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Chicago Tribune
17 hours ago
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Angelina Elias breaks tie with double as St. Laurence gets past Evergreen Park. Her strength? ‘That high energy.'
Senoir catcher Angelina Elias has a favorite phrase she likes to use when talking to her pitchers for St. Laurence. It's a mental game. 'With the amount of pressure a pitcher has, we just need it as a check,' Elias said. 'It's like, 'Keep your head up no matter what. You worked hard to get here.' 'We need to hit the spots. Don't overthink it. Have confidence.' She gave that advice to herself Tuesday and it paid off handsomely for the host Vikings, who beat Evergreen Park 7-2 in a Class 3A St. Laurence Sectional semifinal game in Burbank. Elias hit a tiebreaking double in the sixth inning for the Vikings (21-7), who advanced to play Nazareth (16-15) at 4 p.m. Friday for the sectional title. Jordan Ogean added two hits and three RBIs for St. Laurence. Aoibhe Landers had two hits, while Vanessa Kates reached base four times and tripled. Maddie Misch worked 5 2/3 innings in relief. Molly Goyke reached base twice and scored a run for Evergreen Park (18-15). Elias, meanwhile, is stepping up in the clutch for the Vikings during her only season as the starting catcher. As a junior, she sat behind senior Norah Burke. 'At first, it was just a learning experience on the bench, seeing some plays I could do,' Elias saId. 'I also used it to learn from the mistakes I saw from the bench. 'I'm glad that I have the chance to catch this season for St. Laurence. I consider it a blessing.' Elias showed senior moxie in a few ways during Tuesday's victory. First, she put Misch in a good frame of mind. The junior right-hander came on in relief in the second inning with one on, one out and the Vikings trailing 2-0. 'She kept telling me, 'This is just a mental game, this is just a mental game,'' Misch said. 'I totally agreed with her. She calmed the game, helped us play our game. 'Ange is always supporting her teammates. She's always coming up every single pitch to talk to her pitchers. She always has that high energy.' Elias made her first big play on a catch and sweep tag at home plate on a throw from third base by Ogean. It thwarted a scoring chance by Evergreen Park in the top of the fourth. Watching and learning as a junior paid off when St. Laurence coach Teagan Walsh noticed. 'Yes, she's solid behind the plate,' Walsh said. 'She had to wait her turn to get that starting spot, but she worked her heart out. She just does everything the right way. 'Angelina always hypes her pitchers, which is probably one of my favorite things. And she takes charge. She has grown so much this season with her communication and her IQ of the game.' Ogean tied the game at 2-2 for the Vikings with a two-out single in the bottom of the fifth. After Alyssa Cervantes doubled to lead off the sixth, Elias stepped to the plate with redemption in mind. Two innings earlier, Elias came up with runners on second and third with two outs and took a called third strike. Not this time. Elias worked the count to 2-2, then fouled off two more pitches before hitting a rope to the gap in right-center for an RBI double. She wasn't going down looking. 'I was like, 'No, you have to make some adjustments to help my team score this run,'' Elias said. 'It felt so good when I hit the ball.' Indeed, when Elias got to second base, she showed just how good it felt. She jumped and clapped with all of that high energy. 'Yeah, it was just seeing the team excited and pumped up that we can continue this journey,' Elias said. 'It doesn't matter the score. We'll go like it's game on.'
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Highland's Caden Quigg kick-starts the sectional final. Then he achieves ‘something my dad was able to do.'
As is often the case, Caden Quigg got things going for Highland on Monday night. The senior center fielder said that was part of the plan against Bishop Noll in the Class 3A East Chicago Central Sectional championship game at Block Stadium. 'We knew from the jump, right away, we had to put it on them, and we weren't going to let go,' he said. Quigg led off the first inning with a single and scored the game's first run. Later in the inning, he walked with the bases loaded to force in another run. By the end of the first, Highland led 10-0. That was more than enough for the Trojans, who won their first sectional title since 2000 with a 13-0 victory in five innings. 'That first inning, we put it on them, and we did not let go at all,' Quigg said. 'We knew if we kept going, it was ours, and we did it right from the start.' It all started with Quigg. 'I was just ready to hit (Monday),' he said. 'I knew my job up there was just to do what I know how to do. Going up to the plate, I just had a clear, clean mind and just attacked the ball.' Quigg is batting .298 with 16 RBIs for Highland (17-13), which will play Andrean (27-3) in the regional championship game on Saturday. He also has 29 stolen bases, the single-season program record he set against East Chicago Central in the sectional semifinals. 'Q, I love him to death,' Highland coach Zak Pizer said. 'For him to set the goal of 29, to get that stolen base record and for him to achieve it and to put God first, it's just a testament to the man he is, the young man he is.' The record has been icing on the cake for Quigg. 'It's awesome,' he said. 'The No. 1 goal always was to win sectionals. But at the start of the year, I was looking through the record book, and I saw that I could get those steals. That was my goal. I made that my goal. I told myself I could get it, and I went after it.' Highland senior Caden VanderMeyden nearly pitched a no-hitter against the Warriors (16-10), who lost 6-5 in the regular-season matchup between the teams on May 22. VanderMeyden allowed only a double with two outs in the fifth to junior infielder Aston Orozco and matched that with a two-run double of his own. VanderMeyden struck out 11 and walked five. VanderMeyden and Quigg, a three-sport athlete who also competed in cross country and basketball for the Trojans, intend to play baseball and room together at Trinity Christian. 'He means a lot,' VanderMeyden said. 'I'm just happy to win it with him. To be with him and jumping on each other after we won it, it means a lot.' The sectional championship also means a lot to Quigg's family. His parents, Jason and Courtney, are longtime coaches in the Region. Jason Quigg, a 1992 Highland graduate, was part of the boys basketball team that reached the state semifinals in 1991 and is an assistant for the team. Courtney Quigg is an assistant for Highland's girls baseball team. 