Pontiac has been crowned softball regional champions for the fourth consecutive year after Elena Krause guided the Tribe to a 7-0 victory over LaSalle-Peru in the title game of the Class 3A Pontiac Regional at The Diamond at Williamson Field on Friday, May 30.
Krause was her dominating self in the circle, holding the higher-seeded Cavaliers to just three base hits. This effort pushed her postseason consecutive scoreless streak to 38 innings, including closing out last year’s state championship run with a 26-inning shutout string.
“There’s not much you can say (about her pitching) besides great,” PTHS senior catcher Liv Lindsay said. “She works hard, throws strikes. That’s what she does.”
“I was a little nervous before the game, but I realized I’ve been in this situation before,” Krause added. “It’s difficult but I just focused and threw my stuff.”
Because LaSalle-Peru came in as the higher seed, the Tribe got to bat first. Krause led off with a double, then stole third base. India Mattingly followed with a base hit to score Krause and put PTHS ahead.
“I know it’s hard scoring one run against me, so scoring two was going to be very difficult,” Krause said. “When we got that first run, that helped my confidence.”
It stayed 1-0 until the top of the fifth inning. The lineup turned over with two outs, bringing Krause back to the plate.
“I wanted to hit it far and run as far as I could and see if we could score another run,” Krause said. “I just swung for the fences and hit it as hard as I could.”
The result was a home run off the scoreboard in left-center, giving Pontiac a 2-0 lead. It didn’t stop there as the Tribe tacked on three more runs in the inning. Lindsay had a run-scoring single and Natalie Zimmerman delivered a two-run double for a 5-0 lead.
Pontiac capped the scoring in the sixth inning. Kendall Pitchford scored on a passed and Payton Rogers crossed the plate Krause’s fourth hit of the game.
Krause finished with 13 strikeouts and hit two batters in going the distance. She also had four hits, including her homer and double, drove in two runs and scored twice as the Tribe improved to 24-9.
Zimmerman had a double and two RBIs while Rogers had a double. Lindsay had a hit and drove in a run and Izzy Hinz singled.
Pontiac will face Washington in the first semifinal game of the East Peoria Sectional on Tuesday, June 3.
Pontiac 11, Kankakee 0 – At Pontiac two days prior, the Tribe set aside any upset hopes Kankakee might have harbored with a 7-run first inning to put this regional semifinal game away early on May 28. Elena Krause was dominant in the circle by striking out 10 in 3 2-3 innings before yielding to Natalie Zimmerman, who fanned one and allowed the lone hit in closing out the Kays.
Tessa Collins had three hits and a run batted in, while Krause had two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs. Liv Lindsay had two hits and two RBIs while Payton Rogers had a triple, single and RBI. Izzy Hinz contributed a double, single and RBI. India Mattingly had two hits, Kendall Pitchford added a hit and RBI while Zimmerman added a single.
Class 3A Pontiac Baseball Regional
Joliet Catholic 14, Pontiac 4 – PTHS baseball season came to an end with a loss to top-seed Joliet Catholic at the Class 3A Pontiac Regional May 28. Mason Schlosser took the loss. Ryne Mackinson fanned one in relief and Aden Brummel finished up.
JCA scored six times in the third inning, but the Tribe (9-18) answered in the fourth with four runs. Ryson Eilts doubled with one out and scored one batter later when Henry DeYoung singled. Andrew Horning singled to plate DeYoung and Josh Hartke scored on Jackson Crawford’s groundout. Horning later scored on a wild pitch.
The Hilltoppers responded with six runs in the fourth and ended it with two runs in the fifth frame.
Eilts had a double while DeYoung and Horning each singled.
Class 1A St. Bede Baseball Sectional
Lexington 3, Henry-Senachwine 1 – At Peru, Lexington’s postseason run continued with a victory over Henry-Senachwine in the semifinal round of the Class 1A St. Bede Sectional on May 28. Kayden Knight spotted the Mallards a run in the second inning but completed the victory with a four-strikeout effort.
The Minutemen tied the game in the bottom of the third inning when Blaine Friedmansky doubled home Jack Miller. Friedmansky lofted a sacrifice fly in the fifth to score Miller again to give Lexington a 2-1 lead. Cooper Miller scored an insurance run on Jaxson Goodrich’s single in the sixth inning.
Friedmansky had a double and two RBIs to pace the Minutemen (18-10). Goodrich added a single and RBI while Cooper Miller and Mile Lainhart each singled.
Lexington was to face Heyworth in the championship game on May 31.
Erich Murphy is a reporter for the (Pontiac) Daily Leader. He can be reached at emurphy@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Elena Krause dominates as Pontiac softball blanks LaSalle-Peru for regional crown
Reporting by Erich Murphy, Pontiac Daily Leader / Pontiac Daily Leader
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