Catch her if you can, but it isn’t easy.
Makayla Van Dinther may not be an intimidating physical presence in the circle for St. Charles East, but the junior right-hander has been pure magic during an impressive postseason run.
it has the surprising Saints one win away from the state finals and a trip to Peoria.
“I knew we were going to be a tough out,” St. Charles East coach Jarod Gutesha said. “With 15 losses, everybody is ranked above us, but I knew our lineup was going to be tough.
“With our schedule, we’ve experienced disappointment with a stretch of one and two-run losses, but you learn from those disappointments.”
Van Dinther proved that point again Friday in the Class 4A Palatine Fremd Sectional championship game, completing a six-hit shutout for the Saints in a 5-0 victory over South Elgin.
The fifth-seeded Storm (29-5) appeared to have her on the ropes multiple times, but she escaped trouble that included back-to-back bases-loaded jams in the third and fourth innings.
Van Dinther (13-9) struck out five and walked just one in winning for the third time in four playoff games to go with a save for the sixth-seeded Saints (23-15), who will play at 6 p.m. Monday in the Barrington Supersectional against the host Fillies (33-3-1), a 2-0 winner over Huntley.
Afterward, Van Dinther passed some of that credit to junior catcher Hayden Sujack.
“Those jams were stressful situations,” Van Dinther said. “But my catcher and I talked, and we located some counts because it was a tight strike zone. I just trusted my defense.”
Senior third baseman Holly Smith provided some stellar defense in the third inning, charging a grounder on the line, scooping the ball up and flipping it to Sujack out of her glove all in one motion for the third out on a force play at the plate.
And second baseman Alyse Price almost saw it coming.
“Makayla threw a great pitch,” Smith said. “It was a weak contact. It might have rolled foul, but I was ahead of the runner so I tried the glove flip and Hayden made a nice stretch.
“It’s funny. Alyse Price and I were just talking about glove flipping before the game and it comes up. First time I’ve ever used it at third base.”
Van Dinther, who bailed herself out the next inning by retiring a batter on a comeback grounder with the bases loaded and two out, appreciated the Smith-Sujack connection.
“Amazing play,” said Van Dinther, who also praised a catch by senior left fielder Eden Corcoran. “That kind of saved my butt there. We played good all-around. Our outfield did a great job.
“Eden made an amazing catch to save another run that was great to see.”
Van Dinther ended up stranding nine runners. South Elgin’s defensive struggles made it tough on Loyola-bound senior left-hander Anna Kiel, who started in the circle for a second straight day but was lifted after three innings trailing 2-0.
Sparked by Sujack’s double, St. Charles East took advantage of three errors to score twice in the first inning. The Storm made seven errors, allowing the Saints to add a run in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Junior right fielder Lexi Majkszak added two hits and two RBIs for St. Charles East, while sophomore center fielder Morgan Beers went 4-for-4.
“Definitely my first four-hit game,” Beers said. “We had to get the job done, and as long as I had good energy, I was really confident at the plate.”
At the same time, Gutesha has faith in Beers.
“She puts the bat on the ball consistently and she’s got wheels,” he said. “Speed don’t slump.”
Beers drove in the fourth run and also scored the fifth to support Van Dinther.
“Even when she was in those jams, she was still throwing well,” Gutesha said of Van Dinther. “She was still hitting her spots, and it wasn’t like they were barreling it up and hitting gaps, gaps, gaps.
“She was doing her thing.”