'It's amazing,' Caden Quigg said. 'I've been waiting. Ever since I was a freshman, all I wanted to do was just win a sectional. Now I'm able to do it and have something my dad was able to do.' Jason Quigg was emotional as the Trojans celebrated on the historic field. 'I wanted this for him so much,' he said. 'It's so cool. It's awesome.' Pizer collected himself before putting the sectional title in perspective. The second-year coach and former assistant graduated from Highland in 2018. 'A long time coming,' Pizer said. 'Twenty-five years — I'm 25 years old. I was probably three weeks the last time we won this. To be a 4-10 team and to win the last 10 of 13 games to keep it going with this team, it's just the resilience they have. 'It just goes to show it's our time.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Walk-off win for Sharon softball in State Tournament
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. (WKBN) – The Sharon softball team advanced in the PIAA State Tournament in dramatic fashion Monday with a walk-off win against South Park in the Class 3A First Round. The Tigers surrendered a run in the top of the seventh inning, but responded in the bottom of the frame. Sophomore standout Madelyn Vogan doubled to tie the game at 1. Then, with the bases loaded, sophomore Mya Bundrant laid down a bunt, Vogan beat the throw home, and Sharon walked off with a 2-1 victory on the safety squeeze. Vogan was impressive against the circle. The Tigers' pitcher earned her 22nd win of the season, allowing one unearned run with 12 strikeouts. The Tigers improve to 22-1 on the season and will advance to the PIAA State Quarterfinals on Thursday to play undefeated Susquenita. The Blackhawks (22-0) cruised past Phillipsburg-Osceola 11-0 in their First Round matchup. The South Park Eagles finish the season at (19-3). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Results are in. Miami Springs baseball standout voted Miami Herald High School Athlete of the Week
Miami Springs baseball player Magdiel Estevez is the Miami Herald's High School Athlete of the Week, as voted on by readers in our weekly poll. The senior allowed just one run on two hits and four walks over seven innings (complete game), while striking out six including the final three batters as the Golden Hawks (28-3) edged Santa Rosa Beach South Walton 2-1 to win the Class 3A state championship. It marked the school's first state title in baseball. Meagan Villazon, Doral Academy softball; Kathleen Serig, Gulliver Prep water polo; Isabella Benton, Plantation American Heritage softball; Dane Fox, Westminster Academy water polo; Ava Stevens, Somerset Silver Palms softball; and RJ Machado, Plantation American Heritage baseball rounded out the nominees.
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Freshman Macie Robbins takes another big step in pitching Providence past Marian Catholic. ‘She's a special one.'
When freshman pitcher Macie Robbins showed up to softball tryouts, Providence coach Jim Holba already knew who she was. And then he was impressed even more. When she actually tried out, without Robbins even pitching an inning on the high school level, Holba told her, 'In my 15 years of being a head coach, you're the best pitcher I've ever had.' Placing her on varsity was an easy decision, but he wanted to be smart about how to use her. 'At the beginning of the year, I told her, 'I'm going to baby you like you are a freshman,'' Holba said of Robbins. ''But I'm not going to waste you and I'm not going to try to overuse you.' 'She's a special one.' Robbins put on another special performance Saturday, striking out nine and adding a double in the host Celtics' 2-1 win over Marian Catholic in the Class 3A Providence Regional final in New Lenox. Ella Kucala scored on a three-base error hit off the bat of Angelina Cole and Cole came home on a single by Ava Misch in the third inning for Providence (22-11). That's all Robbins needed. Abby Gustavson and Kendyl Rainey each had two hits for Marian (11-16). Gracie Jensen drove in Rainey in the sixth inning for the Spartans' lone run. Robbins gave up a leadoff single to Gustavson in the top of the seventh but saved the best for last, striking out the side to give the Celtics their eighth regional title and second in a row. 'I obviously didn't want to leave anything down the middle but I was pretty much attacking,' Robbins said of her strategy. 'And it was a matter of knowing what I did against those batters.' Robbins was quick to credit her defense, and the Celtics came through in a big way in the third. Cole, a junior center fielder, caught a deep fly and fired a strike to freshman shortstop Aleigh Hill. She then relayed to sophomore third baseman Olivia Vittori, who tagged out Marian's runner to end the inning. 'After I threw the ball, there was excitement,' Cole said. 'I was like, 'Oh, Aleigh, turn it.'' Cole called it a great play. To Hill, it was all about teamwork. 'It was communication,' Hill said. 'You have to make sure your outfielders hear you, and Angie made a real good throw. I was able to throw to Liv, who made a real good tag. 'We always practice that, especially in pregame. We always get our cuts down. It's good to practice that, especially when it happens in a game like this.' It helped Providence advance to a 4:30 p.m. game Tuesday in the Ottawa Sectional semifinals against Tinley Park (20-12). That outing will give Robbins (19-4) a chance to reach 20 wins this season. She has 199 strikeouts in 137 innings with a 1.53 ERA. Robbins, who turned 15 on Friday, started playing softball at age 5. She said she was 'decent' when she began playing, but as the years went on, she took to travel ball and got better. She praised pitching coach Jonathan Hon for getting her ready for high school. 'I see him every week on Thursday nights at 9 p.m.,' Robbins said of Hon. 'He has taught me how to use my body and not to use and waste momentum. That's why I don't backswing or anything.' During the regular season, Robbins notched signature wins over Lockport and Loyola, but a regional championship victory over Marian turns out to be another big test she passed. She loves softball because of the pressure situations. 'Honestly, I love moments like these,' Robbins said. 'It's the big moments. They definitely test you and your mentality. I think it's rewarding when you get it done.'
