3-run shot to center plating Kisch and Wiater in the sixth.

"My first at bat wasn't what I wanted so to get back up there and pick myself up felt amazing," Ahlers said.