Softball: Mundelein drops heartbreaker to Loyola in thrilling sectional final
A pitchers’ duel morphed into a game of inches and marked a bittersweet ending to Mundelein’s state tournament hopes as the Mustangs (22-11) dropped a 2-0 decision to Loyola (18-15) in the sectional finals Saturday at Stevenson High School.
Each pitching on one day’s rest, Mundelein starter Sophia Zepeda and her Loyola counterpart Hunter Lewis fanned 11 batters apiece and yielded a combined six hits. Zepeda, who threw seven innings of one-hit ball on Thursday, gave up one earned run and walked only two in another seven frames of work.
“She did everything she could to get herself ready for this game,” Mundelein coach Heather Ryan said. “I don’t think people realize how much stress that is on an arm to go in such a short turnaround. But, man, did she want it. She played like a senior today.”
“She did all she could,” Mundelein senior Claire Connelly said. “She did a great job. I have no words. She just put her all in.”
Zepeda, who will continue her softball career at College of Lake County next season, held Lewis, a Northwestern commit, hitless during the pair’s first two meetings. Lewis led off the top of the sixth inning with her second home run in three days, driving a 2-2 pitch over the fence in right center.
The Ramblers added an insurance run in the seventh when Maggie Herbert reached base on an error and later scored when teammate Gwen Coleman drove a 1-2 offering just over the heads of the Mustang infield for an RBI double.
“That’s grit,” Loyola coach Leah Herlocker said. “We also had a practice yesterday where we worked on two strikes. So we had girls stepping up with two strikes.”
Mundelein threatened to score with runners on second and third in the second frame as well as a runner on third in the fourth inning. The Mustangs started the seventh with a walk from Casey Vyverman, who advanced on a sacrifice bunt from Emily Courtney, but Lewis retired the next two batters to earn the title. The Ramblers will face Oak Park River Forest in the super sectionals on Monday.
Sophomores Taylor Pyke and Devin Hill posted a hit for the Mustangs, who hoped to return to the state tournament after a fourth-place finish last year. The loss was the final high school game for seniors Zepeda, Connelly and Naomi Routledge.
“I’m not gonna be sad that we lost, but I’m gonna be happy for all the memories that I made,” Connelly, an Indiana State commit, said. “I’m just happy that it happened.”
Ryan said with only three seniors, she was initially worried about her team’s inexperience in the postseason, but the Mustangs leadership never wavered.
“They really rose to the occasion,” she said. “The future is just so, so bright for these kids. I’m just happy they had the three seniors that we did to learn from and be mentored by some of the greatest kids you could ever ask for in a program.”