Before the heroics, there was a bit of humor.
Junior third baseman Ava Swain took a mighty swing for Lockport and fouled off the pitch. And then …
“I looked back and the ball just wasn’t there,” Swain said.
That’s because it was stuck in the top of the netting behind home plate. She was definitely on the pitch.
“Oh, my previous at-bats, I thought I was on it,” Swain said, smiling. “I knew this at-bat was going to make or break the game.”
Swain’s next swing made the difference Friday for the host Porters during a 1-0 victory over Lincoln-Way Central in the Class 4A Lockport Sectional championship game.
The game-winning single in the top of the seventh inning gave the Porters their first sectional title since 2005.
“This is so huge,” Swain said. “Going into this season, the whole team kind of knew that this was our chance. We worked really well together.”
Kelcie McGraw threw a four-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts for Lockport (31-7), which will play the host RedHawks (34-2) at 4:30 p.m. Monday in the Marist Supersectional.
Alexis Youngren and Mia Guide hit doubles for Lincoln-Way Central (27-7). Bella Dimitrijevic, a sophomore right-hander, struck out 11 and allowed just two hits.
It was a second straight stunning pitching performance, however, by McGraw (21-4).
The sophomore right-hander had base runners to deal with in four different innings but kept the Knights from stringing two hits together.
“I don’t even know how,” McGraw said. “I just knew I had to keep tight spins and I would be fine.”
She impressed Lincoln-Way Central coach Jeff Tarala.
“She did great,” Tarala said of McGraw. “Unbelievable, you know. Hats off to her. A phenomenal effort to stay so focused throughout this whole game.
“She’s young, too, just like Bella (Dimitrijevic). For a sophomore to go out and do that is extremely impressive. She deserves it.”
For Dimitrijevic, it was a tough way to end a superb second varsity season.
“She’s not very happy with herself right now,” Tarala said. “But listen, we’re not in this situation without her this season. And we didn’t give her runs. It’s hard to pitch with that constant pressure.”
The ultimate hero was Swain, with an assist from Spodarek.
With one out, Spodarek reached first base when her grounder to short was bobbled. A wild pitch by Dimitrijevic moved Spodarek to second.
That brought up Swain. She was aware of the stakes, especially after a 4-3 loss to the Knights on April 7.
“I knew we were tied and we needed one run to get ahead,” Swain said. “I wanted to beat Central so bad. They’ve been one of our rivals for so long. The last time we played them, it was such a good game.
“I knew this was my time.”
After her sticky foul ball, Swain drilled a shot up the middle that deflected off Dimitrijevic’s glove and skittered into center field.
Spodarek came in to score, with the throw sailing wide right.
“When I saw the ball hit Bella’s glove, I didn’t know if it stopped in the infield or not,” Spodarek said. “I just put my head down and kept going.
“I knew Ava would come through. She was fouling off balls. She puts in the work at practice, so it had to come.”
For the season, Swain is hitting .327 with five doubles, three home runs and 20 RBIs.
She was the newest player to be saluted Friday with a game ball from Lockport coach Marissa Chovanec.
“Yes, it was Ava’s turn to be the big tide turner,” Chovanec said. “We’ve had lots of kids do that this season. They all work really hard, listening to us and making adjustments in the cages. She did just that.
“It’s a game of inches. The wild pitch moved that runner-up and we got that little hit up the middle, that was a game changer. The inches were on our side.”
