Jackie Diekemper did it all Thursday, and that’s no exaggeration.
First of all, the 6-foot-1-inch junior pitcher fired a three-hitter in leading Naperville North to a 5-1 victory over Naperville Central in both teams’ Class AA regional opener.
She also had a single, a double and scored two runs.
Finally she was the decoy in the Huskies postgame plot to drench coach Rob Williams.
“Coach I need to talk to you for a moment,” Diekemper said.
As she walked alongside her coach, teammate Kim Doyle emptied three rounds from a squirt gun all over the unsuspecting Williams.
What a turnaround for these Huskies, who lost eight straight in the middle of the season, including seven one-run games.
“That was the ugliest thing I’d ever seen in my life,” Williams said. “I was ready to pull my hair out. There were so many walks and errors. In one game, our opponent scored seven runs on just one hit.”
The game was part of an unusual postseason convergence: Central and North also faced each other Thursday in a baseball regional and a girls soccer sectional. Central won the baseball game 7-3 and North beat Central 2-1 in soccer. The Naperville rivals collide Friday in a boys volleyball sectional matchup.
Diekemper was dominant at Central, whiffing third batter Lori Chirumbolo and clean-up hitter Leigh Farina for five of her nine strikeouts. Only an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh kept her from posting a shutout.
“I’d rather not say what pitches were working well so that other teams we face won’t know what to expect,” Diekemper said. “I did have a good day, and our defense, which can be hot and cold, was awesome.”
Naperville North (20-13) took control early with Lisa Kamps’ two-run double in the second inning. Diekemper had singled and Mary Manade had reached on an error.
One inning later Manade’s two-run double provided more than enough insurance for Diekemper. Shortstop Rachel Karos contributed three singles to the Redhawks’ 11-hit attack.
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“It sounds funny, but going through that losing streak helped prepare us for games like this,” Karos said. “Now we realize Jackie can only control so much of the game. We still have to play good defense.”
Naperville Central closed its season with a 21-15 record.
“This ties a school record for wins in a season,” Williams said. “Remember North only has one regional title–1996–in the whole history of its softball program.”
In other Wheaton Warrenville South regional games: West Chicago (24-12) cruised past Benet 10-1 as Christin Ruiz went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. . . . Katie Kris scored the game-winner in the eighth inning to help Wheaton Warrenville South (19-17) edge Glenbard South 1-0.
Bob Sakamoto.
Class AA softball regionals
Morris: Laura Severson tossed a one-hitter and went 4-for-4 with two triples and three RBI’s in No. 2 Lincoln-Way’s (31-3) five-inning 10-0 defeat of Pontiac. . . . Jenna Smart tossed a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts to lift Morris (22-13) to a 3-1 win over Minooka. . . . Joliet Catholic (22-14) defeated Providence 4-1 as Sydney Lisy scored two runs. . . . Wendy Niebuhr struck out seven and Amy Yusko added two RBIs as Streator eliminated Joliet 3-0.
Lemont: Brianne Lavieri tossed a perfect game and Dana Rank hit a two run-double for No. 4 Downers Grove South (31-5) in a 2-0 win over Mt. Assisi. . . . Stephanie Macek hurled a one-hitter with 13 strikeouts as Downers Grove North (21-15) defeated Lemont 3-0. . . . Jill Phillips’ three RBIs led Plainfield (19-11) to a 5-4 defeat of Hinsdale South.
Rosary: No. 5 West Aurora (26-6) defeated Illinois Math and Science 7-0 as Taylor Petersen struck out 15. . . . Petra Wade threw a one-hitter for her eighth shutout of the season for Batavia (17-18) in a 5-0 win over Rosary. . . . Waubonsie Valley (19-16) beat Neuqua Valley 5-0 behind winning pitcher Jenny Schade’s 14th shutout of the season. . . . Geneva downed Oswego 5-0 as Stacey Zarr pitched a one-hitter and Katie Campbell knocked in two runs.
Leyden: Megan Huitink struck out 14 while Jennifer Schwartz and Jessica Evans each had two RBIs as No. 8 Elk Grove (32-4) bested Fenton 6-1. . . . . . . Lake Park (18-15) tipped Conant 1-0 behind Laura Romashko’s RBI-double in the third inning. . . . Addison Trail (22-14) blasted Ridgewood 10-0 as Katie Czaja knocked in five runs and Kristen Brestan hurled a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts. . . . Laura Morgan’s 11 strikeouts and Kathleen Goss’ three RBIs helped York (22-13) roll past Leyden 11-3.
