Wonderful walk-off for Marengo

Marengo's Alysa Grude (center) is mobbed by her teammates at home plate after hitting a walk-off home run during the bottom of the eighth inning of the IHSA Class 3A Northern Illinois University Supersectional on Monday in DeKalb. Marengo defeated Sycamore, 5-4. (Rob Winner – Shaw Suburban Media)

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DeKALB – By the time Alysa Grude was nearing second base, she started to think that maybe – just maybe – she had done something incredible.

Marengo’s softball team started screaming at Grude from the dugout as the senior center fielder rounded first in the eighth inning of the IHSA Class 3A Northern Illinois University Supersectional game Monday against Sycamore.

Indians coach Dwain Nance pumped his fists and threw his hands in the air as Grude ran toward third, which is when she looked up and realized that she had indeed done something spectacular.

Grude’s walk-off home run off an outside rise ball from Sycamore pitcher Abby Foulk traveled just more than 220 feet to give the Indians a 5-4 victory in eight innings against the Spartans and secure a spot in the state semifinals.

Marengo will play Bethalto Civic Memorial at noon Friday at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria for the right to play for a state championship Saturday.

“I was just looking for my pitch, and it was right there,” said Grude as she clutched the home run ball her father had retrieved. “I was just ready to hit and get some runs for the team. I didn’t think I got it, and that’s why I was running so hard.”

Grude had tripled in the second inning to drive in the Indians’ first run, so she knew Foulk might throw her another outside pitch.

That it was Foulk’s first offering was even better; Grude and her teammates weren’t sure how many more stomach flips they could handle.

The Indians (31-9) led, 2-0, in the top of the seventh and were one out away from winning in regulation. Senior pitcher Chloe Montgomery (24-6) had the Spartans’ No. 8 hitter, Becca Schroeder, down 1-2 in the count before issuing her a walk.

Montgomery then walked pinch-hitter Jasmyne Taylor to put the tying runs on, and leadoff hitter Meranda Brashears singled to left-center to drive in Schroeder and give the Spartans new life.

Samantha Navarro then reached on an error that brought home Taylor and tied the score at 2, and No. 3 hitter Haley Salazar drove in Bra-shears for the go-ahead run to put Sycamore ahead, 3-2.

Montgomery gave up another RBI single to Brittany Huber that made it 4-2, but redeemed herself in the bottom of the inning with a game-tying, one-out double to the fence in center field that drove in teammates Lauren Roudabush and Reed Karsten.

“[Nance] told me I’d have runners on second and third for me when [I] got up there, and I knew it,” Montgomery said. “I knew they would get on. ...

“We had to do it. This was not our game to lose.”

Sycamore (23-16) threatened in the top of the eighth when Lyndsey Coddington reached on a fielding error with one out, but Montgomery got Schroeder to ground out to second and Indians third baseman Stephanie Cartwright caught Tristyn Criswell’s liner to end the inning.

“To score four runs with two outs in the seventh inning, you kind of feel like fate is on your side,” Sycamore coach Jill Carpenter said. “We really needed to close the door right there.”

Instead, Grude nailed it shut.

Marengo’s appearance in the semifinals Friday will be the program’s second in four seasons. Grude, Roudabush and Montgomery, all members of the Indians’ 2008 fourth-place Class 3A state finals team, will bookend their careers with appearances at the EastSide Centre.

“Two times in one high school career,” Roudabush said. “That’s a great feeling.”