– Stagg coach Darrell Walery says he isn`t concerned by his team`s limp to the regular-season finish line. ”It all came down to the two Reavis games,” said Walery. ”And they just beat us with timely hits (7-2 and 5-2 on May 8 and 10).” The Chargers also lost to Joliet St. Francis 11-2 and Joliet Central 12-5 to wind up with five losses in their last seven games. None of that will matter, though, if Stagg gets past Andrew and back to the regional championship game for its third meeting of the season with Sandburg. Stagg won the first one 4-3; Sandburg the second one 14-0. ”The kids are still confident,” said Walery. ”But we have to get there (the title game) first.” – Lockport (22-5) coach Barb Burk on her team`s chances of getting out of the rugged St. Francis regional and then Downstate with a freshman pitcher
(Amber Podlesny) on the mound. ”We`ve made it to the state tournament with a freshman before in 1980 (Patty Cooper). It`s up to the rest of the team to help her. I know she got nervous in the first Thornwood game this year (4-0 loss), but she came back to win the second one (5-4) and I think that gave her confidence.”
