Marshall’s 3-0 loss to Mt. Carmel on Monday (May 11) may have denied the Lady Lions the outright Little Illini Conference softball title. But, they still got to share it. Enter Robinson, who matched Marshall’s 6-1 final league record with a 12-0 win over Lawrenceville. So, for the second straight year, two teams will share the glory atop the LIC standings.
The season didn’t officially wrap up until Tuesday, when Casey-Westfield, ranked No. 1 in Class 1A (according to the Illinois Coaches Association), outslugged Newton, 20-13. The win moved the Lady Warriors into sole possession of third place with a final league mark of 5-2. Mt. Carmel took fourth (4-3), followed by Newton (3-4), Paris and Olney (both 2-5), followed by Lawrenceville (0-7).
Mt. Carmel’s Quincy Keepes hit a solo home run in the second inning to give the Lady Aces all they would need in their upset of Marshall, but they added insurance runs in the third and sixth. Another Keepes – Lyla – got the win in the circle. The right hander struck out 10 batters in her seven innings of work, while allowing two walks and four hits. Marshall starter Kyla Gustafson took the loss, even though she matched Keepes’ total of 10 K’s.
Marshall entered ranked 11th in the ICA Class 2A poll, with Mt. Carmel, last year’s co-champs with Newton, ranked 13th.
Robinson took a while to get untracked against Lawrenceville, scoring their first four runs in the fourth inning. But, the Lady Maroons finished strong, scoring eight more runs in the fifth and final inning. Senior Eva Hermann tossed a one-hitter, while striking out 11 and walking only two batters. Freshman right fielder Kate Rehmel led the way at the plate, finishing 3-for-3 with a two-run homer to right in the fourth that make it 4-0.
Olney, behind the starting pitching of Natalie Ochs, finished the conference season strong with a 3-0 win over Paris. Ochs allowed Paris just two hits, while fanning five batters and walking only one. The winning Tigers got two RBIs from Kaiya Seessengood (a single in the first, and an RBI ground out in the third), plus an RBI single from Kenzly Bryan (also in the third).
Tuesday’s final league game had a little bit of everything. Casey-Westfield and Newton combined for 33 runs, 27 hits, and 10 errors. C-W bolted to a 10-2 lead at the end of two innings, yet still needed a 5-spot in the sixto to finally put Newton away. Sophomore Gabriela Frye had a whopping nine RBIs in the game, including a grand slam in the sixth, while Lucy Moore cracked two home runs to go with five RBIs.
Paige Wagner had a perfect day at the dish for Newton – going 3-for-3, including a homer to center in the fourth.
