PEORIA — She had the first say on Friday.
She had the first say on Saturday.
Senior first baseman Eileen Donahue deserved to have her say while standing with celebrating Marist teammates in the early evening sunlight after winning the Class 4A state title.
“This is awesome,” Donahue said with a big smile. “I don’t even have words for it. I love this team like I love my family. It’s insane. I’m just so happy for all of us.”
Truly, every member of the RedHawks’ lineup had their say Saturday in a 9-1 victory over Yorkville at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.
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Donahue had two hits and two RBIs for Marist (37-2). Morgan Rogers and Camryn Lyons also had two hits, while sophomore right-hander Gianna Hillegonds went the distance for the pitching win.
Makenzie Sweeney doubled and scored the only run for Yorkville (36-3).
How critical was Donahue’s first say against Miami of Ohio-bound ace Madi Reeves? It definitely helped change the momentum.
The Foxes scored in the top of the first, putting their first three batters on base. The run came in when Sweeney doubled and advanced on two wild pitches. Hillegonds prevented further damage, but the RedHawks needed a spark to get the offense going.
It happened in the bottom of the inning. With two outs and Maia Pietrzak on second base, Donahue drove an opposite field single to right to tie it up.
“I don’t even know how I hit that one,” Donahue said, laughing. “But our hitting is contagious. I knew that once we would get one, that we would get more.”
Did they ever.
With one out in the bottom of the second, Bree Hanik doubled. Rogers followed with an RBI single that would represent the winning run.
“That felt amazing,” Rogers said. “I was so excited. Honestly, I just knew that when I came up I had to keep composed.
“This game meant everything to me. It was my last game with this team. I wanted to leave it all out there one last time.”
The RedHawks held a 3-1 lead when they went into beast mode with a six-run fourth. Caroline O’Brien and Isabel Cunnea had doubles amid a seven-hit eruption.
Hillegonds took care of the rest, shutting out the Foxes on one hit over the final four innings.
“After that first inning, I kind of got the jitters out of me,” Hillegonds said. “When that inning was over, I said, ‘I think I got it now.’ I shut them down, but I couldn’t do it without my defense.
“I only had two strikeouts, but everyone behind is so amazing. I couldn’t have done any of it without them.”
For Donahue, it was an exhilarating weekend to end a fine Marist career. The Illinois recruit also drove in the first run in Friday’s 10-0 victory over Barrington.
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“Leading up to this weekend, I had been struggling a little bit,” Donahue said. “I just said, ‘I have a new mindset for this weekend. It’s not about me — it’s about the team and whatever I have to do.’
“If I got on by a hit, or an error, as long as the team benefited, it was a win.”
When she was a sophomore, Marist coach Colleen Phelan called Donahue “the sweetest girl on the entire field … or maybe in the entire IHSA.”
Now, she can call her clutch on the biggest stage.
“She is just an unbelievable kid, an absolute sweetheart,” Phelan said. “I couldn’t be more happy for Eileen that she came through big for this team in that situation. She plays with her head down, nose down. She wanted it very bad for this group of girls.
“These are her friends for life.”