Bishop McNamara uses early two-out rally to clear Kankakee in All-City play

KANKAKEE – One of the most common cliches in not just softball, but any sport, is that it’s a game of inches. There’s a reason it’s so overused.

Just ask the Bishop McNamara softball team.

Senior left fielder Bryn Provost legged out a two-out infield single by those couple of inches in the second inning of the Fightin’ Irish’s home All-City tilt with Kankakee Tuesday. That single drove in Gabby Burnett to make it a 2-2 game, but more importantly kept the inning alive for what became a seven-run second inning that proved to be the difference in a 13-6 McNamara (17-5) victory.

Leadoff hitter Teagan McCue, who collected one of her four hits an at-bat later, credited Provost’s push for helping fuel the team’s fire.

“I think that helped us a lot,” McCue said. “Obviously we got six (more) runs, and just seeing the hustle and dedication from other players is awesome.”

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Bishop McNamara's Teagan McCue, right, and Rhaya DePaolo celebrate the Fightin' Irish's 13-6 home victory against Kankakee Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Mason Schweizer)

It’s not like the Fightin’ Irish needed any extra motivation in an All-City matchup with the Kays (14-9). Senior catcher Bridget Bertrand, whose three-run double was the biggest firework in the second inning, was feeling sick enough that she normally wouldn’t have gone to school.

But in the final All-City game of her career, the Irish cleanup hitter got through the day in order to enjoy that last rivalry matchup.

“I was struggling in school today, really bad,” Bertrand said. “I pushed through so I could come home, nap and come back to the game. I just really wanted to be with my team to have this win.”

Two of McCue’s four hits were doubles, and she also scored all four times. Bertrand finished 3 for 4 on the day. Reagan Kaner was 2 for 3 with two runs and an RBI as seven different Irish players totaled 14 hits and all nine batters had at least one run or RBI.

The Irish have now won 13 of their last 14 games, wrapping up their second straight undefeated Chicagoland Christian Conference run in as many seasons last week. They’ve scored at least 10 runs in 10 of those games, a positive trend ahead of the postseason next week.

“Things are coming together when they should be, which is nice,” Irish head coach Alee Rashenskas said “We’ve made it a goal the last few games to score in every inning, so we’ll try to keep that rolling.”

The seven-run second would have been just enough support for senior pitcher Victoria Torres, who allowed six runs (two earned) on 13 hits and three strikeouts. Those 13 hits came from a Kankakee lineup that’s been plenty hot itself lately, as the Kays entered Tuesday as winners of their last six games, including five with double-digit runs.

As great as the bats have been, along with the pitching of senior lefty Kylie Glogowski, both of which have helped the Kays to a one-game lead in the Southland Athletic Conference over Bloom with three to play, Kays coach LaDesha Nelson knows they can find that next level if they clean up the little things.

“Our bats have definitely come around,” Nelson said. “It’s been an uphill battle, for sure, but as of recently we’ve been making nice, solid contact. Just finding the holes, being smarter on the basepaths, that’s the name of the game.

“Again, that’s the little things,” she continued. “We made it much tougher on ourselves. We had to play against ourselves and against Mac. We’ve got to fix those little things, and I bet you we’ll have so much more fun playing softball.”

Kaleah Jackson and Kylee Cunningham each went 2 for 4 with a single, double and a run, while Jackson also drove in a pair. Adleigh Cunningham was 2 for 3 with a two-run double, and Glogowski had a two-hit day.