EAST PEORIA — Sutton Centoni played the hero.
The Dunlap senior’s walk-off hit lifted the Eagles to a 1-0 softball win over New Lenox Providence Catholic at the Class 3A East Peoria Supersectional on Monday, June 1. Fifth-ranked Dunlap (30-8) heads to the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex for the state finals, facing No. 2 Antioch (32-3) at 10 a.m. Friday, June 5.
This is the first Final Four appearance for Dunlap since a Class A fourth-place finish in 1992.
“Truly surreal,” Centoni said of the historic victory. “No words can describe it. To get to this point, we’ve been working for it. I just can’t believe it, so proud of all of them.”
The Illinois signee stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. She lifted the first offering from Providence pitcher Macie Robbins to deep right field. The ball bounced just outside the reach of diving outfielder Bella Cortes’ outstretched glove, coming to rest only inches from the EastSide Centre fence.
“I was trying to focus on the opportunity for this team,” Centoni said, “(and when) the ball hit the ground, just to celebrate with them means everything.”
That at-bat was setup thanks to Hannah Parker drawing a five-pitch walk, then advancing to second on Lexi Hamer’s sacrifice bunt. Parker made it to third when Addie Reed (2-for-4) reached on an infield single.
Gabby Drake then walked when she took ball four on a full count. This paved the way for the heroics by Centoni, who went 2-for-4, just one pitch later.
“(Robbins) gets your best no matter what,” Dunlap coach Germaine Fairchild said of what she told Centoni prior to her at-bat. “That’s all you can ask for yourself in that moment right there. (Robbins) gets the best swing you’ve got.”
But it wasn’t just Centoni’s bat that helped Dunlap win its first super in 34 years. The right-hander pitched herself out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the top of the sixth. She was able to strikeout Mia Sanfratello, then induce a fielder’s choice to shortstop Rachel Mies.
Centoni (21-3) finished with four strikeouts, two walks and gave up four hits, while lowering her ERA to 0.71 in 158 innings.
Robbins struck out five, walked four and gave up six hits for No. 15 Providence (29-8), which got two hits from Cortes.
Washington falls to No. 1 Chatham Glenwood
Washington saw its season come to an end against top-ranked Chatham Glenwood in an 11-1, six-inning defeat at the Class 3A Decatur Supersectional on Monday.
The No. 7-ranked Panthers (26-9), who trailed 6-0 after three innings, got on the board in the fourth. Reagan McMenimen’s RBI-sacrifice fly scored Mia Johnson, who came in as a courtesy runner for catcher Addy MacGregor (2-for-3, double).
But Glenwood (28-2) scored five runs over the next three innings to reach the semifinal against unranked Oak Park Fenwick at 12:15 p.m. Friday, June 5. The Titans finished with 10 hits, including home runs from Ava Bobb and Kileigh Warren.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: ‘Truly surreal’: Illinois signee leads Dunlap to IHSA softball state finals
Reporting by Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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