Hanover Central senior Dakota Ward didn’t start Monday night’s first-round game against Andrean in the Class 3A Kankakee Valley Sectional.
But she finished it.
Ward’s RBI double with two out in the eighth inning sent the Wildcats to a 3-2 win against the 59ers.
She entered the game in the seventh to play first base. And after singling in the seventh, she delivered the walk-off hit down the right-field line in the eighth.
“When I went into the game, I was just thinking about playing first base, but I had to hit too, I had to go,” Ward said. “Everyone was behind me, so I didn’t feel that much pressure.”
Hanover coach Amanda Suarez wasn’t surprised Ward came through in the clutch.
“Dakota has always been dependable,” Suarez said. “Either she’s in the lineup or we save her for situations exactly like that. She has to be one of the best hitters I’ve ever seen coming off the bench. She had a big hit, but more than anything else, she makes something happen.”
Class 3A No. 2 Hanover (24-3) plays Twin Lakes (17-6) in Tuesday’s second semifinal, following the first between No. 7 Kankakee Valley (17-8) and Glenn (6-17).
The win against No. 8 Andrean (17-9) was especially sweet for Hanover. The 59ers topped the Wildcats 12-3 in last season’s sectional semifinals.
“The girls were hyped up,” Suarez said. “It’s not personal, but we owed them after last year. It left a bitter taste in our mouth. Nothing against Andrean — they’re a good team with good coaches. It’s just that loss was a little unexpected and we felt like we owed them this year.”
Winning pitcher Marley Hanlon led off the eighth with a single before freshman Priscilla Seniw entered as a courtesy runner. Sophia Barbosa got down a sacrifice bunt. And after a strikeout, Ward delivered the game-winning hit.
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“I was pretty scared because if we lost this game, that was it as a senior,” Ward said. “I was bummed not to start, but even after that first hit, I was, like, ‘Thank God I did something.’
“That was the tightest game, the most intense game, the best game we’ve played yet.”
Suarez liked the way the Wildcats rallied around each other.
“It was an awesome win because everybody contributed,” Suarez said. “We made a lot of substitutions and nobody pouted when they came out. Everybody cheered. They legitimately worked as a team.”
Andrean manufactured single runs in the second on Tessa Wojkovich’s fielder’s choice and the sixth on Haley Huesken’s infield hit as Wojkovich scored from second. Hanover answered with solo homers in the fourth by Barbosa and the sixth by Alyssa Gill.
“We never quit, even in the first few innings when our bats weren’t going too well,” Ward said. “The two home runs were big.”
Hanlon (23-2) allowed two runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts and four walks. The Illinois-Chicago recruit outdueled Andrean senior Abby Graegin (15-6), who allowed three runs on nine hits with five strikeouts and three walks.
“It was a great game,” 59ers coach Glenn Eisfelder said. “When you look at their numbers, they’ve put up a lot of gaudy numbers against some good teams and she held them in check. She battled and battled. They’re a good team, there’s no question.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff