MOLINE, Ill. • O'Fallon softball coach Kate Walsh struggled to hold back her emotions.
After watching host Moline defeat her Panthers 7-2 in Saturday's Class 4A sectional final, her thoughts turned to her four seniors.
"My seniors have been with us for four years, so yeah, its hard," Walsh said, fighting back tears. "Pitcher, catcher, first base."
Michelle Craddick, Kelsie Stoszkus, Lauren Smith and Erica Wilson have been the backbone to Walsh's squad. Their experience, though, couldn't deliver a playoff win Saturday.
O'Fallon (27-5) had its chances to score against Moline ace Jordan Kasbohm but struggled to capitalize. Kasbohm walked the bases loaded in the first inning with one out, but the Panthers came away empty-handed.
"Honestly, I want to say we had 10, 11, maybe 12 baserunners throughout the whole game, and we've got to push those across," Walsh said.
O'Fallon's two runs that came in the fourth and fifth innings were unearned.
Lauren Marlinghaus collected two of the five Panthers hits, both doubles. Kasbohm managed to keep slugger Smith in check, holding her to a third-inning single.
"She (Kasbohm) worked the corners a lot," Smith said. "She worked her up and low. She moved it around a lot. It's a lot different than how it is around us where the pitches are moving in and out on us. Here, they move more up and down."
The quartet of Emily Rasche, Miranda Marion, Kayla Behrens and Hayley Marlier recorded seven of Moline's 12 hits.
No. 9 hitter Marlier broke the game open during Moline's five-run fourth inning with a two-run single.
Moline (26-8-1) got its offense revved up in the third inning when leadoff hitter Kaitlyn Knary blasted a double off the left-field fence that nearly went out. She scored two batters later on a Jordan de los Reyes RBI single.
Of the 10 hitters that Moline sent to the plate against O'Fallon, eight collected a hit against Panthers pitcher Stoszkus, something Moline coach Mark Gerlach had thought might happen.
"I think we hit faster pitchers better," Gerlach said. "I think this pitcher was more our speed. The Normal (Community) pitcher (Nicole Nonnenmacher) had a very, very good rise ball. I think people see that speed and think that's everything. It's not. Movement is, and I think we came out here and hit this girl a lot harder."
Stoszkus allowed 12 Moline hits, though only four of the seven runs were earned. She walked two and struck out two.
