Bobcats Take the Pontiac Sectional

By Dennis Bowling

Beecher girls softball team is the hottest in Class 2A circles. The Bobcats senior Kylie Cook was in a brief hitting slump. After some extra batting practice, Cook was able to find her hitting groove in a big way on May 26.

Cook, an outstanding third baseman, went 3-for-3 at the plate, drove in 3 rbi, to help Beecher eliminate Herscher 5-1 to win the title game of the Class 2A Pontiac Sectional final in Pontiac.

Beecher has won its first sectional final title in three years. They are members of the Elite 8 club. The Bobcats (32-4) have won nine games in a row. Beecher will play in the Illinois Benedictine Supersectional in Lisle. The Bobcats will play Montini High School on May 29 at 11 a.m. The winner will advance to play in the Class 2A state tournament in Peoria.

Cook has a sizzling .506 batting average. She has an impressive .632 slugging percentage. Hayhurst was delighted with the play of Cook. She has driven in 28 rbi.

“Kylie is a strong hitter and a very good senior leader,” he said. “She knows what to look for at the plate. She can hit the ball anywhere on the field.”

Cook was able to feed off the positive energy that came from the very supportive Beecher fans.

“I just had a great feeling from our crowd,” she said. “They were cheering me on. I had a brief hitting slump. I had confidence in my teammates. I know that they needed me.”

“They were a tough team,” she said. “This is a huge step toward going to the state tournament.”

In the first inning, the Bobcats Ava Lorenzatti walked and went to second base on a wild pitch. Cook smashed the ball to centerfield. On the play, Liliana Irwin, who pinch ran for Lorenzatti, scored for the first run.

Lorenzatti (12-3, 14 k, 3 hits), has a 0.55 era,

“Ava was able to stay ahead of their hitters,” said Hayhurst. “She had control of her pitches.”

“Ava plays with confidence,” said Cook. “She is always working very hard for the team. Abby (Sippel) always tries her best. She can hit the ball pretty far.”

In the third inning, Beecher scored two runs for a 3-0 lead. Cook belted a double off the right field fence. The Bobcats Elena Kvasnicka infield groundout moved Cook to third base. Sippel’s single plated Cook for the second run. Beecher Kamryn Koontz’s infield groundout advanced Sippel to second base. The Bobcats Kendall Kasput’s single plated Sippel for the third run.

Beecher Emma Tiltges, an outstanding catcher, who has a impressive 1,000 fielding percentage, was impressed with the play of Cook.

“Kylie played a great game,” she said. “In pressure situations, she is always able to step up for us. She can always get on base for us. She has stepped up to be our leader.”

“It’s very exciting to win this game,” she said. “Ava did a great job. She was able to hit her spots around the plate. We can always trust Abby to do well. Kendall always does well in right field. She can always catch the ball.”

Beecher managed to score two runs in the fourth inning for a 5-0 advantage. After two outs, the Bobcats Tayiah Scanlan walked and stole second base. Lorenzatti walked and Irwin pinch ran for her.  Cook delivered a hard-hit single to centerfield, which plated Scanlan and Irwin for the fifth run.

The Tigers managed to score one run in the fifth frame to make it 5-1. That was all that they could do against the exceptional Lorenzatti. In the seventh inning, after one out, a Herscher player did single, Lorenzatti got the next two Tigers out to win the game, which touched off a very happy celebration among Beecher players and family members.