BLOOMINGTON — For the record, the last name of Providence’s Bella Cortes isn’t “Cortez,” no matter what it says on the roster or the back of her uniform.
Also for the record? During a four-day postseason stretch, the freshman right fielder has come up as one the best clutch hitters in the state. Just ask freshman pitcher Macie Robbins.
“I’m just so proud of her — she’s so clutch,” Robbins said. “She did it again. It was like déjà vu.”
Cortes’ single in the ninth inning Monday drove in pinch-runner Reagan Singler to give the Celtics a 5-4 win over defending Class 3A state champion Pontiac in the Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional at Inspiration Field at Carol Willis Park in Bloomington.
It’s been an amazing run. A walk-off, game-winning hit Friday in the 10th to win the sectional. A walk-off, game-winning hit against Pontiac, on her father Sam’s birthday, to win the supersectional.
In the end, Cortes was happy she could be an inspiration for her team and her dad.
“It was great to do it for his birthday,” Bella said of Sam. “He wanted me to make his birthday fun, and that’s what I tried to do.”
Cortes and Robbins each had fun at the plate with two hits apiece for Providence (25-11), which will play at 10 a.m. Saturday against St. Laurence (23-7) in the state semifinals at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria.
Olivia Vittori opened the ninth inning Monday with a single to spark the winning rally for Providence and then advanced to third base on bunts delivered by both Robbins and Ella Kucala.
Stanford commit Elena Krause ended up with the loss for Pontiac (26-10), striking out nine.
For Cortes, it has been quite a stretch, considering she hit the game-winning single Friday to pull off a thrilling 1-0 win in 10 innings over Lemont in the Ottawa Sectional.
“I liked this one better because it means we’re going to state,” Cortes said of Monday’s heroics. “It’s going to be a great time. Both hits were really important, but this one is my favorite.”
Especially when considering the Celtics trailed 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth. Cortes cranked a double to the right-center wall off Krause to score two runs and break the ice.
“That was huge,” Providence coach Jim Holba said. “We were waiting for something like that to happen that would let us believe we could beat (Krause).
“We’re obviously very young and we were probably a little nervous facing an excellent pitcher. We needed that break to open things up and relax a little bit and play like we can.”
Cortes, for one, didn’t want to be intimidated by Krause.
“I knew she could spin the ball really well and I knew that I needed to get on top of her pitches,” Cortes said. “I kept my hands high and tried to get on top of her pitches the best I could.”
With Robbins, Cortes and freshman shortstop Aleigh Hill on the roster — plus five sophomores and four juniors — the future looks bright for Providence.
But right now, the present is looking pretty special, too.
The Celtics split two GCAC games this spring with St. Laurence. Providence prevailed 4-2 on April 29 at home and lost 1-0 on May 9 in Burbank.
While Holba hasn’t made many errors as a coach, he did confirm he was responsible for misspelling Cortes’ name on the jersey and the roster.
“I messed up,” he said. “But I OK’d it with her grandfather (also Sam). He said there was no problem.”
“It’s fine,” Bella said. “I didn’t feel the need to change the uniform.”
Not when she’s playing like this.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
