PEORIA — The Williamsville softball team didn’t feel any pressure against the No. 1 overall ranked team in Class 2A.
Freshman pitcher Hannah Louis and the Bullets defense subdued Carterville for most of the 2A state semifinal until the sixth inning in a 3-0 loss at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex on Thursday, June 4.
Carterville (38-1) resumes its quest for a second state title in three years—and third straight championship game appearance—against Seneca on Saturday, June 6 at 12:15 p.m.
Williamsville (31-8) meets Elmhurst IC Catholic in the third-place game on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
“It’s a tough loss, but we’re only going to get better learning from it,” Williamsville junior second baseman Lucy Nell said. “We’ll be back here next year hopefully and this game will make us stronger in the long run and next time hopefully we can come out on top.”
Freshman holds up in duel
Louis (6-3, 1.38 ERA) battled against incoming University of Illinois pitcher Caidence Phillips and struck out seven in a complete game. She gave up three runs on six hits and two walks.
“We didn’t make an adjustment until about the sixth inning, so I mean kudos to her,” Phillips said. “We did a lot of rolling over and a lot of pop outs.”
Carterville senior Taryn Ford supplied the go-ahead RBI single on a 1-2 count in the sixth before the Lions tacked on two more runs in the seventh.
“I was throwing my dropball a lot more than I usually do,” Louis said. “I think it was really effective today getting them to chase. I think also the umpire really liked those low pitches, so I was working with that.”
Williamsville mustered just two hits against Phillips — Nell in the fifth and junior shortstop Reese Larson in the sixth.
Phillips ultimately struck out 15 with no walks to boot. She said her fastball velocity reaches about 64 miles per hour, but its spin—along with a gnarly changeup—confounds hitters.
“I really just think having a changeup today really helped,” Phillips said. “Having a lot of confidence in that, my defense and everyone and the ability to just throw whatever I want in whatever counts really helps.”
Williamsville whips up defensive gems
The Bullets showcased a crisp defense behind Louis.
Nell pulled off a sliding grab for a groundout before freshman Olivia Heigert threw out a runner from the left field wall to end the fourth.
Neither team committed an error.
“Our defense has been very solid,” Nell said. “Everyone in the infield and outfield I have total confidence in all of them to play to their best ability and I think we did.”
Bullets make history
Williamsville soaked up its 10th state appearance, its first since 2018, despite a freshman core and no seniors.
Louis described the experience as great and was unfazed by Carterville’s prominence.
“We knew they had all the pressure because we’re the underdogs in the game, so we did not have pressure on us,” Louis said. “We were just going to do our thing and whatever happens, happens.”
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: How freshman pitcher gave Williamsville softball fighting chance at state
Reporting by Bill Welt, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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By Bill Welt, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
