Crosstown rivals and softball coaching legends Andy Nussbaum of Naperville Central and Jerry Kedziora from Naperville North go head to head in the regional championship. Both teams coming off shutout wins in the regional semifinals with the Redhawks defeating Plainfield East 6-0 and the Huskies topping Batavia 5-0. This highlight is sponsored by BMO Harris Bank.
1st Inning
Naperville North went 3-0 on the season against Central and a big reason why is Charlotte Chelich and her work on the mound. The DVC pitcher of the year gets a pair of strikeouts in the opening frame. She racks up 13 in total on the day.
Chelich can also swing the bat. After Kristina Donaldson reaches via error, the Huskie pitcher hits one to deep right field. Tough play for Courtney Fournier as she tries to avoid hitting the wall. The ball drops in for a one out double.
Kendall Kedziora is walked intentionally. Redhawk pitcher Luca Seeling then gets a ground ball, but Rhyan Hampton hits it just out of reach of the Central defense. Donaldson and pinch runner Lilly Kelly come in to score. Kedziora then comes home as the throw gets away.
Next batter is Huskie catcher Laurel Anstine. She lines one of her four hits back up the middle. Hampton comes in to score as Naperville North takes a 4-0 lead.
Shayna Woolwine then heads to the plate. She hits one to short, this time the Redhawk defense steps up, turning a double play with a throw to first. Jamie Seran then gets Anstine at third with a throw to Olivia Samolej to end the inning.
4th Inning
Top of the 4th inning, Central still without a hit until Julia Nicholus lines one into right field for single to lead off the frame.
Next up is Samolej. She pops one up in foul territory. Kendall Kedziora with a nice running catch as the Huskies are able to get out of the inning with no damage.
Bottom of the 4th now, Olivia Hebron at the plate as she goes to bunt following an Eliza Patterson single. Central catcher Riley Silvers with a fantastic play to lay out for the diving catch for the out. Great awareness on that one.
After Kristina Donaldson reaches on a fielders choice, Maddi Larsen drives one fair down the line in left. Donaldson races around from first to score. It’s an rbi double for Larson as the the Huskies lead 5-0.
5th Inning
Bottom of the 5th, Shayna Woolwine back at the plate after back to back singles from Kedziora and Anstine. She lines one into left field. Kedziora comes in to score from second and Naperville North pushes the lead to 6-0 after five innings of play.
6th Inning
Bottom of the 6th inning, Olivia Hebron with a leadoff single. Kristina Donaldson steps up and crushes one to straightaway center field. The two run homer makes it 8-0 Huskies. They would add two more later in the inning. For the first time since 2012, Naperville North softball is a regional champion! After setting a new team record with 26 wins on the season, the Huskies advance to face another DVC rival, Neuqua Valley in the sectional semi finals.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
