Central Illinois team wins Senior League Softball World Series over defending champion
With the tying run at first base and two outs, Springfield High School junior-to-be Mia Volpert fielded a grounder from Lindsay Talafuse and threw to first base for the final out as Illinois District 17 won the Senior League Softball World Series 5-4 over defending champion Texas in nine innings on Sunday in Deleware.
Volpert pitched all nine innings, allowed nine hits, one earned run, three walks and she struck out six. She also hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning that gave Illinois a 3-2 lead.
The team went 4-0 in regionals to qualify for the World Series. In pool play, District 17 steamrolled to a 4-0 record 37-7. The closest game in pool play came in a 3-2 win over Canada. In the quarterfinal round, Illinois walloped Puerto Rico 16-0 and defeated Hawaii 9-0 to reach the title game.
In the championship game, Pleasant Plains’ Aspen Kitowski went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, Volpert was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored and Caitlin Bunte of Quincy Notre Dame doubled twice and drove in a run. Texas took a 2-1 lead after the third inning but Kitowski singled home Cora Ellison, of Glasford Illini Bluffs for the tying run.
In the top of the ninth, Hardin Calhoun’s Audrey Gilman bunted to score Beardstown’s Vanessa Nunez to give Illinois a 4-3 lead. After Concord Triopia’s Mylee Tracy reached on a fielder’s choice, Kitowski singled to center field to score Tracy for a 5-3 lead.
Texas got within a run in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t close the gap.
Volpert went 4-0 in the tournament with a 0.30 ERA over 23 1/3 innings pitched. She struck out 20, walked five and allowed 15 hits. Volpert also led the Illinois team in average (.526 batting average, 10-for-19), RBIs (10), on-base percentage (.591), slugging percentage (1.105) and she and Ellison tied for the team lead with three home runs apiece.
It was the second straight year District 17 qualified for the Senior League Softball World Series. The 2022 team lost in the quarterfinals.
The Illinois District 17, based out of Beardstown, has seven players in The State Journal-Register's coverage area: Volpert, Chatham Glenwood’s Taryn Griffith, Kaydi Miller and Jaylynn Sarnes, both of Havana, Vanessa Nunez of Beardstown, Pleasant Plains’ Aspen Kitowski and Italee Ford of Rushville-Industry. The other players include Pleasant Hill’s Ava Wombles, Caitlin Bunte of Quincy Notre Dame, Audrey Gilman of Hardin Calhoun, Macomb’s Kylie Robinson, Cora Ellison of Glasford Illini Bluffs, Pittsfield’s Emma Henry and Grace Henry as well as Concord Triopia’s Mylee Tracy.
The head coach is Tom Orr of Beardstown. His assistant coaches are Franklin’s Richard Henry and Macomb's Shawna Robinson.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois District 17 tops Texas in Senior League Softball World Series
