Friday, June 1, 2007 1:07 AM CDT
Casey to face speedy Lisle
By MIKE MONAHAN, Staff Writer
mmonahan@jg-tc.com
EAST PEORIA --Casey-Westfield-Kansas makes its 21st appearance at the IHSA state softball tournament and 19th in Class A in the final year of the two-class system today. The Lady Warriors, 32-4, and the No. 7 team in the final Illinois Coaches Association poll, are to play Lisle, 29-8, and the No. 11 team in the state at 5 p.m. today at EastSide Centre in East Peoria.
The Lady Lions have plenty of speed with 67 stolen bases out of 74 attempts (.905).and a team batting average of .442.
“It seems like they have a lot of speed,” said Casey coach Katie O’Connell. “Their pitching seems to be pretty solid. At this time and point there is not going to be any easy teams.”
The Lady Warriors have a .356 batting average and although they have about a third of the stolen bases that Lisle does, they have been successful more than 96 percent of the time.
The Lady Lions, who are making their second appearance at state, also have another motivating factor as the only coach in Lisle softball history, Rick Beato, has not been rehired. Beato is retiring after 38 years of teaching English, journalism and humanities but planned on remaining the softball coach, a program which began in 1990. He has a career record of 395-193 (.671), including three straight regional titles. Beato has also coached bowling, golf and tennis as well as some sports at the junior varsity level for a total record of 1,203-803 (.600).
Casey was to have had practice Thursday at East Peoria before the banquet, involving all eight teams. The winner of today’s game is to play the victor of the Lebanon-Taylor Ridge (Rockridge) contest at noon Saturday in the semifinals. The third-place game is set for 5 p.m., while the championship is set for 7 p.m. Saturday.
While the Lady Warriors have outscored their opponents this postseason 37-1 — and the one run was unearned — Lisle has outscored its opponents 55-2, including a 35-0 victory over Our Lady of Tepeyac.
Both Lisle and Casey have won seven straight games. Lisle, the Interstate Eight champion, lost to Huntley (6-2), Wilmington (1-0), Rockford Boylan (5-3), Geneva (2-1), Sandwich (6-5), Newark (9-2), Momence (3-1) and Dakota (4-1). After the 35-0 win, Lisle won its own regional, 3-0 over Immaculate Conception of Elmhurst as Dani Fernette drove in two runs. The Lady Lions nipped Westmont, a team they had defeated 11-1 and 10-1 earlier in the season, 2-1 in 12 innings on a sacrifice fly by Colleen Drennan, a freshman. Jamimie Bauerlein pitched 11 shutout innings after allowing a run in the first at Benedictine University. Lisle won the sectional title with a six-inning 10-0 victory over Walther Lutheran as Bauerlein pitched a two-hitter and Maggie Brennan was 4-for-4. Augustana-bound Stephanie Sarb drove in three runs. The Lady Lions advanced to state with a 5-1 victory over Plano as Bauerlein, one of seven seniors on the team, had seven strikeouts, seven hits and two walks against the Reapers, a team Lisle had defeated 1-0 and 5-1 earlier in the season. Bauerlein, the school recordholder for wins in a season, improved to 24-6.
The fact that 13 Lady Warriors from last year’s Class A runner-up are back helps.
“A year of experience, even as a coach, makes you more relaxed,” said O’Connell, who is in her second year at the helm. “You have more of a clue of what is going on. Experience helps out at any position you are at.”
Four Casey players (Chelsey Sullivan, Jordan Hutton, Kindra Wilkins and Jessica Simpson are making their first trip to state.
“They will see the other teams play (two games before the Casey –Lisle contest) and that might calm the nerves down,” said O’Connell. “Chelsey has pitched in some pretty tough competition in the summer. It may not have been in the spotlight, but she has been in some big time games.”
Casey’s run began with three victories over Little Illini Conference teams, beating Edwards County 6-1 as Taylor Sloat had a triple and three runs batted in and Sullivan had 12 strikeouts. Red Hill was the next victim, 16-0, as Casey won the Bridgeport Regional in five innings. Casey blanked Cumberland 4-0 as Chelsey Sullivan threw a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts and no walks. Taylor Sloat drove in three runs with a triple in the game. The Lady Warriors won the Robinson Sectional with a 4-0 win over Teutopolis. Megan Murphy was 2-for-3 and Sloat drove in two runs and had a double. Casey advanced to state as Sullivan threw a one-hitter in a 7-0 win over Tuscola. Katie Stinson was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two runs batted in.
“I feel pretty good about the way the team is playing,” said O’Connell. “I hope and believe that we will have what we have been waiting for all year — to bring our A game. I hope it all comes together and we do the little things right.”
Erin Drennan, who is headed to North Central College, leads the Lady Lions with a .550 batting average, including a school record 60 hits.
Casey is led by Murphy, who has verbally committed to Illinois, with a .576 batting average, including a team-leading 72 hits, seven of which have been triples. Parkland-bound Sloat is next with a .459 average with a team-high 13 doubles.
“Chelsey and Bri (Brianna Athey, the first-year catcher) have to be on, and our defense has to be solid,” said O’Connell. “We have to put pressure on their offense and get timely hits. It could come down to getting three base runners on base, and so we have to execute. We have to put runs on the board even if Chelsey is on.”
Casey averages 7.1 runs per game and has only been shut out twice, while Lisle averaged 7.0 runs per game and has been blanked just once. The Lady Warriors allow 0.8 runs per game and have posted 22 shutouts, while the Lady Lions allow 2.0 runs per game and have posted 11 shutouts.
Contact Mike Monahan at mmonahan@jg-tc.com or 238-6854.
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