We are in Chicago for the 3A softball sectional semifinal hosted by St. Ignatius. Benet is back in the semis for a third straight season after taking care of Fenton in the regional finals. Benet will take on St. Francis who makes their first semifinal appearance since 2019 when the Spartans finished as the class 3A runner up. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Redwings bats come alive right away
The Redwings go to work right with Bridget Chapman grounding that ball up the middle that brings in Nina Pesare to put the Wings up 1-0.
Then Grace Babich hits one to the same spot and another run scores which happens to be Bridget Chapman.
Redwings go through the entire lineup and we’re still in the first inning. Nina Pesare gets one into left field and that clears the bases. The triple by Pesare has Benet leading 7-0 after the first.
St. Francis gets on the board
Zipping over to the third and Lauren Kennedy gets on base with a nice ground ball that she beats. However the Wings get a little lackadaisical and with the ball rolling Kennedy catches the defense napping and is off and running to third base.
Hailey Dillon rewards her effort with an rbi groundout despite getting thrown out at first Kennedy beats the play to get the Spartans on the board.
The Wings want to get out of this inning and with a pop up by Maggie Stewart, Benet seems to be wondering who’s going to catch the ball. Angela Horejs makes the catch in traffic to retire the side.
New inning same Benet bats
The bats remain the same and so does Bridget Chapman’s standout performance at the plate as she flies this ball close to the wall. That means runs are crossing the plate as Angela Horejs comes home. It’s 12-1 Benet.
Pitcher Alex O’Rourke also helps out the cause by sending opposing batters to the bench.
Back to the bats and Taylor Sconza helps cap off a dominating win for Benet as Marikate Ritterbusch comes home. The Wings end it after just four innings thanks to the run rule. 16-1 is the final as Benet takes down St. Francis. The Redwings have now outscored their opponents 50-1 in just three postseason games.
The Redwings move on to the sectional finals where they’ll face St. Ignatius in a rematch of last year’s sectional championship.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
