By Dominic Scianna
Stealing home is one of the most exciting plays in all of sports but it has become a lost art, rarely seen at the professional, collegiate, and high school softball or baseball levels. But Taft sophomore Elena Gonzalez may be the exception to that rule, going down in the official box score as having stolen home to vault her team to the Chicago Public League (CPL) girls varsity fastpitch softball championship with a 1-0 win at UIC Flames Field on May 9. The victory is Taft’s second CPL girls fastpitch softball city championship in the last three years.
The crazy ending to a well-played contest began when Gonzalez led off the top of the fourth inning with a double (just one of two hits given up by Lane standout senior pitcher Kailey Hancock). After a fly out and ground out moved Gonzalez to third base, Hancock had one out to go to keep the game scoreless. That’s when she delivered an inside pitch that she and her battery mate, catcher Gianna Phillips, thought was the third strike and final out to end the inning.
But no signal was given by the home plate umpire.
Phillips rolled the ball back towards the pitching circle as she and Hancock left the field of play and headed toward their dugout thinking the inning was over, but since the umpire gave no signal, it wasn’t and the ball was still “live.” Gonzalez broke toward the plate to score the first run of the game and was credited with a stolen base.
It would be the winning run in a 1-0 victory to end one of the most improbable finishes in CPL softball championship game history.
“I didn’t see the umpire call anything (ball or strike) and when I saw her (Phillips) drop the ball I just ran home,” said Gonzalez. “It happened so fast and I just took the free base.”
Gonzalez is no stranger to city championship play. She is a two-time CPL city champion having also helped Taft win last fall’s girls varsity flag football title game.
“Elena is a smart kid and her softball IQ is up there,” said Taft head coach Germaine Padilla, who is a three-time city champion coach, twice in softball and once in flag football). “She’s only a sophomore but she plays well above her years.”
Hancock was masterful for Lane in defeat, pitching seven innings, finishing with 13 strikeouts and allowing just two hits the entire game. Her counterpart in the circle, Taft junior pitcher Olivia Saldana, was also dominant in allowing just three hits while striking out eight batters for the win.
“I really thought it was a strike (referring to the pitch that led to the winning run). And both Gianna and I thought we heard it called a strike by the umpire,” said Hancock. “But, we have to score to win anyway and we didn’t do that so it’s tough but it’s OK. I’m so proud of our team and the bond we have. I’m going to miss it because it’s my last year but we had a great season to get this far.”
And this season isn’t over yet. Taft (20-9-1) could see Lane Tech (20-4) again in the upcoming Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state playoffs. Both teams would relish another matchup between each other as the two best CPL teams this year will be joined by CPL city semi-finalist Whitney Young in the Class 4A Whitney Young Sectional.
“We will probably see Whitney Young, or Taft or both again,” said Lane Tech head coach Samantha Meinken. “We’re excited that our season is still alive and it’s really great having CPL teams representing our schools and doing very well when competing in the state playoffs.”