St. Charles East: Lindsey Veselsky fired a one-hitter with 16 strikeouts and Amanda Most scored twice to lift No. 9 Glenbard North (24-11) to a 8-3 win over Streamwood. . . . Hoffman Estates (21-12) breezed past Bartlett 11-2 as Chris Frasch scored three runs and Rachel Frasch earned the three-hit win. . . . Caryssa Douglas’s two-run double lifted Larkin (28-4) over St. Charles North 5-1.
Niles West: Mandy Kohl pitched a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts and no walks to help No. 10 New Trier (23-8) oust Maine East 6-0. . . . Evanston (13-14) tipped Regina 1-0 behind Mary Baccash’s RBI-double in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Cary-Grove: Abby Reed struck out 10 for her ninth shutout of the year and Danielle Tinkoff added two RBIs in Barrington’s (29-6) 9-0 rout of Carmel.
Deerfield: Lauren Hildebrand’s two-run homer liftted Glenbrook South (8-21) to a 3-2 win over Zion-Benton (20-15).
Homewood-Flossmoor: Maeve Moreland had four RBIs as Homewood-Flossmoor (25-9) crushed Hillcrest 15-0. . . . Marian Catholic (23-11) cruised past Rich South 10-0 as Nicole Robinson scored two runs.
Johnsburg: Laura Webber scored two runs for Antioch (12-17) in a 4-2 defeat of Warren.
Palatine: Prospect edged Vernon Hills 6-5 as Betsy Kalkwarf went the distance to earn the win.
Rosary: Stacy Zarr threw a one-hitter and struck out seven and Katy Campbell hit a two-run single as Geneva (19-14) ousted Oswego 5-0.
Sandburg: Brittany Whelan pitched a no-hitter with eight strikeouts as Mother McAuley (24-9) topped Queen of Peace 2-0. . . . Lindsey LaChiana ran her record to 25-3 with a two-hit performance for Richards (27-8) in a 2-0 defeat of Oak Lawn.
Thornwood: Uju Ibekwe struck out 10 as Thornwood (25-10) blasted Thornton Fractional North 13-0. . . . Eisenhower (23-10) bested Tinely Park 6-0 as Danielle Leonard pitched a three-hitter with eight strikeouts.
Public League playoffs: Washington (17-15) rolled past Morgan Park 12-2 behind Kelly Gagen’s three RBIs.
Girls soccer sectionals
Palatine: Loryn King turned in a hat trick for No. 3 St. Viator (22-1-1) in a 4-0 win over Conant. . . . Kate Green and Lynne Goehler each scored while goalkeeper Katie Straka notched 10 saves to help Fremd (12-7-4) slip past Palatine 2-0.
Stevenson: Kelly True scored two goals and Joyce Kleinheinz added two assists to lead No. 4 Libertyville (20-1-3) past Carmel 4-1. . . . New Trier (17-5-4) topped Stevenson 3-1 as Madeleine Johnson, Nell Compernolle and Kelsey Lutz scored the goals.
Evanston: Franny Iacuzzi scored in overtime to help sixth-ranked Evanston (19-2-3) edge Loyola 1-0. . . . Claire Sharkey’s goal with 12:43 left lifted Maine South (17-4-2) to a 2-1 victory over Glenbrook South.
Lemont: Kelly Perez and Elaine Eliadis scored as No. 8 Sandburg ousted Andrew 2-0.
Cary-Grove: Kristin Heil put in four goals and Shelly Hecht scored on a header to lead No. 9 Jacobs (19-3-2) to a 6-3 victory over Cary-Grove. . . . Kim Grodek scored a goal to lift Barrington (17-5-3) to a 2-0 win over Lake Zurich.
Homewood-Flossmoor: Homewood-Flossmoor (18-4-2) ousted Illiana Christian 2-0 as Stephanie Curiale scored both goals and goalkeeper Pam Shahtaji earned her ninth shutout. . . . Kelly Jung scored five goals as Mother McAuley (13-7-3) routed Marian Catholic 9-2.
Leyden: Jenna Johnson and Ashley Ervin scored two goal apiece for Lyons (15-6-3) in a 6-2 defeat of Oak Park. . . . Amy Bedford’s two goals sparked St. Ignatius (19-1-1) to a 4-0 win over Immaculate Heart of Mary.
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Waubonsie Valley: Michaela Pawlawicz’s corner kick tied the match at 1-1 midway through the second half and then Kate Ellis scored the unassisted game-winner as Naperville North (15-7-3) eliminated Naperville Central 2-1. . . . Lindsey Cosper scored the game-winner for Hinsdale Central (15-9-1) in a 2-1 defeat of Downers Grove South.
Public League semifinals: Anna Mora and Tabitha Jones scored as Mather (14-6) edged Young 2-1. . . . Lincoln Park defeated Kelly 5-1 and will face Mather in the title game.