POPLAR GROVE, Ill. — A trip to the IHSA Class 2A state tournament comes with some stout competition, and for the North Boone softball team it doesn’t get much harder than its draw.
The other three teams that have advanced to the state semifinals, Rockridge, Carterville and the Auburn Co-op, were all seeded No. 1 when they began play in the regional round.
But, you’ll have to forgive the fourth-seeded Vikings for not pushing the panic button. After all, they have thrived thus far in the underdog role by focusing on themselves.
“It’s actually something we have not even talked about,” head coach Tim Fleming said. “We just knew that in our sub sectional that there were five, six, seven really good teams in there. It didn't matter where we were seeded, we were just going to go and play that next opponent ahead of us.
“That one game at a time mentality is huge. I got to give all the credit to these girls that have just stayed focused over the last couple of weeks.”
Whatever mentality North Boone has had this season, it’s been paying off in a big way.
At 28-4, the Big Northern Conference champion Vikings have the most wins in program history. They won their first regional title in 12 years before winning their first ever sectional and super sectional championships on their way to clinching an inaugural appearance at the state semifinals.
North Boone opens up against the Auburn Co-op on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria.
“It's really special, and it's something that you think about starting towards the end of February,” Fleming said. “Everybody has lofty goals of either winning the conference championship or the regional championship, and I'm sure this is always in the back of their mind, but it's very surreal.”
The Vikings won its second BNC title of the past three seasons after finishing 15-1 in conference play to split the crown with Stillman Valley.
“Conference play really made us battle tested and ready for the postseason,” the head coach said. “We were in some close games, and we know every postseason game is a grind.”
North Boone lost 6-2 to the Cardinals before coming back six days later to defeat its BNC foe 5-1 and get itself back in the title race. It also lit a fire under the Vikings, who have gone on to win 17 of their past 18 games heading into the state tournament.
“That was a really big turning point for us,” Fleming said. “Stillman is a very good team with very good pitching, and we had to grind our way through that (win). It helped the girls believe in themselves and believe in each other that we can win those types of tight ball games.”
North Boone beat Johnsburg 2-0 in the regional semifinals before beating Marengo 9-3 to clinch a regional title, a breath of relief for a senior class that had fallen in the championship game in three-straight seasons. The Vikings stomped Manlius’ Bureau Valley 12-0 and then edged Richmond-Burton 2-0 in the sectional championship.
And a 5-3 come-from-behind victory over Elmhurst’s Immaculate Conception Catholic at Benedictine University on Monday sent North Boone to Peoria.
“It was their determination,” Fleming said. “We knew our bats were going to be there and that Cami was going to pitch well for us, but even when we went down these girls had to believe that they could do it. They were patient and found their pitches they wanted to hit. It's about capitalizing on those opportunities to get a couple people on base, keep it as simple and do your job.”
Carter almost completely shut down a Knights’ squad that averaged over 15 runs per game in the postseason and had posted big wins such as 15-0, 16-1 and 23-11 during its run.
The senior righty, who is heading to NJCAA Division II Black Hawk College in Moline, Ill., allowed just three runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out 11. She has 205 punchouts this season and sports a 1.69 ERA.
“You look at the raw numbers of IC's lineup and it was pretty eye popping,” Fleming said. “But I've said this from the start, Cami is one of the best pitchers in the state. She just really attacked that lineup and was confident. And when you're pitching with a ton of confidence, it helps your team just feel more confident.”
Anjelina Dwyer’s RBI double tied it at one in the third inning of Monday’s game, and IC took a two-run lead in the fifth when Analisa Raffelli reached on a dropped pop out and scored on Lexi Russ’ single into left. A line-drive smacked off second baseman Sydney Goodman’s glove to score Russ.
But after the Vikings took the lead in the bottom of the fifth, Carter worked around a one-out double in the sixth and sent the top of the Knights’ order down 1-2-3 in the seventh.
“With Cami, her strongest innings are towards the end,” Fleming said. “She just has that killer instinct that she's going to go and finish this lineup off herself.”
Of course, throwing to senior teammate Danielle Goodman certainly helps as the two make a dynamite battery.
“Dani has started almost every game for me since her freshman year at catcher,” Fleming said. “And no one works harder to perfect her craft. She's her harshest critic. If a ball gets by her, she'll take responsibility and work twice as hard to make sure that doesn't happen again.
“I don't think people give her enough credit for how she handles Cami and keeps her calm in the circle, especially in big moments like this.”
Goodman is also hitting .483 with 52 RBIs this season, and her double in the third inning set up freshman Marlee Alderman’s run-scoring bloop single to make it 1-0.
Alderman went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI while frosh teammate Abby Galarza’s single in the sixth scored Avarie Torres, who had doubled, to act as insurance.
“We have some pretty special underclassmen,” Fleming said. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence. “That spills over from the leaders that we have with the seniors, who have done a good job mentoring them. They're hitting their stride at the right time.”
Seven of the nine Vikings in the lineup recorded a hit with Haven Hahn’s one-run single up the middle helping set up Lauren Stefek’s two-run single in the fifth that put North Boone ahead for good.
“I knew coming in this year that we were going to have 12 to 13 really good varsity players,” the head coach said. “They've got good bats and are good in the field. It's really special to be around and I just try to stay out of their way and make sure I don't mess it up.”
Fleming said that the Vikings are making sure to enjoy the moment and are taking the practices leading up to Friday as any other.
The Trojans of the Sangamo Conference are 26-7-1 and went 8-1 to place second in their league. They beat St. Anthony 12-2 to punch their ticket to face North Boone.
“When you get down to the Final Four, you anticipate that there's good hitting and good pitching,” Fleming said. “Auburn has a dominant lefty that spins the ball well. But playing in a pretty tough sectional against Richmond-Burton's pitcher, who's a Division I commit, we're used to seeing some really good pitching.
“Once we step on that field, we're focused and we want to keep making history for North Boone softball.”
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