Turner tosses no-no

Prairie Ridge’s Lauren Seegers is greeted at home plate after circling the bases for a home run Tuesday in the Wolves’ IHSA Class 3A Woodstock North Regional semifinal win in Woodstock. The Wolves won, 12-0. (Travis Haughton – thaughton@nwherald.com)

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WOODSTOCK – Not even a 70-minute weather delay in the middle of the game could stop Prairie Ridge senior pitcher Johanna Turner on Tuesday in the Wolves’ IHSA Class 3A Woodstock North Regional semifinal against Marian Central.

After an error on the first play of the game, Turner retired the next 15 Hurricanes batters to throw a no-hitter, and the top-seeded Wolves defeated fourth-seeded Marian, 12-0, in five innings.

Prairie Ridge (26-9) will play the winner of today’s semifinal between Woodstock North and Richmond-Burton at 2 p.m. Saturday for the regional title.

Prairie Ridge got on the board in the first inning off Hurricanes pitcher Courtney Einecker, with a two-run single by Katie Schillinger followed by a two-run double by Tessa Rife.

That was all the offense Turner needed as she struck out the side in both the first and fourth innings and finished the game with 11 strikeouts to improve to 17-7 on the season.

“It felt good, I really brought my ‘A’ game,” Turner said. “The fielders were doing excellent, the outfielders were diving for balls. My [screwball] and my curve were working inside and out. I was keeping them off-balance.”

After the second inning, play was delayed because of lightning in the area. When play resumed more than an hour later, the only thunder came from the Prairie Ridge bats as the Wolves tacked on three more runs in the third inning, including a solo home run by Erin Smith.

The attack continued in the fourth with another run; the Wolves finished the game in the fifth inning with a three-run homer by Lauren Seegers, who finished with three runs scored and four RBIs on the day.

Seegers said she wasn’t looking for one pitch in particular when she homered.

“I noticed the ball was outside, so I took it to right and it was gone,” Seegers said.

Prairie Ridge coach Mike Buck said the delay might have helped Turner be even more dominant.

“That’s why she is who she is,” Buck said. “She struggled the early part of this season but the last few games, she has pitched like the old Jo. She hit her spots, and I think after the delay she had even more pop on the ball than she did before the delay.”

Anna Patras scored three times for Prairie Ridge, with Smith and Schillinger each scoring twice. Buck added that the offense has begun to come around.

Marian (12-19) got only one base runner in Sarah Straley, who reached on Schillinger’s error to start the game.

Straley also was robbed of a hit in the third inning, when Prairie Ridge center fielder Danielle Samuels made a catch before the ball could hit the ground.

Marian coach Rick Cartwright said that his team was dominated by Turner.

“She’s a wonderful pitcher and was very commanding,” Cartwright said. “She’s got good control and she did a good job handling us.”