Marengo holds off Antioch

Marengo catcher Taylor Carlson (left) embraces pitcher Chloe Montgomery after the Indians beat Antioch, 3-2, to win an IHSA Class 3A Grayslake Central Sectional semifinal Thursday in Grayslake. (Candace H. Johnson – Shaw Suburban Media)

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GRAYSLAKE – The expressions on the faces of Marengo softball coach Dwain Nance and his players said it all.

Looks of pure joy and relief, after all, are hard to miss.

A year ago, the Antioch Sequoits ended the Indians’ season with a 3-2 win during a sectional championship game in heartbreaking fashion. On Thursday, Marengo got its revenge – and a bit of poetic justice.

This time, the Indians claimed their own 3-2 victory against Antioch to advance to the IHSA Class 3A Grayslake Central Sectional title game. And they did so in such dramatic, pulse-pounding fashion – stranding the tying run on third in the seventh inning – that Nance repeatedly found himself trying to catch his breath as he spoke after the game.

“To lose like we did last year to Antioch, and then we win a game like this against them that comes down to the wire, by the same score ... wow,” Nance said. “This feels good, but we’re not done.”

Marengo (29-9) will face Grayslake North at 11 a.m. Saturday for the sectional championship. The Indians’ best finish came in 2008, when they finished fourth in the state.

Antioch took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a two-out RBI single to center field by catcher Amber Mysliwiec, which held up until the bottom of the third. That’s when Marengo sophomore Megan Semro belted a long two-run homer to left-center field, scoring Taylor Carlson, who led off the inning with a bunt single.

It was the ninth pitch of the at-bat for Semro, who fouled off one ball after the other against Northwestern University recruit Olivia Duehr.

Nance said Semro had been hitting in the cleanup slot most of the season, but was moved to the ninth position several weeks ago because she had been struggling. It might have caught Duehr off guard.

“I was down in the count, then I worked it to a full count,” Semro said. “I was just thinking, if I keep fouling things off, she’s gonna give me something to hit eventually. It was my first home run from the ninth spot.”

Marengo extended its lead in the fourth on a scary play at home plate. With one out, Indians designated player Larissa Pfeiffer slapped a double into the right field corner, which was followed by another double to right, in almost the same spot, by Alysa Grude.

Pfeiffer, who was trying to score from second, collided with Mysliwiec, forcing her to drop the ball. It left Mysliwiec with a large black-and-blue welt on the left side of her face and gave the Indians a 3-1 lead – an insurance run they wound up needing.

With one out in the top of the seventh, Antioch leadoff hitter Jess Liszka reached on a fielding error, but Marengo starting pitcher Chloe Montgomery got Sequoits first baseman Katie Keefe to fly out to left, for the second out. Montgomery then walked Duehr, which brought the potential go-ahead run, cleanup hitter Mysliwiec, to the plate.

Down to her team’s final strike, Mysliwiec narrowly missed tying the game when she lined Montgomery’s pitch about a foot below the top of the left-field fence, near the 185-foot sign, scoring Liszka.

But thanks to an accurate relay throw by Marengo left fielder Semro, Duehr was forced to stop at third despite being waved home by Antioch coach Jeff Tylka.

“I was so relieved [the ball didn’t go out of the park], Montgomery said. “We have great outfielders, and I know they’ll get the ball in quick. It was an excellent relay throw, and once we held them to just the one run on that hit, I knew I was going to get the next batter.”

Montgomery got Antioch center fielder Katie Phillips to fly out deep to right to end the game, which sparked a large celebration in the infield among Marengo’s players and coaching staff.

Marengo’s No. 6-9 hitters finished 5 for 12, and drove in all four of the Indians’ runs Thursday.