By Dominic Scianna
Taft girls softball coach Germaine Padilla had an ace up his sleeve when deciding to start junior Michaela Power on the mound against Whitney Young, the current Chicago Public League (CPL) girls softball city champions. The two teams know each other very well having battled twice in the regular season, but this time it would be in an elimination game in the Illinois High School sectional semifinals at Oak Park River Forest High School on June 4.
“I have a 1A and a 1B as far as starting pitchers go with Michaela and (senior) Claire Dennewitz, so we felt Whitney Young hadn’t seen her but they had gone against Claire twice (in the regular season),” Padilla said. “It was Michaela’s turn and she came up big for us.”
Power had 13 strikeouts, walked just two, and allowed only two hits with no earned runs in her seven innings of work for the 7-1 win over the Lady Dolphins (24-11-1).
“I thought she (Powers) was very good at keeping the ball low and covering the corners with her fastball. We never got comfortable against her and she really pitched well. That’s why she won player of the year in the CPL this season,” said Whitney Young head coach Mike Hinrichs.
The Eagles (23-13) had eight hits off Whitney Young sophomore starter Liani Delgado, who got the win in a 2-0 victory over Taft in the city championship game on May 12. But this time out Taft scored three runs in the first inning en route to a 7-0 lead after 3 ½ innings.
Taft catcher Victoria Perez went 3-for-4 and almost hit for the cycle to lead the offense with a single, double, and a triple, while driving in two runs in the victory.
“I was thinking about it,” said Perez about hitting for the cycle. “I swung for it on the first pitch (of my last at-bat) and hit it good but it went foul, but I had a good feel and approach today. Plus, Michaela was on today and we got off to a great start and got the win.”
Senior Chiqui Vasquez played her final game in a Whitney Young uniform and went 1-for-2 with an RBI triple for the only Dolphins run of the contest. Vasquez finished an exceptional four-year career in the CPL. Now she will take her talents to Creighton University and the Big East Conference next season.
“It’s the best experience I could ask for in high school. Coach Mike is the best coach I could have ever asked for and I’m extremely grateful to the program and the school because I’ve grown so much on and off the field as a person these last few years,” Vasquez said.
Power and her teammates now advance to the sectional final at Oak Park against the host and top-seeded Huskies (27-8) on Friday, June 6. The Eagles haven’t won a sectional championship since 2021.
“I was locked in from the start today (on the mound) and was ready for this game,” Power said. “After we lost in the CPL city championship we knew we had to come back and play better. It’s always fun playing in games like this and we’re looking forward to going further in the state playoffs.”
