By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
The York softball team found itself one victory away from a trip downstate after winning the recent Class 4A Niles West sectional title.
The Dukes were 6-1 winners over West Suburban Conference Silver Division foe Oak Park-River Forest in the championship game of the Niles West sectional in Skokie.
The win over the Huskies gave York its second sectional title since 2013 (York was fourth in the state in 2013). The Dukes played St. Charles North Monday in the Class 4A Rosemont supersectional held at the Chicago Bandits stadium. If York won that game it will play in the Class 4A state semifinals this weekend in East Peoria.
York was the No. 1 seed in the Niles West sectional, while St. Charles North was the No. 4 seed in the Fremd sectional.
In the battle of the top two seeds in the Niles West sectional, York trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning. The Dukes scored three runs in that frame and three more in the bottom of the fifth to pull away.
York had eight hits in the game.
Jane Moran went 1-for-3 with a run scored. Madison Collins went 1-for-2 with a walk. Kyra Kroll went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Izzy Smith had an RBI. Andrea Meagher went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Lauren Derkowski went 1-for-3 with a three-run homer, while Lauren Wojcik had a hit and a walk. Sophia Trajcevski scored a run. Kroll, Moran and Collins each registered a double. Smith and Katherine Karnatz each had sacrifices, while Wojcik stole a base.
Derkowski was the winning pitcher. She went seven innings and allowed two hits and one earned run while striking out 14 and walking five.
In York’s half of the fourth inning, Kroll singled to lead it off. After a strikeout, Meagher singled to left to put runners on first and second. After a fly out for the second out, Derkowski hit a three-run homer to left field.
In the fifth inning, Moran had a leadoff double and Collins walked to put runners at first and second. Kroll then doubled to left field. Moran scored and pinch runner Trajcevski advanced to third. Smith then sacrifice bunted to the pitcher which allowed Trajcevski to score. Kroll moved to third and then scored on Meagher’s single that put York up 6-1.
York reached the sectional final with a 1-0 win over Chicago Whitney Young in the sectional semifinals. The two teams were limited to a combined seven hits. York had four.
Moran, Collins, Kroll and Smith each had a hit. Kroll scored the game’s only run and Tran had the game’s only RBI. Meagher drew York’s only walk and had a sacrifice.
Derkowski was the winning pitcher. She went seven innings and allowed only three hits, while striking out 16 and walking three.
In the bottom of the fourth, Kroll singled to lead off the inning and Smith singled to put runners on first and second with no outs. Meagher’s sacrifice put runners on second and third. Kroll scored on Tran’s sacrifice fly to center field.
In York’s four playoff games, Derkowski, a freshman pitcher, is 4-0 with a 0.29 ERA. In 24 innings pitched in the playoffs, she has allowed only one run on eight hits, while striking out 48 and walking 11.
Extending Derkowski’s statistics to York’s current five-game winning streak, she’s 5-0 with a 0.48 ERA. In 29 innings, she has allowed two runs on 11 hits, while striking out 59 batters and walking 16.
