Wild 6th inning sends Prairie Ridge past Crystal Lake Central for 1st sectional title since 2009

SYCAMORE – When Kendra Carroll poked a ball through the right side of the infield in the bottom of the sixth inning Friday, the Prairie Ridge senior didn’t have any time to celebrate.

With the bases loaded and one out, Carroll’s eyes went the way of her sister, sophomore Kylie, who collided with Crystal Lake Central second baseman Adi Waliullah as she ran from first to second.

“There was lots of confusion,” Kendra Carroll said. “I was nervous because I thought Kylie was called out.”

The umpires originally called interference on Kylie Carroll, but after a meeting, they overturned the call. Kylie was awarded second base, a run scored on Kendra’s hit to right field, and the bases stayed loaded with one out and the Wolves trailing by one.

The next batter, sophomore Bella Moore, swung hard on a 1-2 count against Central sophomore pitcher Oli Victorine. The ball stayed just fair down left field, scoring two runs and giving the Wolves their first lead.

Top-seeded Prairie Ridge added two more unearned runs in the sixth, and Indiana commit Reese Mosolino finished a 5-2 win over second-seeded Central to win the Class 3A Sycamore Sectional title.

The Wolves (27-1-1), whose only previous sectional title came in 2009, move on to meet Antioch or Carmel in the Class 3A Kaneland Supersectional at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

Players and coaches from Prairie Ridge and Central (25-7) waited in the infield nervously as umps met to discuss the collision. Ultimately, they ruled the ball that Kendra Carroll hit had already made it past Waliullah at second – and the field ump called the play dead, which kept the bases loaded.

“[Senior left fielder] Autumn [Ledgerwood] started praying,” Moore said. “Whatever we had to do.”

Central coach Brian Strombom felt Waliullah still had a reasonable attempt to field the ball at second, which would have resulted in the interference call and two outs.

“There was a move made by our second baseman towards her left, and the baserunner was right in her face and the collision was made. It was a direct play toward the ball,” Strombom said. “By definition, that would be interference. What I don’t understand is how that changed. There was a dead ball, the runners didn’t advance, and maybe we could have found a force out and maybe give up the one [run].”

“Next thing you know, a great team like Prairie Ridge takes advantage. That’s credit to them. They’re a terrific team. You think that they’re vulnerable, and yet they find ways to win.”

The bottom of the sixth started with a walk by No. 9 hitter Emma Dallas and a base hit by Illinois commit Ady Kiddy. After the next batter struck out on three foul bunt attempts, Kylie Carroll battled Victorine in a 10-pitch at-bat, including five foul balls.

With one out and runners on first and second, Kylie Carroll popped a ball in the air that fell in the infield. Strombom and the Tigers argued the infield fly should have been in effect.

That set the stage for back-to-back singles from Kendra Carroll and Moore. In last year’s sectional championship loss to Sycamore, Moore struck out to end the game.

“I’m so proud of her. I gave her a big hug,” Wolves coach Scott Busam said. “Last year as a freshman, I put her in and she struck out to end the game. She just stood there crying her eyes out. ... She had the mentality that that’s not happening again.”

Kylie and Kendra Carroll, who hit third and fourth, respectively, in the lineup, have been enjoying their final ride together.

“I know she had it,” Kendra said of Kylie’s sixth-inning at-bat. “She kept looking back at me between pitches, and I kept telling her, ‘Have fun. It’s a game, don’t think about.’ There were moments I was panicking a bit. There was that one foul-tip where I totally thought it was strike 3.

“Definitely lots of nerves, but those nerves can be super fun, too.”

Mosolino struck out 10 over seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and no walks. Victorine gave up three earned runs on seven hits in six innings, striking out eight and walking one.

Until the five-run sixth, Victorine had just allowed two hits.

“She’s one of those ones who just wants so bad to be a top-level pitcher, a top-level player, and just goes about it with her work ethic to make it happen,” Strombom said.

Senior Liv Shaw gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the third inning with a base-loaded hit. In the sixth, junior Cassidy Murphy ripped an RBI single with two outs for a 2-0 lead.

Central’s 25 wins were its most since 2002 (26-6), while the team won its first regional title in nine years.

“It’s unbelievable. We made it farther than anyone thought we could have,” said Shaw, a four-year varsity player. “This is a little program, one team, but with that one team it means that we’re all closer together. This was a sisterhood and that’s what took us this far.”

This year’s Tigers team set the bar high.

“They’ve taken it to a new level of expectation,” Strombom said, “and they want to see the program keep rising.”

The Wolves, meanwhile, are just a win from their first state tournament appearance.

“At first it was a little shaky, stomach started to hurt, but I knew our team could do it,” Kylie Carroll said. “I alway trust them, no matter what. They always pull through.”