ADDISON -- It's too bad for St. Edward that Driscoll will be closing its doors this year because the Addison school has become a sweet home away from home in the postseason for the Green Wave.

For the second straight year the top-seeded Wave traveled to face the second-seeded host Highlanders in the Driscoll Class 2A Regional championship game and for the second straight year, St. Edward came home with the title after a 3-1 victory on Saturday.

The Green Wave (19-12) advances to the Lisle Sectional where it will play the host Lions on Thursday at Benedictine University.

"Last year, we kind of surprised some teams," said St. Edward coach Mike Rolando. "I don't think that was the case this year, but I knew if we came in here and played the way we know how, we could get out of here with another win. We ran ourselves out of some innings early, but we kept our heads up and stayed confident."

The game was deadlocked 1-1 until the bottom of the fifth when the Green Wave scored twice to take the lead. St. Edward had its opportunities before that, but left three runners stranded in scoring position, and had runners thrown out at third and home in the first four innings.

However, senior Megan Smith erased all that in the fifth when she came through with a timely two-out triple down the right-field line to score Madeline Foehringer to put the Wave ahead 2-1. Smith then scored on a single by Kristina Brockner.

"I wasn't even thinking about being nervous," said Smith. "We've practiced just about every situation, so I knew I could do it. I was just going up there ready to take the ball wherever she pitched it. It feels so great to win the regional title again. It feels even better than last year because it seems like we had to work even harder this year."

Sophomore Sarah Field (19-8) fired a two-hitter while striking out four and walking three for the win. The only run she allowed was unearned, and she finished strong by retiring 13 of the last 14 batters she faced.

"They are a really good hitting team," said Field. "So I knew I had to keep the ball down. I just want to thank my defense because they all did a great job."

St. Edward's first run came in the bottom of the first. Kristi Knott led off with a single, advanced to third on an error and came home on a groundout by Brockner.

St. Edward (18-12), which matched last year's win total, will meet the winner of today's game between Driscoll and Woodlands Academy on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the regional championship game. The Green Wave and Highlanders split their two Suburban Catholic Conference games this season.

Sarah Field, Madeline Foehringer and Kristina Kolodziejczyk combined for a five-inning no-hitter for the Green Wave, which pounded out 13 hits and took advantage of 10 errors by Willows (5-11).

"We've been a little injury-ridden lately so we need to make sure we keep our people healthy," said St. Edward coach Mike Rolando, who led the Wave to an Elite Eight appearance a year ago. "We got everyone a couple of at-bats today and then we brought some sophomores in who did a nice job of getting the bat on the ball."

The Green Wave scored 7 runs in the first inning to put the game away early. Megan Smith, Kristina Brockner and Kolodziejczyk each had RBI in the inning and Field had a 2-run double. Field duplicated that in the second inning when St. Edward scored 5 runs. Ricki Tierney also had an RBI in the inning.

Tierney, Maddie Kerr and Kolodziejczyk each had RBI in the third inning and Veronica Rolando and Kerr drove in runs in the fourth.

The Green Wave played without Lea Diaz, the team's starting shortstop and one of its leading hitters, who suffered an eye injury in practice Monday. Having lost Kelsey Richmond and Taylor Lundquist to injuries recently, St. Edward called sophomores Morgan Garland, Salli Slack, Ana Peterson, and Darcy Gaige up for the postseason and they all contributed to the win Tuesday. Sophomore Cara Wolf filled in for Diaz at short and played an errorless game.

"Sarah pitched great, we got her a couple innings of work, and then Madeline and Kolo did a nice job," said Rolando. "We just need to fine tune our hitting and pick up some hits for Lea to compete with Driscoll Saturday."

After compiling a 17-12 record this season, the top-seeded St. Edward softball team will begin its postseason run on Tuesday against fourth seed Willows Academy in the Driscoll Class 2A Regional.

The team is young, but coach Mike Rolando is confident that its regular season has provided ample experience for the girls to build on.

"We've been through a little bit of everything," Rolando said. "We've won games in the bottom of the seventh inning, we've lost them in the bottom of the seventh inning. People have been in and out of slumps, and I sort of feel like we've weathered the storm and given our young girls some experience."

The youth movement will certainly be felt in the pitching circle on Tuesday as the Green Wave will send sophomore hurler Sarah Field to pitch its postseason opener. Field has been the primary pitcher all season for Wave, compiling a 17-8 record, which accounts for every single St. Edward victory. She also owns and a sparkling 1.78 ERA.

