Sophomore shortstop Maddie Henry is living proof that the kids are all right for Lincoln-Way East.
Coming up with a clutch hit in a big situation definitely proves that point. With that point in mind, Henry actually had one of the biggest hits of her high school career Thursday afternoon.
A three-run homer in the top of the seventh inning on the road against a higher seed qualifies as a dramatic performance for someone so young. And she essentially willed the ball out of the park.
“With a little saying out loud, ‘I hope it gets out, I hope it gets out,’” a beaming Henry said about the situation as her teammates, coaches and even parents celebrated in the background.
Henry’s homer just cleared the fence in right field and keyed a five-run seventh, helping to propel the fifth-seeded Griffins to a 7-4 victory over the host Warriors in the Class 4A Lincoln-Way West Regional championship game.
It was Henry’s only hit of the day for Lincoln-Way East (21-11), which advances to play either host Lincoln-Way Central or Shepard at 5 p.m. Tuesday in a sectional semifinal game in New Lenox.
Sophomore third baseman Cassidy Jagielski and Lindsay LaVine scored on Henry’s homer. Another sophomore, pitcher Audrey Bullock, then threw a 1-2-3 seventh for the Griffins.
But wait, there’s more. Yet another sophomore, left fielder Mackenzie Bacha, went 3-for-3 with two runs, a double and a walk. She also scored on Jagielski’s two-run single before Henry’s homer.
“We have four sophomores starting for us, and I think it’s great for our program,” Lincoln-Way East coach Elizabeth Hyland said. “It shows development and we’re young, but we trust them.”
The Cusack sisters — Peyton, a senior outfielder, and Reese, a sophomore outfielder — each drove in two runs for fourth-seeded Lincoln-Way West (20-10). Reese’s two-run single in the third gave the Warriors a 4-0 lead.
Afterward, Henry reflected on what it takes to be on the varsity in softball, a sport she said she can’t imagine not playing.
“Having a good balance between my social life and my softball life is what’s key to being successful,” she said. “I think time management is something I really work on.
“Sometimes, there are days when it’s hard, but ultimately having a good balance is what’s made me so successful.”
Then there’s the leadership question. Don’t look now, but Henry and her sophomore teammates might have taken a big step forward in that category Thursday.
Good news for the Griffins, of course. Likely bad news for their opponents the next two seasons. And perhaps even in the next game.
“I think with us being a younger team, with a heavy staff of underclassmen in general, it’s really important we needed to step up,” Henry said. “And it wasn’t needed to be one person.
“It needed to be everyone.”
The domino effect seen against the Warriors has happened before, according to Jagielski.
“Honestly, one person gets it going and we all feed off each other,” she said. “We just can’t give up. It was, what, top of seventh, 4-2? And I was like, ‘We’ve done it one inning. Why can’t we do it again?’”
Henry and Jagielski grew up playing travel and still train together in the offseason. It gives them a distinct advantage on the left side of the infield, with one knowing what the other is thinking.
It certainly provides an advantage in a tough conference like the SouthWest Suburban Blue. And it means a lot in the playoffs, when everything is on the line, where it’s survive and advance.
“That’s what the playoffs is all about,” Bullock said. “It’s about moving on and moving forward. It doesn’t matter what you did before. You have to go out and do it.”
Gregg Voss is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
