Bella Duncan shakes off early deficit, Morrison tops Marengo to reach Class 2A sectional championship

WOODSTOCK – Morrison pitcher Bella Duncan breezed through Marengo’s lineup the first time through the order, but was greeted rudely by Northwestern commit Kylee Jensen in the top of the fourth inning.

Jensen, one of three strikeout victims for Duncan in the first, crushed a 1-2 offering over the left-center field fence and into the tall grass at Marian Central’s Raymond Benoy Field for the first hit of Thursday’s Class 2A Marian Central Sectional semifinal.

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Morrison’s Kiyah Wolber, right, is forced at second base by Marengo’s Gabby Christopher in IHSA Class 2A Sectional Semifinal softball action at Marian Central High School in Woodstock on Thursday, May 29, 2025. (Patrick Kunzer for Shaw Local/Patrick Kunzer/for the Daily Herald)

That didn’t sit well with Duncan, a Western Michigan commit.

“Weird thing about me is when I give up hits, I get really mad and I actually pitch better when I give up a hit or two like that,” Duncan said. “I told my team, ‘Alright, let’s go. I’m fired up now.’

“It really fuels my fire.”

True to Duncan’s word, Jensen’s home run was the last real scoring chance for Marengo.

Morrison responded with fire by sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring six runs on six hits in the bottom of the fourth, and the top-seeded Fillies beat the second-seeded Indians 6-1 to earn a spot in Friday’s sectional championship.

Morrison (22-4), winners of 17 straight, will face fourth-seeded North Boone (24-6) at 4:30 p.m. Friday with a chance to win its first sectional title since 2017.

“She’s a grinder. She’s got tons of grit and resilience on that mound,” Fillies coach Chelsea Eads said of her senior right-handed pitcher. “We trust her out there. Today, her teammates had her back, too, making plays. That’s not our first comeback either. That’s what makes me so proud of them. They can come back with energy when they’re down.”

Duncan, who now has 293 strikeouts in 119 innings, finished with 13 strikeouts while allowing only two hits and a walk in the complete game.

Her matchup against a former future Division-I player in Jensen started the game off with a bang.

Jensen, the Indians’ top power bat with 15 home runs, said she had to settle herself down against the speed and stuff of Duncan.

“I swung out of my shoes on the first two, they were probably over my head. Don’t know what I was doing,” Jensen said jokingly. “I just told myself to relax. I just wanted to get on base for my team.

“I didn’t expect it to go as far as it did.”

Jensen’s long home run had the Indians’ side buzzing after Duncan was locked in early, striking out the side in the first and third innings.

In the second inning, the Indians’ Nos. 4, 5 and 6 hitter – Gabby Christopher, Ellie White and AJ Pollnow – all put the ball in play, with Pollnow’s at-bat ending in a deep fly ball to center field.

“We scouted them and we knew she was going to be tough,” Marengo coach Dwain Nance said. “That first inning was rough, but that next inning we put three balls in play and the girls just kept battling. We just never could barrel anything up tight and that just eventually hurt us. ... Beating them 1-0 was going to be extremely difficult to do.”

Morrison’s six-run fourth inning came after the Fillies left four runners on base against Marengo senior pitcher Jozsa Christiansen in the first three.

Morrison, though, immediately loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth following a walk by Ava Duncan, a double that hit the top of the center-field fence by Elle Milnes, and another walk by Sophie Damhoff. Senior first baseman Madi Armitage then hit a liner back up the middle that grazed the glove of Christiansen on its way to center field for a 2-1 lead.

After a strikeout for the first out, Bella Duncan added an RBI single, followed by three straight singles. Kiyah Wolber’s hit drove in two runs, and Allie Anderson added an RBI knock during the offensive outburst.

Armitage said it took time to get used to some of the slower pitches from Christiansen, which kept a few Fillies’ batters off-balance.

“It’s really scary with changeups like that, but being able to sit back on them is really an improvement for me,” Armitage said. “I’m always ahead of it. Being able to sit back on it, that just got the team going and rallied us up.

“I saw it (the changeup) out of her hand. Usually you’re not supposed to, but I did.”

Christiansen allowed six runs on six hits in 3⅓ innings, while walking five and striking out four in her last high school game. White, a junior, relieved her in the fourth and tossed 2⅔ scoreless innings, striking out a pair without allowing a hit.

Marengo. (27-10) graduates six – Christiansen, Jensen, Gabby Gieseke, Mia Feidt, AJ Pollnow and Bora Sinani – from a team that earned its third consecutive Kishwaukee River Conference title and 16th regional title in 18 seasons.

“It was a real good season,” Gieseke said. “Obviously we wanted to go farther, but these girls, we all improved. All of us got closer ... and we just lifted each other up all the time.

“I think we all worked our tails off everyday and competed as much as we could until the end.”