"(Field) is a really good pitcher and really experienced," Rolando said. "She's pitched about 90 percent of our innings and she plays travel ball and plays over the summer and goes to lessons once a week. She's a lifer softball pitcher."

Field has also done her part with the bat, having driven in a team-high 27 runs while sporting a .305 average. Sophomore Lea Diaz leads the team with a .419 average and 33 runs scored.

Juniors Kristina Brockner (.374, 20 RBIs) and Kristi Knott (.310, 22 runs) have also been productive for St. Edward.

"We've seen a lot of teams," Rolando said. "That was important to me, to get the girls see a lot of different teams. We've played some ranked teams this year, some 3A and 4A teams this year. We've seen some good pitchers because that's what we want to be ready to face in the postseason."

Sarah Field scattered 5 hits and struck out seven with no walks in pitching her second straight shutout for the Green Wave (14-9, 5-3).

Stephanie Werner and Kristina Brockner each drove in runs for St. Edward as well.

After losing 11-2 in the opening round against Chicago Christian, the Green Wave bounced back to beat Farmington 6-3 and then came from behind in the seventh inning to defeat Hampshire 5-4 in the fifth-place game on a Megan Smith walk-off, bases loaded single.

It's the fourth time this season the Wave has won in the final at bat.

"We have experienced softball players who know how to handle the pressure situations," said St. Edward coach Mike Rolando. "They know when they make mistakes, they have teammates there to pick them up. It was really impressive the way we were able to come back today."

Marengo won the tournament with wins against Farmington, Chicago Christian and a 2-1 victory in the championship game over Illiana Christian.

Genoa-Kingston (8-4) beat Chicago Christian 3-0 in the third-place game.

St. Edward had fallen behind 4-3 in the top of the seventh inning against Hampshire when a throwing error scored a pair of runs.

However, the Green Wave (11-4) was not about to go down easy. Stephanie Werner led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, then later scored the tying run on a one-out double by Sarah Field.

After an intentional walk to Lea Diaz, Smith came up and lifted a fly to right center that dropped in over a drawn-in out field for the game winner.

"She's one of our captains and a real clutch hitter," said Rolando. "When they walked Lea to get to her, she was pretty excited about getting the opportunity to win it."

In its first game, the Green Wave was plagued by five errors. Madeline Foehringer took the loss. Kristina Brockner and Kristi Knott had RBI singles.

In its second game, St. Edward trailed Farmington 3-2 after five before rallying for two unearned runs in the sixth and two insurance runs in the seventh.

Field went the distance for the win, allowing just four hits. She also had an RBI single.

Brockner and Knott also had RBI hits in the game.

Veronica Rolando (2-for-4, double) came home to score the winning run on a wild pitch to send the Green Wave to 9-3 overall and 2-0 in the SCC.

St. Edward had tied it up at 4 in the bottom of the seventh when Kristina Kolodziejczyk came in on a sacrifice bunt from Madeline Foehringer.

Stephanie Werner (4-for-5, RBI), Kristina Brockner (3-for-4, double, RBI) and Kristi Knott (2-for-4, double, RBI) all had good days at the plate.

The senior was 2-for-2 and drove in three of the Green Wave's four runs.

St. Edward (8-3, 1-0) also received a strong effort in the circle from Sarah Field, who pitched seven innings and allowed just one unearned run while striking out eight.

St. Edward 27, Rockford Christian 1: Kristi Knott (3 RBI) and Veronica Rolando (6 RBI) each had 4 hits and St. Edward (7-3) pounded out 24 hits in this easy nonconference win. Lea Diaz (5 RBI) added 3 hits for the Green Wave, including a home run, while Kelsey Richmond (3 RBI) added 3 hits including a double. Sarah Field and Madeline Foehringer each pitched 2 innings with Kristina Kolodziejczyk finishing up. Field, who struck out five, was credited with the win.

The Green Wave (6-3) won 5-4 and lost 3-2 in Game 2.

Sarah Field (6-2) was the Game 1 victor, tossing a complete game and allowing only one earned run on three hits and a walk. Field also fanned seven.

Kristi Knott and Megan Smith both had two hits, with Smith and Field each driving in two.

