St. Laurence’s Sophia Sanchez did not waver in her conviction.
The junior second baseman ended the perfect game of St. Ignatius ace Ellie Giles with a double in the top of the seventh inning. And Sanchez was going for it.
“When I got up there, all I really thought about was I had to get on base,” she said. “I realized it was maybe my last at-bat of the season. I thought I had a chance.”
A bobble by the St. Ignatius left fielder provided the opening for a dramatic play.
“I rounded second base and I looked at my coach,” Sanchez said. “She was waving her arms and just going and going. I thought maybe I got this. It just didn’t go my way.”
It didn’t, but the Vikings went out the way they came in — with vigor.
Sanchez was thrown out at the plate Monday, ending St. Laurence’s best scoring threat in a 1-0 loss in the Class 3A Rosemont Supersectional at The Ballpark in Rosemont.
St. Ignatius (28-8-1) advanced to a 12:30 p.m. Friday state semifinal at Louisville Slugger Complex in Peoria and snapped a six-game winning streak by St. Laurence (22-11).
It was the softball program’s first appearance in a supersectional for the Vikings, who went toe to toe with the Wolfpack leading up to the pivotal play at the plate.
“Sometimes, you have to take the risks,” St. Laurence coach Teagan Walsh said. “We usually smack the ball around pretty well and we just weren’t doing that.”
The double to the opposite field by Sanchez ended a string of 19 consecutive outs by the Vikings.
“I saw the bobble by the left fielder, and in my head, I thought to myself they have to make two perfect throws,” Walsh said. “They did. That’s softball.”
Junior pitcher Sarah Klonowski was the equal of Giles. In six innings, Klonowski struck out six, walked three and allowed just two hits.
“I just made sure my ball was moving in on them, making sure my screwball was working,” Klonowski said. “I made sure my ball was spinning and moving as much as it could.
“I’m not going to lie — I’m not a power pitcher. I’d describe my style as never giving up and fighting until the last inning.”
Playing into the final week highlighted a remarkable evolution for St. Laurence, which lost the season opener against Lincoln-Way East 15-4 en route to a 1-5 record.
The season began with more questions than answers.
“We started doing more activities outside of softball,” Sanchez said. “We started bending and we got to know each other more. That helped us out on the field.
“Once you know your teammate, you know how they play.”
The dream season ended with a program record for victories.
After the rough start, senior catcher Angelina Seropian said the players asked each other the tough, vital questions and then worked things out.
“We were confused about why we were losing games in the last inning,” Seropian said. “I think the girls took it into our hands and we matured a lot.
“We had classroom talks and said, ‘Let’s just be open. What do we have to work on and what’s not clicking?'”
That adversity created a greater cohesion and support system for the Vikings.
The results took care of themselves.
“We became unstoppable,” Seropian said. “We were hungry, we were gritty, and I think the key factor was our communication.
“That helped us develop more of a sisterhood. We started trusting each other and began rolling.”
Under Walsh, the Vikings also won regional titles in 2019 and 2021.
This spring was different.
“This was bigger than softball because we watched these girls become so close with each other, loving each other,” Walsh said. “And that means more to me than any win or loss.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
