Does Homewood-Flossmoor pitcher Meagan Donermeyer ever run out of steam?
It sure didn’t look that way in Saturday’s Class 4A Thornwood Regional championship game against second-seeded Lincoln-Way North.
Donermeyer, the Southland’s leader in strikeouts, started hot by striking out the first three batters. Two-and-a-half hours and 11 innings later, she was still firing away.
“I’ve pitched quite a few innings this season and I knew I could power through it,” Donermeyer said.
The senior left-hander finished with nine strikeouts, including two in the deciding 12th inning, as the seventh-seeded Vikings upset Lincoln-Way North 4-2.
H-F (21-12) advances to face Plainfield Central at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Lockport Sectional semifinals. Plainfield beat Romeoville 11-10.
“The adrenaline keeps me going,” Donermeyer said. “Even if I’m sore I won’t feel it until much later. I’ll definitely feel it later, though.”
With two runs in the top of the 12th, H-F finally gained the victory. Pinch-hitter Josie Wenckus reached on a walk and scored the winning run on a deep fly out from Mya Valadez.
“I tried not to think of the pressure being in the 12th inning as a freshman,” Wenckus said.
Donermeyer added an insurance run on a single by Lauren Davidson.
“This is amazing,” Donermeyer said. “We lost to them 1-0 earlier in the year, but we were confident going in. We jumped on them early and kept going.”
“We tend to make it exciting,” H-F coach Katie Rice said. “(Donermeyer) is the glue of our team, the heart of our team. She’s had a phenomenal year. She’s a fighter and the one that pushes our girls to keep going.”
Lincoln-Way North (31-6) trailed 2-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth, but showed why the Phoenix were one of the best teams in the Southland.
Cyla Dunican scored on an RBI single by Anne Allen in the sixth. Duncan singled home Sara Grygus with the tying run in the seventh.
H-F’s defense then forced extra innings by turning its second 6-3-5 double play.
Emily Montalvo (2-for-5) added a run for the Vikings, while Delaney Huddleston had an RBI.
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“If you’re breathing and a competitor, this is going to eat at you,” North coach Aimee Lonigro. “We had a lot of opportunities and we didn’t capitalize.
“The inability to push runs across in the heart of our order — we couldn’t put together any back-to-back hitting — hurt us.”
Lincoln-Way East 9, Lockport 3: Christine Malito hit a grand slam for East (24-7) in the 4A Minooka Regional final.
Oak Lawn 2, Mother McAuley 1: Mia Loya pitched a five-hitter for Oak Lawn (21-11) in the 4A Morton Regional final.
Providence 3, Joliet West 1: Taylor Amato’s three-run homer gave visiting Providence (29-6) the 4A regional title.
Richards 8, Shepard 3: Becky Wujcik had three RBIs for Richards (21-11) in the 4A Hinsdale South Regional final.
Sandburg 19, Reavis 3: Brittany Beveridge totaled four RBIs for visiting Sandburg (25-11) in the 4A regional final.
Chicago Christian 6, Ag. Science 2: Brooke Veldman had three RBIs for host Chicago Christian (21-15) in the 3A regional final.
Evergreen Park 7, Jones 0: Maddie Vojacek pitched a five-hitter for host Evergreen (23-9) in the 3A regional final.
Lincoln-Way West 10, Coal City 3: Amanda Ruskowsky delivered three RBIs for host West (25-8) in the 3A regional final.
Marian Catholic 8, Manteno 1: Danielle Thieman threw a four-hitter for visiting Marian (23-11) in the 3A regional final.
Tinley Park 3, Oak Forest 2: Megan Laib contributed two RBIs for host Tinley (24-4) in the 3A regional final.
Baseball
Brother Rice 11, Oak Lawn 1: Joe Preusser’s two-run homer sparked Brother Rice (34-3) to the 4A Reavis Regional final.
Lincoln-Way East 7, Sandburg 1: Alonzo White scattered four hits for visiting East (15-17) in the 4A regional final.
Marist 6, Marian Catholic 1: Brandon Hanik had two RBIs for Marist (20-17) in the 4A H-F Regional title.
Mount Carmel 8, Lyons 0: Connor Spear’s one-hitter led host Mount Carmel (27-10) to the 4A regional title.
Providence 4, Lockport 0: Connor Creed pitched five innings of one-hit ball for visiting Providence (28-9) in the 4A regional final.
St. Laurence 6, Riverside-Brookfield 0: Angel Sandoval threw a one-hitter for St. Laurence (29-8) in the 4A Morton Regional final.
St. Rita 6, Nazareth 4: Ray Hansen hit a two-run single for visiting St. Rita (29-8) in the 4A regional final.
Chicago Christian 6, Oak Forest 5: Tyler Edgar’s RBI single boosted host Chicago Christian (27-10) in the 3A regional final.
Evergreen Park 6, Simeon 2: Pat Doran pitched a four-hitter to pace Evergreen (16-17) in the 3A regional final.
Lemont 17, Coal City 0: Garrett Acton totaled six RBIs for Lemont (25-9) in the 3A Joliet Catholic Regional final.
Morgan Park 8, Tinley Park 2: Darius Hill ripped a two-run single for Morgan Park (23-4) in the 3A Rich East Regional final.
Girls Soccer
Marist 4, Tinley Park 0: Claire Collevy scored twice for Marist (17-7-3) in the 2A Brooks Regional final.
Boys Tennis
State finals: Joliet Catholic’s Jack Geissler lost 7-6 (6), 6-0 to Rockford Christian’s Brandon Ancona in the consolation quarterfinals.
Boys Volleyball
Lincoln-Way East 19-25-25, Minooka 25-17-19: Matt Breitbarth had 41 assists and Ian Piet put down 12 kills for host East (33-5) in the sectional semifinal.
Marist 25-25, Homewood-Flossmoor 19-23: Aaron Kummer had 29 assists and Jack Berglind added 16 digs to lead Marist (30-8) in the St. Laurence Sectional semifinal.
Sandburg 25-25, St. Rita 18-17: Jake Hanes’ 11 kills propelled Sandburg (35-3) at St. Laurence.
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College Softball
St. Xavier 1, Simpson (Calif.) 0: Nicole Nonnemacher threw a one-hitter and struck out 13 to lead St. Xavier (44-8-1) in the NAIA World Series. Callie Brown added a third-inning RBI single in helping coach Myra Minuskin capture her 621st victory, the most in program history.
Men’s Track
NCAA Division II Nationals: Lewis’ Isaac Jean-Paul was fifth in the high jump (6-11.75) and Michael Leet took seventh in the 3,000 steeplechase (9:00.71), both earning All-American honors.
Women’s Track
NAIA Nationals: All-American Isi Edeko placed fifth in the triple jump (38-11) to lead 10th-place St. Francis (12). The Saints also finished seventh in the 3,200 relay (4:15.49) behind contributions from All-Americans Catherine Crosson, Lesley Lopez, Brooke Johnson and Ashlee Knott.
NCAA Division II Nationals: Lewis’ Amber Cook set a school record in winning the triple jump (42-3.50). Teammate Cierra Pulliam also secured All-American designation by placing fifth (41-2.50) in the same event. The Flyers (14) were tied for ninth. Amanda Farrough was second in the 5,000 meters (16:35.58).
Local Auto Racing
Grundy washed out: Rain forced the cancellation of Friday night’s races at Grundy County Speedway. The 46-lap Memorial Day special for late-models will be held on Friday, June 3.
Logan Malloy is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown. Freelance writer Josh Krockey contributed to this story.