In Game 2 Madeline Foehringer took the loss allowing only one earned run on five hits and four walks. The St. Edward defense committed four errors in the defeat. Lee Diaz went 2-for-3 at the plate.

GENOA -- Having already been on the better part of some early season comebacks, the St. Edward softball team figured the tables would eventually turn at one point or another.

On Wednesday in a non-conference game at Genoa-Kingston, the Green Wave saw a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning turn into a 4-1 loss, snapping a five-game winning streak.

"We had some uncharacteristic one-time mistakes that we'll learn from," said St. Edward coach Mike Rolando. "This is a good one. We came from behind last couple games. We have a lot of good teams on our schedule. Five in a row, then a little setback here, so we're gonna be OK."

The first three batters reached base for the Cogs in the fifth. Jen Clark started it out by coaxing a walk off St. Edward starter Sarah Field. Ashley Paulsen followed with a bunt single on what was supposed to be a sacrifice, and Paige Schons loaded the bases with an infield single that hit off Field's arm.

However, after a strikeout and a forceout at home, the Wave (5-2) was just one out away from escaping unscathed until Jami Miller (2-for-3) stepped to the plate.

The senior gave the Cogs (5-2) their hardest hit ball of the night when she drilled a line drive to the left-center field wall, scoring two and giving G-K a 2-1 advantage. Ashley Miller (2-for-3) then followed with a wind-aided bloop single to plate two more and G-K was well on its way to a 4-1 win.

"Just one bad inning out of seven," Rolando said. "A bunt we couldn't pick up, a ball off our pitcher and a popup the wind just took and we got a little turned around. Nothing that is broke, just caught some bad breaks and (G-K) is a good team and knows how to capitalize."

Field (5-2), a sophomore, pitched all six innings for St. Edward and gave up seven hits with five strikeouts.

"She did a nice job of nipping the outside corners," said G-K coach Mike Lauer. "I think we saw the ball a lot better later and the outside of the plate became kind of the middle. It had to do with seeing her a few innings."

Ashley Miller pitched a complete-game one-hitter for the Cogs and stayed composed throughout, despite a shaky performance from her defense, which committed three errors. The sophomore also struck out eight to improve her record to 2-1.

Field scored on an error in the second inning to give St. Edward its lone run of the game.

In a rematch of last year's sectional final between St. Edward and visiting Timothy Christian, the Green Wave notched a 5-4 win in eight innings Tuesday at the Elgin Sports Complex.

Junior Kristi Knott played the role of hero, doubling in Megan Smith in the bottom of the eighth inning to seal the Wave's win.

St. Edward (5-1) rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the fourth inning.

Sarah Field earned the win in one inning of relief of Madeline Foehringer, who pitched seven innings and allowed just one earned run while striking out seven.

Knott was 2-for-4 on the day. Lea Diaz was 1-for-2 with a home run.

Field also drove in the only 2 runs of the game, knocking out a fourth-inning single that scored Kristina Brockner, who had singled, and Kristi Knott, who had walked.

SOFTBALL

St. Edward sweeps -- The Green Wave beat Aurora Christian twice on Saturday, winning by scores of 11-0 and 13-3. St. Edward (2-1) pounded out 24 hits in a pair of five-inning affairs.

Sarah Field earned both wins in the circle, striking out nine and allowing only one hit in Game 1 and then coming on in relief in Game 2, tossing 4 1/3 innings and allowing only two hits.

Field also led the Green Wave at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three doubles and three RBIs in Game 1. In Game 2 Field belted a grand slam and picked up five RBIs -- one of which came when she was intentionally walked with the bases loaded.

Kristina Brockner had three singles in Game 2, and two RBIs in Game 1. Kristi Knott (4 hits) and Megan Smith (3 hits) each had good days at the plate. Lea Diaz reached base five times in the two games and scored five runs and Steph Werner had two hits and scored three runs in Game 2.

LaFerle, who battled knee injuries while playing on scholarship at Valparaiso, is currently teaching in Japan, according to Rolando, also a Valpo product.

"We are very excited to add another great softball talent to our staff," Rolando said in an e-mail.

Former Elgin High standout Jaci Corn is a current member of the Green Wave staff, serving as head freshman-sophomore coach.

There are times when "on paper" isn't worth the paper it's written on.

Memorial Day afternoon at Benedictine University was one of those times.

Morrison's softball team came into Lisle as the heavy favorite to easily handle St. Edward in the Class 2A supersectional.

