PEORIA — Antioch freshman pitcher Pearl Wenzel has set the bar very high for the rest of her high school career.
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Wenzel mowed down one highly ranked opponent after another as she racked up 16 wins in 16 starts this season.
“I’ve just been amazed at what I’ve done this year,” she said. “I’ve grown so much.”
Wenzel stood tallest during the Class 3A state championship game at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex on Saturday.
Facing top-ranked Chatham Glenwood, Wenzel allowed one run on five hits and struck out six over seven innings to lead No. 2 Antioch to a 7-2 win and its first state title.
“I don’t know what more she can do in the future,” Antioch coach Anthony Rocco said, smiling. “She’s very tough mentally, for a freshman to handle this, especially how close we got the last couple of years.”
The Sequoits (34-3) lost in the state championship game in 2023 and 2024, when Jacey Schuler, who pitches for Michigan State, was the ace.
Wenzel said Schuler offered her insight on how to handle the pressure that comes with being the No. 1 pitcher for an elite program.
“Jacey has taught me so much,” Wenzel said. “We both go to the same pitching coach. I want to be like her.”
In one way, Wenzel has already surpassed Schuler.
“I’m excited to keep going and see what else will happen,” Wenzel said.
So are the Sequoits, whose lineup features four freshmen. Against Glenwood (30-3), freshman outfielder Rylee Dunlavy went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, including a two-run double that gave Antioch a 2-0 lead in the second inning and an RBI single that capped a five-run fifth inning. Freshman second baseman Brooke White added an RBI double in the fifth.
Veterans of the 2023 and 2024 teams also drove in runs during that big fifth inning. Senior third baseman Samantha Hillner, a UIC recruit, hit a two-run double, and senior shortstop Claire Schuyler, a Minnesota recruit, hit an RBI double.
“We needed that,” Hillner said. “It gave Pearl comfort going into the next inning. That five-run inning was huge.”
Wenzel, who didn’t walk a batter, also overcame two errors.
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“She kept her composure,” Rocco said. “She doesn’t get rattled or overthink the situation. It’s nice to have a kid who can create her own outs and keep teams off-balance. She pitched to our game plan.”
Wenzel closed out the game with two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
“I just tried to keep calm in the seventh and take it pitch by pitch,” she said.
Wenzel relied on two of her pitches in particular.
“My riseball was working,” she said. “So was my curve. Once in a while, my change-up worked. But mostly I pitched outside fastball and riseballs because they both were working well.”
Wenzel wasn’t so confident in her pitches early in the season.
“I was kind of scared because I had to go against good hitters,” she said. “I had some rough games and did not do well. But I did better in the next game and grew from it.”
Antioch senior catcher Addison Webb, a Bradley recruit who also played with Schuler, said Wenzel is just getting started.
“She’s young and will only get better,” Webb said. “Her spin will get better, and she will get faster. Seeing her grow, she will do great things.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.