EAST PEORIA (June 12) — The Panthers from Washington Community High School played the Cyclones from Sacred Heart-Griffin High School in Springfield on Friday in a state semifinal softball game in Class 3A. Washington won 5-3 in extra innings. In addition to the delay, rain also caused a few danger spots on the field, all of which could be avoided, but the game came down to a draw between two well coached and well practiced teams.
Rain delay
Severe thunderstorms moved through Central Illinois Thursday evening through Friday, leaving the state championship softball games in classes 3A and 4A delayed by about four hours and the field wet in spots and dangerous all around. Shown above is the practice field, where Lincoln-Way East players were warming up for their game, to be played just after Washington and Sacred Heart-Griffin finished theirs. (All photos: Voxitatis)
Couldn’t keep the fans away
Softball fans from Springfield and Washington, which is just down the street, couldn’t be kept away by rain or the threat thereof. What they got for their perseverance turned out to be one of the most exciting softball games—and examples of good coaching and good execution—seen in quite a while. On one sideline, we saw T-shirts like an orange sea, and on the other, the black and gold of SHG.
Bringing heat
Game-time temperatures hovered around 90°F when the sun was shining, but both pitchers added some heat of their own. For the Panthers, junior Madi McCoy struck out 7 batters and gave up 3 hits. Whitney David for the Cyclones mixed a little change-up finesse in with the fast balls; she struck out 4 batters and gave up 11 hits. Both pitchers were on the mound for the entire game, which lasted 10 innings.
Outstanding leadership from the outfield
The score would have been much higher if outstanding plays had not been made by outfielders from both teams. Players had to move to balls quickly but avoid the most slippery spots because of the wetness of the grass.
Both teams hit the ball well
Washington junior Addie Baele reached base on a bunt in the top of the 5th, for example, and then McCoy drove her in with a home run. The next batter, Sam Garcia, who batted .378 this season before the state tournament, including 7 doubles and 3 home runs, then doubled. McCoy had 11 doubles and a team-leading 11 home runs herself this season. Before this one, that is.
A remarkable catch near the wall
After slipping and falling while running to catch a fly ball an inning or two earlier, SHG sophomore Kenzie Trees caught a fly ball that missed being a home run by not more than a few feet. To make the catch, she had to reach over her head as she was fading back.
It came down to coaching and execution on the base path
Close games like this are often decided in the span of time it takes to blink. Washington scored the winning runs in the top of the 10th inning, coming on two well coached and well executed base-running plays.
With one out and runners on first and third, the batter took a stance to bunt, drawing in SHG’s third baseman. On the pitch, the runner at first broke for second, drawing a throw both times. Then, the runner on third broke for the plate. The first time, the infielder threw the ball to the plate, but the runner had already scored. The second time, she threw it back to first to catch the base runner in a run-down. This choice also allowed the run to score, putting Washington up 5-3 on two gutsy, nearly consecutive double-steal attempts.
Washington Community wins 1st state softball title ever
The Washington Panthers went on to win the championship game on Saturday, June 13, defeating Marengo 2-1. Head coach Stephanie Ramsey completes her second season at Washington with a 29-10 record, bringing her two-year totals to 53 wins and 21 losses.
The Panthers haven’t been to the state softball semifinals since 1991, when head coach Clint Reed took them to the third-place game and won. Washington also took third in the state in 1989, but this year marks the softball team’s first state title ever. The school, where it now stands, was first opened in 1942, but Washington Community High School District 308 was first chartered in 1920. The school fielded its first softball team in the 1973-74 academic year, according to records provided by the school.
