Marquette softball rolls past Momence in Class 1A regional opener
Marquette softball rolls past Momence in Class 1A regional opener
Marquette softball rolls past Momence in Class 1A regional opener
Marquette softball rolls past Momence in Class 1A regional opener
![The Marquette softball team got off to good start in Tuesday’s Class 1A Serena Regional semifinal.The top-seeded Crusaders scored a pair of runs in the first against No. 8-seeded Momence and then exploded for eight runs on eight hits in the third on the way to an eventual 11-0 victory in five innings.Marquette (24-7) moves on to Friday’s 4 p.m. championship game against the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between No. 4 Serena and No. 6 Donovan. Momence ends the season at 5-15.“When it gets to the postseason you’re playing to keep playing,” Marquette coach Curtiss Johnson said. “You have to show up ready to play every game and I thought we came out today ready to go. We talked today about breaking the game down, just win each inning and if you do that, we’re going to be good.”In the Crusaders’ first, Hunter Hopkins reached on a bunt single, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a booming triple to centerfield by Kelsey Cuchra. Cuchra then scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0.In the third, Cuchra started the huge rally with a base hit. After a flyout, Lily Brewer, Chloe Thrush and Savannah Erickson recorded consecutive singles with each knocking in a run. Then with two outs, Madisyn Trainor and Hopkins poked back-to-back RBI hits before Cuchra lined a two-run double to left center to make it 10-0. “I thought offensively almost every single at-bat was a competitive at-bat,” Johnson said. “We had a good approach and did a great job of waiting back and hitting the ball the other way. We made the adjustments throughout the game that we needed to make.”Lefty Taylor Gamons put the icing on the cake in the fourth by slicing a two-out, opposite field inside-the-park home run just out of the reach of diving Momence left fielder Jaesyn Walk.“I felt like I hit the ball pretty good on that one, but where it went, I didn’t know if the left fielder was going to be able to get to it or not,” Gamons said. “I actually didn’t see the ball get past her; I was just running. Then I looked at coach Johnson as I was between first and second and he was waving me to keep going. Then as I was getting close to third, he was still waving me around and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’“That the very first time I ever had an inside-the-park home run. I still can’t believe it.”Hopkins and Cuchra both went 3 for 3 on the day while Thrush finished with two hits.Marquette winning pitcher Kinley Rick allowed just one hit, two walks and struck out eight in the shutout.“Kinley pitched a great game,” Johnson said. “She did what we asked her to do and that was to just throw strikes and let your defense do their thing.” Emma Varnak lined a single to center with two outs in the fourth for Momence’s lone hit, while Jaylee Kersey and Payton Wigmore worked walks. Adyson Wilkson (4 IP, 13 H, 11 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) suffered the loss in the circle.“[Marquette] is the top seed, and we knew this would be a tough one for us,” Momence first-year coach Dave Singleton said. “We put the ball in play, not as much as we would have like, and they made all the plays defensively. “We have a relatively young and inexperienced team, but they have really improved throughout the season. Last year we only won one game and this year we won five, including our first regional win in probably 10 years. “I’m hoping this year was the first step in building a good, solid culture.”](https://dehayf5mhw1h7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2063/2026/05/20010312/BPX3P6D3CJFK3MNNNKIL47AXLM699725-959x1024.webp)
Marquette softball rolls past Momence in Class 1A regional opener
Seneca softball opens regional play with 11-0 semifinal win over Reed-Custer
![Seneca’s softball team got its quest for a third straight regional title off to a strong start on its home field on Tuesday.After a pair of scoreless innings between the Fighting Irish (34-2) and Reed-Custer (15-11) in in the IHSA Class 2A Seneca Regional semifinals, the host Irish pushed across eight runs in the third and three more in the fourth to pick up an 11-0 win.After Tessa Krull started the game with a pair of innings, allowing just one hit, Hayden Pfeifer came in to pitch the final three. She retired all nine batters she faced, seven on strikeouts, to help lead the Irish to a win in their playoff opener. “It honestly just makes me hyped for the rest of the postseason, and I feel like this team has a good chance to win a lot of games and make it far,” she said. “I felt like everything was working. Part of the key is just getting loose [when pitching in relief]. A lot of time when I feel nice and loose, I feel confident in all my pitches.”Pfeifer also played a part in the Irish’s eight-run rally in the third that saw them take control.After an RBI groundout from Emma Mino, Pfeifer hit an RBI single to make it a 2-0 game. Lexie Buis drove in a pair of runs with a single two batters later. Ameliah Weber, Aurora Weber and Graysen Provance added RBIs to finish off the inning. Krull, Ameliah Weber and Kaylee Klinker all drove in a run in the fourth to break the 10-run threshold, all while Pfeifer was doing all she could to finish off the combined one-hit shutout. Head coach Brian Holman said it was nice to see both of his pitchers execute in their postseason opener, especially knowing that Krull and Pfeifer will have to remain at the top of their game if the Irish want to advance to the sectional finals for the third straight year and finally break through with a sectional championship. “We’re going to need two,” he said. “I told them I don’t know if Tessa will start of Hayden will start, or who’s going to come in. But the way the postseason goes, if you don’t have two, it’s hard to make a run.“Both of them were really good, and I had complete confidence in both.”Nine different players recorded a hit for the Irish Tuesday, with Buis and Krull both picking up two hits. Buis had two RBIs while Krull had two runs. They will be back on their home field one last time on Friday looking to pick up the program’s sixth regional plaque since 2017, and Pfeifer said she is looking forward to get one more game in front of the home crowd before potentially moving on to Pontiac for next week’s sectional semis. “I just love the environment of being at home,” she said. “I love all our fans, even those that don’t have kids on the team and might have a young daughter who plays softball. They’ll come out and watch and cheer. All of our student body, a lot of the time they’ll try to make it out here.“Getting to play on our own field for such a big game, I think it’s just so much fun.”Reed-Custer’s Sophia Moyers matched Krull pitch for pitch over the first two innings before the Irish erupted in the third. She pitched 2⅔ innings before Adalyn Steichen worked the final 1⅓. Mackenzie Foote was 1 for 2 with a double in the first inning. The Comets did not have a senior on the roster this season, and put together the winningest season for the program since the junior class was in fourth grade. Although things ended on a sour note, head coach Madison Hiestand said she is excited to see what this group can accomplish next season.“We had a really tough conference this year, and a nonconference schedule that had some very tough opponents as well,” she said. “I think it was really good exposure for the girls, and it’s just going to carry over into next year. They’re going to get stronger, they’re going to feel more confident.”](https://dehayf5mhw1h7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2063/2026/05/20004218/BJV4INUV7VCU5A4LMA756MEGLY573608-1024x684.webp)
Seneca softball opens regional play with 11-0 semifinal win over Reed-Custer
Seneca softball opens regional play with 11-0 semifinal win over Reed-Custer
Seneca softball opens regional play with 11-0 semifinal win over Reed-Custer
Seneca softball opens regional play with 11-0 semifinal win over Reed-Custer
Seneca’s softball team opened play in its home regional with an 11-0 win over Reed-Custer in Tuesday’s semifinals, advancing to Friday’s championship game where the Irish will play for their third straight regional title.