In softball, only eight teams out of the hundreds across the state over the course of a given season finish with a victory. This year, Fenwick was one of them.
The Friars secured third place, Saturday, in Class 3A with a 1-0 thriller over of downstate Dunlap at Peoria’s Louisville Slugger Sports Complex, behind a two-hitter from sophomore Sofia Kateeb, including a three up, three down seventh inning.
Her best friend, junior Bella Bigham, eked out the only run of the game in the top of the sixth inning with a speedy RBI. But it was the young Kateeb who pitched like an old pro, giving up just two hits and striking out a pair.
“I was just trying to throw to contact, because my defense was backing me up on every play, so I wanted to get through it quick,” she said. “We really wanted to finish with a win, and just wanted to end up playing and balling out.”
As for Bigham, a Bucknell recruit, she had full confidence in her best friend to slam the door on any Dunlap rally in the seventh, which she did.
“She got it,” Bigham said, “and she did it all by herself. She pitched great the whole weekend and, frankly, the whole season.”
Hear, hear, echoed coach Valeria Jisa, whose squad finished 23-12.
“She’s a force,” Jisa said of Kateeb. “I call her a tiger on a stage, pacing, doing her work. She is incredible. She is a fun pitcher to watch. She competes fiercely in everything she does.”
Not everything went exactly to plan at state, however. In a state semifinal Friday, a game the Friars lost 9-3 to defending champions Chatham Glenwood, it was Bigham who was the star, going 3-for-4 with a double, and three runs scored. Not bad, considering her future Bucknell coaches were tuned in online watching her.
“Being my shortstop and a captain on my team as a junior and going to state in 2024, it’s what you want from your players in a big game,” Jisa said. “It sparked and ignited the players. This is the time; leave it all out there.”
Doubtless the Bucknell coaches were impressed with Bigham against Dunlap. In that crucial sixth inning, she reached on a fielding error and advanced to second, which drove in senior Sophia Leonardi.
“My only goal was to get Sophia to score,” Bigham said. “I took advantage of second base they had open.”
In the bottom of the seventh, it was up to Kateeb, who induced two flyouts before striking out sophomore Lexi Hohenbery to end it.
As with any high school team in any sport, Jisa, in her third season, will say goodbye to a solid group of seniors, including centerfielder Leonardi, a DePauw volleyball recruit, and second baseman Gianna Pascatore, along with reserve outfielders Mckenna Poszluszny and Marge Price.
But for Jisa and her returnees, the theme for next year has already been set.
“Third time’s a charm,” she said, referring to third-place finishes in 2026 and 2024. “I’ve never been so motivated by these players.”