And why not?

The Fillies took fourth in the state Class A tournament last year and had not allowed a run in the postseason this year. Their senior pitcher, Ashlie Patten, had struck out 49 batters in the Fillies' four postseason games prior to Monday. They had dusted Byron and Genoa-Kingston by a collective 24-0 in the sectional.

But they hadn't faced the rejuvenated St. Edward Green Wave yet.

Yes, the end result was that Morrison prevailed 6-4 in eight innings. But the Green Wave made such a positive impression on so many people -- and there were a lot of people at this game -- that when the Wave's players, coaches and faithful fans wake up this morning and the tears are gone, they should immediately start looking back on what they accomplished this season and have nothing but smiles on their faces.

What this St. Edward team accomplished this season is scrapbook material for years to come. This was a program in disarray a year ago -- hey, let's face it, there was more negative press about St. Edward athletics as a whole last year than there ever should be at one high school.

The softball program had to let an uncertified coach go just before the start of the season. Coaches came in who tried hard but weren't really softball coaches, and the season ended with just 6 wins, only 21 games played, and people wondering what was going to happen with what everyone knew was a talented group.

Enter Mike Rolando, Scot Brockner, Eloy Diaz and Jaci Corn. With Rolando leading the way, and the entire program showing renewed enthusiasm, the Green Wave won 18 games and played their last contest in a game that no other softball team from Elgin had ever played in -- the supersectional, which we now know as the Elite Eight.

"The one thing we wanted to do was turn this program around and to go to supersectionals is really amazing," said senior co-captain Kelly Knott after Monday's loss. "It hurts to get this far and be one step away (from state). We became such a family this year. We didn't want this to be over yet."

It almost wasn't. The Wave rallied time after time after time, but in the end Morrison pushed across 2 runs in the top of the eighth.

Game over right? Not quite, said St. Edward. Even when Leah Diaz's screamer up the middle was blindly stabbed by Patten to end the game with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, and even as Morrison celebrated another trip to East Peoria, the Green Wave had gained something that someday the girls on the team will understand is just as important as any trip to state, and that's respect.

"That was the best team we've played all year," said Patten. "I've never had a team hit me like that in my life. I don't know if we overlooked them or what but that was an outstanding team."

When an opposing pitcher gives you those kind of props, you know you've done something right.

It's a pretty safe bet the St. Edward softball program is back on the map. There's a lot of people to thank for that -- most notably Kelly Knott, Megan Pozezinski, Erin McGraw, Celeste VonAhnen, Paige Maschinski, Megan Tourtellott and Meghan Petersen, the seven seniors who banded together to lead this team on the field. But every girl and every coach in the program contributed to the rejuvenation.

"We had coaches that believed in us," said junior Megan Smith, who will be one of the team's leaders next year. "Our coaches this year gave us confidence and lit the fire again."

"I'm just so proud of these girls and the way they battled all year," said Rolando, who quarterbacked Larkin's 1990 state quarterfinalist football team and played on the Royals' 1991 Elite Eight baseball team. "They should all keep their heads up and be very proud of what they accomplished. We're graduating seven seniors and we're going to miss them dearly, but we've got some good young girls coming back. This may have been a record-setting year for St. Ed's, but this is what will be expected from now on."

So is the Green Wave's head football coach ready to double up indefinitely?

"This will be a season I'll never forget with so many good memories. I'd say they've motivated me to stick with it," Coach Ro said with a smile.

A smile the entire Green Wave family should be wearing today.

Another great Victory for our Varsity Team.  Jumping out to an 8-0 lead over Lisle in the first 2 innings, our Lady Wave played solid D and got great pitching performances by Sarah Field who pitched 4 innings and Erin McGraw who pitched 3.  Field struck out 2, walked 2, and gave up only 2 hits and an unearned run, then McGraw shut them down striking out two and allowing no hits in the final 3 innings.  The bats woke up long enough to give us 7 hits and 9 Runs in an exciting first 3 innings where we had triples from Kelly and Brockner, doubles by Kelly and Poz, and 3 hits by Kristi.  Kristi also had 2 RBI and Brockner had the other 2.  Lea Diaz laid down a nice Sac Bunt for another RBI.  Kelly got the game started with a triple to lead off the first inning, completed by a text book head first slide!

Great Game Girls! 
Now off to Hampshire!
Don't Let Up!
Coach Ro