Sports
Softball: LeBeau Puts on a Show as Richards Advances
Richards 12, St. Ignatius 3. The Bulldogs' playoff run continues after Brianna LeBeau takes care of St. Ignatius with her arm and her bat.
Touching All the Bases: With St. Ignatius coming off of a 2-1 upset over Marist, Richards made sure there would be no more upsets on Wednesday in the semifinals of the Class 4A Morton Sectional.
Starting pitcher Brianna LeBeau went seven innings and shut down the St. Ignatius attack, picking up four strikeouts, while allowing three runs on three hits in the Bulldogs' 12-3 victory.
Richards' offense struck early, putting up three runs in the first inning off of St. Ignatius pitcher Ali Lenti. With the bases loaded, sophomore first baseman Breanna Kaminski connected for an RBI single. On the play, two more runners came around to score for Richards on two St. Ignatius’ errors. The Bulldogs led 3-0.
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Richards broke the game open in the second, scoring five runs on six hits. Back-to-back two-run doubles from LeBeau and junior shortstop Hannah Jenkins highlighted the inning.
St. Ignatius was able to score three runs in the top of the third, but the Bulldogs scored two of their own in the bottom of the third. Except for one walk in the sixth, LeBeau was perfect from that point on, and Richards cruised into the Morton Sectional championship game.
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Patch’s MVP: Richards starter Brianna LeBeau (7 innings pitched, 4 strikeouts, 3 hits). LeBeau also was 3-for-3 at the plate with 2 RBIs.
Richards Leaders: In addition to LeBeau, senior center fielder Kailie Tobin (3-for-5 with an RBI), junior shortstop Hannah Jenkins (2-for-4 with 2 RBIs), sophomore first baseman Breanna Kaminski (2-for-4 with 2 RBIs), junior Nicole Ellement (2-for-3 with an RBI).
St. Ignatius Leaders: Junior right fielder Amanda Pisani (1-for-2 with an RBI).
Quotable: Richards coach Julie Folliard on LeBeau: “I think she came out to play. I don’t think it was her best that we’ve seen all year, but she definitely came out to play and she brought it. I think everybody was all in today, including Bri. She definitely had the right mental mindset.”
Team Records: Richards is 31-2, while St. Ignatius ends its season at 19-13-1.
What’s Next: Richards plays the winner of Mother McAuley vs. Trinity in the Morton Sectional championship game at 10 a.m. on Saturday. McAuley and Trinity play Thursday.
