EAST PEORIA — Lemont’s Raegan Duncan loves the EastSide Centre.
Duncan has played twice there in supersectional games over the past two seasons. And both times, the junior third baseman has hit a home run in her first at-bat.
It didn’t surprise coach Chris Traina.
“I think this is her place, definitely,” Traina said. “It’s good to see her step up.”
Duncan had some pep in her step Monday, homering over the left field fence with two outs in the first inning as defending Class 3A state champion Lemont rolled to a 6-0 victory over Metamora in the East Peoria Supersectional.
Two batters later, South Carolina-bound senior pitcher Sage Mardjetko followed Duncan with a two-run homer to ignite Lemont (32-1), which will play Benet (24-11) — a 5-2 winner over Richards in eight innings — at 10 a.m. Friday in the state semifinals at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria.
Mardjetko, who also drove in three runs, struck out 16. She gave up a hit that was a pop-up in the infield which was lost in the sun. Frankie Rita added two hits and Avaree Taylor scored twice in ousting Metamora (32-4).
Duncan said she has been in a slump as of late but found a pitch she liked. Lemont now has outscored opponents 92-2 in the first inning this season.
“I was going into this trying to stay loose,” said Duncan, who responded with her third homer this spring. “I’ve been tight in the box, and I wanted to stay loose and help my team.
“I hit an inside high pitch. I love my high ones. You can take the high ones way farther out because they are already so high for you. I was just looking for the high one.”
Mardjetko didn’t require much run support, but she was grateful to see Duncan cash in.
“I was super excited for her,” Mardjetko said. “She’s been working so hard, and her getting that big hit right now is what she needed. She’s crucial for this team.”
Last spring, Duncan hit a crucial homer in the second inning and Mardjetko pitched a perfect game as Lemont posted a 1-0 victory in the supersectional at the EastSide Centre.
This time, Mardjetko hit two of the first three batters she faced but got out of the jam unscathed.
Metamora’s Deric Linder, who has coached Metamora since 2006 and won a Class 3A state title in 2010, is not going to miss Mardjetko.
“It will be fun to watch her on TV instead of in person,” he said. “She’s the best I’ve ever seen at the high school level, and I’ve been doing this a long time.
“You have to give her credit. Not only did she get it done on the mound, she got it done in the batter’s box.”
This spring, Lemont has outscored five postseason opponents 38-0. In the past two years, Lemont has outscored opponents 81-2 in 12 playoff games.
The players knew they had targets on their backs but have so far handled the pressure with ease.
“We’re really close,” Mardjetko said. “Last year, we were more teammates and this year we are friends, and that makes the biggest difference in the world, especially when there is that pressure on our back. Everyone out here is playing with each other.”
“We built off last year,” Duncan said. “We wanted to accomplish more than we did last year, and I think we’ve been doing that.”
Duncan, who leads the team with 12 doubles and 34 RBIs, has already committed to Southern Illinois Edwardsville.
“I’ve been trying to get my name out there in front of college coaches since eighth grade,” Duncan said. “They saw me and when I visited there, I said, ‘Yep, I’m going here.'”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.