EDWARDSVILLE – Sophomore Kennedy Clark went all the way inside the circle striking out seven and getting key outs when she needed, while her O’Fallon softball teammates broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fifth with two runs, then added on two more runs in the sixth to give the Panthers a 6-2 win over Quincy in the second semifinal of the IHSA Class 4A Edwardsville regional Tuesday night at the Edwardsville District 7 Sports Complex.
The Panthers advanced to the final on Friday against Edwardsville, an 8-1 winner over Alton, in the final on Friday afternoon, and played well, coming up with the big plays when needed.
“This is a team that, I think, has been continuously getting better,” said O’Fallon head coach Jamie Corbier, “I don’t think our record reflects the effort we’ve been putting in, and the progress that we’ve seen, and it’s just been phenomenal to see these girls put it all together. That’s all I can ask for as a coach.”
Clark was in and out of trouble throughout the game, and got the key outs when she needed them in a brilliant performance.
“She’s been a rock this year,” Corbier said. “She’s a sophomore, but she is working hard every day in practice. She’s a gamer. I always use that term with her, because she wants the ball in the circle, she wants to make the last out, she wants to have it all. So we put a lot of confidence in her, and she did a great job. She did get behind a little bit, and struggled. There was no doubt, we know she’s going to get the next one, and that was fantastic.”
The Panthers also got timely hitting in the fifth and sixth innings to take the lead, and held on to gain the win to advance.
“It was nice to be able to string a couple of runs together, a couple of base hits,” Corbier said. “Their pitcher (Izzy Wapppler) kept us off-balance really well throughout the first part of the game, and I think we finally started to settle in and started to really attack strikes that she was throwing, instead of attacking her pitches.”
O’Fallon will now face the host Tigers in the final, and it’s a game Corbier is looking forward to between the Southwestern Conference rivals.
“We are very excited,” Corbier said. “Very excited to take on Edwardsville. We’re looking forward to a great championship game. Lots of competition. I’m just very happy with the group. I think we’ve really shown a lot these last couple of games, and we are just looking forward to making a run. And I hope we can do it.”
The Blue Devils had the first chance in the opening inning on one out walks to Ari Adorno and Maycee Seward, but Clark got out of the jam deftly, and the Panthers scored a run in the bottom of the inning, starting with a one out single by Bella Schmitt and a double by Clark. A ground out to third by Madison Peek gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
Quincy tied the game in the top of the third, when Ivy Winter singled, stole second, was sacrificed to third by Adorno, and scored when Maggie Neally reached on an error. In the bottom of the inning, the Panthers took the lead right back, starting with a hit by Hanna Schmidt, who went to second on a wild pitch, a walk to Ella Klino, and an RBI single by Schmitt to make it 2-1 for O’Fallon.
The Blue Devils tied the game in the fifth, on doubles by Adorno and Neally to tie the game 2-2. Clark got out of trouble with a fly out to center, and the Panthers took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth, when, with one out, Schmidt walked, and Klino doubled. The throw to the plate was in time, but the catcher failed to hold on to the ball on the tag for an error, allowing Schmidt to score and give O’Fallon a 3-2 lead. Klino took third on the throw, and scored on a line drive by Schmitt that was caught by the shortstop, with Klino alertly tagging up and scoring on the play to make it 4-2.
In the sixth, O’Fallon got two more runs, starting when Megan Schull reached on an error with one out, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, while pinch hitter Mackenzie Mueller drew a walk. Back-to-back RBI singles by Klino and Schmitt scored Schull and Schmid, who had reentered the game. Clark’s pitching shut the door on the Blue Devils, with the Panthers taking the 6-2 win to move on to the final.
Klino had two hits and an RBI for the Panthers, while Schmitt had two hits and two RBIs, Clark came up with a hit, Peek drove in a run, and Schmidt came up with a hit. Clark went all the way in the circle, giving up two runs, both earned, on five hits, walking eight and striking out seven.
Quincy’s season ends at 12-21, while O’Fallon goes to 13-18, and plays Edwardsville in the regional final Friday at 4:30 p.m. The winner goes to the Normal Community West sectional on June 3 at 4:30 p.m. in a neutral site game against the Belleville West winner, with the winner of the game playing in the sectional final June 6 in Normal at 4:30 p.m. The super-sectional game is set for Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington June 9 at 6:30 p.m., and the state finals will be played June 13-14 at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
