Dealing with a two-and-a-half hour delay due to weather, the Oak Park and River Forest High School softball team’s patience paid off late Monday night with a 14-7 win over St. Charles North in the Rosemont Supsersectional at Rosemont Stadium.
Tied at 4-4 in the top of the sixth inning, the Huskies put the game away with a welcomed 10-run scoring barrage. Junior right fielder Ellie Ziegler drilled a double to left field to score fellow outfielders Ireland Flannery and Sam Linde which put the Huskies up for good at 6-4. Ziegler finished what she started with a triple that plated two runs to cap off the inning as the Huskies established a commanding 14-4 advantage.
“I just knew I had to use my hands and try to hit it,” Ziegler said about her triple. “It felt really good. The game was like a rollercoaster. As soon as we took the lead, we knew we had to keep riding that momentum and not let anything take us down.”
Ziegler finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs while Linde was 4-for-5 with an RBI.
“I struck out my first time so after that I needed to redeem myself at the plate,” Linde said. “I tried my best tonight and I definitely made up for that strikeout.”
Designated player Emily Richardson also played well with two doubles and five RBIs.
In the fourth inning with one out, OPRF junior first baseman Caitlyn Santiago and sophomore pitcher Chardonnay Harris had consecutive base hits setting the stage for Richardson’s two-RBI double to left field. With two outs, Linde doubled to left field which brought Richardson home giving the Huskies a 3-1 lead. Although Richardson’s two doubles on the night may have been home runs in other ballparks, she was simply happy to contribute on a big stage.
“I’m totally fine with the doubles; I had to get those runs in,” she said. “The most important part of this game is helping your team win. I just wanted to hit the inside part of the ball and drive it the other way.”
Harris (18-2) threw a complete game, allowing up seven runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts and four walks to pick up the win.
Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth, St. Charles North had two straight run-scoring singles to pull within one 4-3. With two outs, the North Stars produced another RBI via a single to right-center knotting the game at 4-4. Although they scored three runs in the sixth, the North Stars couldn’t overcome the Huskies’ offensive onslaught in the sixth.
Although completing the game took longer than anyone expected due to the aforementioned inclement weather, the Huskies will certainly remember their marathon victory.
 “We just wanted to get this game in. These things happen,” OPRF coach Mel Kolbusz said. “I’m just happy for this team because they’ve worked hard all year.”
OPRF faces the winner of Downers Grove South/Marist in the 4A state semifinals on Friday, June 12 (5:30 p.m.) at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria. Barrington and Lincoln-Way East square off in the other state semifinal on Friday as well with a 3 p.m. start. The 5:30 p.m. state championship game is Saturday, June 13, also at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria.
The Huskies (32-3), who lost in the supersectionals last season, are eager to compete for the state title.
“We have to go in fighting and know that we have a good chance at this,” senior shortstop Taylor Arends said. “If we work hard and our best, I think we can win any game no matter how the other team performs. If we play our best, that’s what matters.”
