By RICHIE HALL
ARCADIA – An Indiana high school sports team never forgets the first time it wins a sectional championship.
Guerin Catholic will certainly never forget how it won its first-ever softball sectional title, not in a million years. That’s because it seemed like Monday’s final game at the Class 3A Hamilton Heights sectional would last that long, as the No. 2-ranked Golden Eagles were locked in a battle with No. 1-ranked Yorktown that ran well into extra innings.
It took 10 innings for a team to score, and that team was Guerin Catholic. Aliyah Dorsey doubled in a run in the top of the inning, then pitcher Izzy Kemp took care of business in the bottom of the inning, and soon the Golden Eagles were celebrating a 1-0 victory over the Tigers.
The game was a true pitcher’s dual between two dominant throwers: Guerin’s Izzy Kemp and Yorktown’s Alanah Jones. Neither one gave an inch during Monday’s game.
“The stats have been kind of equal for both teams as far as pitching goes,” said GC coach Jeff Buckner. “And she’s pitched a lot more innings and things, as we’ve been splitting between Izzy and Alicia (Flores). If we could score a run, or whoever was going to be able to score a run, that was going to go a long way today.”
By the time the 10th inning had rolled around, Jones had thrown 22 strikeouts. At the beginning of the 10th, she induced a flyout for the first out, getting the lead off batter.
Sarah Dilley came up next, and hit a single to get on base. It was the fifth hit of the day for the Golden Eagles. Dilley then moved to second on a groundout, then Ana Macha drew a walk.
That brought up Dorsey. She took a 1-2 pitch into right field, sending Dilley home.
“On that last pitch, I just thought, ‘I have to put the ball in play to score my teammates right here and help Izzy out in the defensive end,” said Dorsey.
“We hadn’t had a lot of good, productive at-bats in terms of putting the ball in play,” said Buckner. “But we did some things to make her work a little bit. We had some runners on all throughout the game. And Aliyah has just been lights out for us at the plate all year. For her to strike out the three times and come back, that’s a senior leader right there who just was waiting for the chance and she delivered.”
Guerin flew out for the third out. That brought Kemp back up to the mound, with three outs between the Golden Eagles and the trophy. Kemp got a groundout for the first out, then issued her only walk of the game. But that was just a speed bump, as she tossed strikeouts for the next two outs, finishing the game with 19 strikeouts.
“I was just ready to go whatever extra mile I needed to for my teammates. I knew I had to be ready to go as long as possible, as long as it took,” said Kemp.
Kemp only allowed one hit in the game. Dilley and Macha both went 2-for-4 for the Golden Eagles.
REGIONAL WIN
Guerin Catholic followed up its first-ever sectional championship the next day with its first-ever regional championship on Tuesday.
The Golden Eagles traveled to Norwell and cruised to a 12-1, five-inning victory for the Regional 12 crown. Guerin was in control early, scoring five runs in the top of the first inning. Kemp and Kirsten Mascari both hit two-RBI doubles, Schenk batted in Kemp, and Dilley singled in a run.
Alicia Flores led off the third inning with a solo home run. The Golden Eagles then added six more runs in the fourth: Dorsey cracked a two-RBI double, Victoria Flores singled in a run, Alicia Flores sent a two-run double into left field and Lucy Schenk batted in a run.
Alicia Flores had a tremendous game on both sides. She was 3-for-3, driving in three runs, and also threw a no-hitter, striking out 10 in five innings.
Guerin Catholic is now 23-2 and will next play Saturday at the Twin Lakes semi-state. The Golden Eagles play No. 7-ranked Bishop Dwenger in the first semi-final at 11 a.m., with the second semi-final between No. 9-ranked South Bend St. Joseph and Kankakee Valley set for 1 p.m. The winners will play the championship game at 6 p.m.
GUERIN CATHOLIC 1, YORKTOWN 0
Guerin Catholic AB R H RBI
Ana Macha 4 0 2 0
Aliyah Dorsey 5 0 1 1
Victoria Flores 5 0 0 0
Izzy Kemp 3 0 0 0
Alicia Flores 4 0 0 0
Lucy Schenk 4 0 1 0
Kirsten Mascari 4 0 0 0
Sarah Dilley 4 1 2 0
Julia Hartley 4 0 0 0
Olivia Labus 0 0 0 0
Totals 37 1 6 1
Score by Innings
Guerin Catholic 000 000 000 1 – 1 7 0
Yorktown 000 000 000 0 – 0 1 0
2B: Dorsey. SB: Macha 2.
GC pitching IP R ER H
Kemp 10 0 0 1
Strikeouts: Kemp 19. Walks: Kemp 1.
GUERIN CATHOLIC 12, NORWELL 1
(5 innings)
Guerin Catholic AB R H RBI
Ana Macha 4 2 2 0
Aliyah Dorsey 4 1 2 2
Victoria Flores 4 2 2 2
Izzy Kemp 3 2 2 1
Alicia Flores 3 1 3 3
Lucy Schenk 3 0 0 2
Kirsten Mascari 3 1 1 1
Sarah Dilley 3 0 1 1
Julia Hartley 3 1 2 0
Zoey Bussick 0 2 0 0
Totals 30 12 15 12
Score by Innings
Guerin Catholic 501 60 – 12 15 1
Norwell 010 00 – 1 0 1
HR: A. Flores. 2B: Dorsey, A. Flores, V. Flores, Kemp, Mascari. SB: Dilley, A. Flores, Macha.
GC pitching IP R ER H
A. Flores 5 1 0 0
Strikeouts: A. Flores 10. Walks: A. Flores 2.
Richie, thanks for the article on the Golden Eagles softball first sectional regional titles. This is a special group of young women.
As exciting as winning sectional and regional softball titles for the first time in school history, who could have envisioned the dominance exhibited by the Golden Eagles on Saturday at semi-state. Kemp and Flores struck out 41 batters and allowed one hit over 2 games. While those two girls were slinging strikes the offense was on fire early and often. Can’t wait to read your story on Saturday’s exploits. One game to go for all the marbles.