For the second straight year, the Lyons softball team defied its postseason seed by going on a run to a Class 4A sectional final. But like last year, the Lions were unable to advance any further, as they lost 5-1 to top-seeded Marist on Saturday in Darien.
One of the common denominators between last season, when the Lions were seeded eighth and upset Marist in a regional final, and this season was senior pitcher Sapphire Munoz.
Munoz, a La Grange Park resident, pitched in all four of Lyons’ playoff games this spring and started the last three contests. With Munoz on the mound, coach Nicole Marinec was not surprised that Lyons (20-11), seeded sixth this year, was able to reach another sectional final.
More Top Picks Razor Electric Scooters Review
“We had a couple of key returners come back, especially our pitcher (Munoz),” Marinec said. “Knowing her leadership and that she has been through this, I am not surprised that we made it this far. Just the way we started clicking at the end of the year, that was surprising.
“She throws with a lot of confidence. We knew that if we could get a couple of runs to back her up, she can usually keep the opponents to less than a few runs, except (against Marist).”
Munoz threw back-to-back shutouts in the regional final and sectional semifinal: a 1-0 win over third-seeded Mother McAuley and a 3-0 win over seventh-seeded Richards, respectively.
Munoz plans to continue playing at Missouri-St. Louis but will miss playing in close contests with her Lyons teammates.
“Those are the best,” Munoz said. “Especially when I have my team, knowing that I trust that they will go get runs for me, no matter what inning it is, even if it is the seventh inning. … There was no doubt in my mind that we would be able to score off the pitcher.”
Both Marinec and Munoz said that the momentum of the season swung when Lyons won four straight games at the Greg Easter Invite at Barrington High School in May.
“I think we really came together at the Barrington tournament,” Munoz said. “That is when we started to believe that we could go out and beat these teams. Feeding off that energy really got us deep in the playoffs this year.”
In addition to Munoz, the Lions will also lose senior third baseman Alex Rich and catcher Lauren Engels.
“(Alex) she has come up really big for us, defensively, always playing a solid hot corner,” Marinec said. “With her bat, too, she fills a lot of different roles. She is our best bunter on the team.
“Lauren was a huge leader on the field, always talking and being able to get through to our pitchers. I think that was a big reason we could go so far, because of that trust our pitcher and catcher had in each other.”
Marinec expects junior leadoff hitter Gabby Allen to continue to grow as a leader for the Lions next season.
“She is so fast out in the field, she covers so much ground in center field — it is amazing,” Marinec said. “She has really developed into a great leadoff hitter. She is a big voice in the field; she is always talking to the team.”
Patrick Kelly is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press