The Trinity softball team had York on the ropes in Saturday’s championship game of the Class 4A Resurrection Sectional.
Holding a 5-3 lead in the top of the seventh, ace senior pitcher Chase Machain gave up a three-run triple to the Dukes’ Gracie Sullivan which put York up 6-5. The Dukes tacked on an insurance run when Taylor Pankau smacked a double to score Sullivan for a 7-5 advantage.
Machain went the distance on the mound and allowed just two earned runs with eight strikeouts. She also belted a two-run homer in the third inning to knot the game at 2-2. Ashley Klauss, Michela Williams and Carrie Reilly knocked in a run each for the Blazers.
In the previous round, Trinity (28-5) edged Oak Park and River Forest 3-2. Nicole Evans hit the game-winning homer in the eighth inning to clinch the sectional semifinals victory. Abby Ramirez also hit a solo shot in the first inning against the Huskies.
Machain, who picked up an RBI single, earned the win by outdueling OPRF star pitcher Emma Baldwin (10 strikeouts).