By Mike Clark
All those early morning wakeup calls have paid off for Natalie Nieves, Nyah Allen and their Young softball teammates.
Nieves slugged a home run over the batter’s eye in center field, Allen pitched a three-hit shutout and the Dolphins beat rival Taft 6-0 on Friday night at UIC to win the Public League title.
“All winter time we woke up at like 4 or 5 a.m. and came to school and were just practicing,” said Nieves, a sophomore left fielder. “We really earned it.”
Young, Taft and Lane have emerged in recent seasons as the three best teams in the Public League. In Public League Red play this season, Taft beat Young, Lane beat Taft and Young beat Lane.
Young wound up with the tough road to the city title, needing to beat Lane and Taft back-to-back in the playoffs. The Dolphins did, knocking off Lane for the second time this season, 5-2 in the semifinals. Then came the rematch with Taft, which beat Young on April 15.
“We owed them one,” Allen said. “Last time we played them we fell short 3-2. The time before that we lost to them (last year) in the city semis. We came out and we wanted to win.”
This game turned in the top of the second inning when Young (24-10) scored five times, all with two out. Miami (Ohio) recruit Sydney Gilbert drove in two runs with a bloop single to left, Georgia Lang had an RBI single to left and Chiqui Vazquez tripled to right-center to drive in two runs.
Nieves hit her fifth home run of the season, and second vs. Taft, in the fifth and Allen took care of the rest.
The senior struck out four, walked one and allowed only one runner past first base. She was aided by errorless defense, including right fielder Itzel Jaime’s diving catch to open the fourth inning and a 6-4-3 double play in the fifth.
Given the stakes, Allen considered it her best game of the year.
“I think it was, especially pitching,” she said. “I didn’t perform as good as I usually do at the plate (1-for-4 with a run). But pitching-wise I was locked in and I did what I had to do.”
Young coach Mike Hinrichs wasn’t surprised that Allen delivered in the clutch.
“She’s what you and I would call a gamer,” he said. “Big moments, she’s just always ready.”
Hinrichs appreciates the rivalries that have developed among the city’s elite teams.
“I think all three teams — us and Lane and Taft — represent the city really well,” he said.
“This is, since I’ve been coaching, our fifth or sixth city championship. This was the toughest one, as far as what we had to do to get here. The traveling out of state and the nonconference competition that we played certainly prepared us for the intense atmosphere that the playoffs bring.”
One positive for Taft (21-6) was right fielder Claire Dennewitz’s highlight-reel catch to end a Young scoring threat in the fourth.
The Public League powers may not have seen the last of each other this spring. If the seeds hold, fourth-seeded Taft and fifth-seeded Lane could meet in the Class 4A Evanston Regional final. Young is the third seed in the Maine South Sectional behind No. 1 Oak Park-River Forest and No. 2 Maine South, and could meet the Lane/Taft winner in the sectional final.
Allen is ready for what comes next.
“City’s super important,” she said. “But now we have regionals, sectionals, finals, state.”
Photos by Jim Vincent/OSA
Photos by Zara Linneman, Whitney Young senior
Lane Tech’s 10-run inning helps secure JV championship
By Dominic Scianna
Lane Tech exploded for 10 runs in the crucial second inning as coach Vikky Young’s squad cruised to a 13-6 win over Taft to win the Chicago Public League (CPL) Girls JV Softball City Championship on Friday, May 10, at Flames Field on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Lane sophomore Chloe Gonzalez earned the win on the mound striking out three while allowing four hits and four runs in four innings of work. Hitting stars for the Champions were freshman Alison Mahoney (3-of-3 with an RBI and run scored), Chayse Radcliff (1-of-4 with two RBI and a run scored), sophomore Amelia Volkens (1-of-4 with two RBI and a run scored), and sophomore Olivia Segura (2-of-2 with two runs scored) in the victory.
Taft tried to claw back as the Eagles scored three runs in their half of the fourth inning led by junior Allison Mundt’s two RBI double, and junior Morgan Eccarius (2-of-4 with an RBI and run scored), and junior Ariel Guzman (1-of-3 with a run scored and an RBI).
Coach Young’s Lane Tech team finished the regular season and CPL playoffs with a record of 22-5, while coach Greg Liske’s Eagles finished their CPL season with a 14-11-1 record.
Photos by Jim Vincent/OSA
