Elena Krause breaks Broncos as Tribe reaches Class 2A Final Four
BOURBONNAIS — Elena Krause stifled the Montini bats and executed in a key moment on offense as the Pontiac ace led the Indians to a 3-0 victory at the Class 2A Olivet Nazarene Supersectional Monday.
The win sends the Tribe to the state semifinals opposite defending champion Rockridge Friday at Louisville Slugger in Peoria. Game time is 3 p.m. The third-place and championship games will be played Saturday afternoon.
“We are excited to continue playing into June and for the excitement of State Final weekend, representing Pontiac and Pontiac softball,” PTHS head coach Nicole Hayner said.
Krause gave up a two-base hit to Kat Filkowski on the first pitch of the game. She then exerted herself in the circle by striking out the next eight batters in breaking the Broncos.
Krause showed the poise of a veteran after allowing the two base hit. She needed 12 pitches — 10 going for strikes — to strikeout the side and leave Filkowski stranded on third. The freshman hurler used 10 pitches to set Montini down in order in the second.
She also struck out the first two batters in the third before retiring the side on a comebacker.
“Elena pitched a phenomenal game on the mound, having the confidence in her defense behind her, letting them make plays when they needed to,” Hayner said of her ace.
Krause was finally able to pitch with a lead after Pontiac batted in the bottom of the third inning. She helped her cause as the Indians put up their three runs.
Brooke Fox led off the Pontiac third by grounding out but the lineup turned over the second time around proved fruitful for the top. Maddie Gourley singled to get things rolling against Montini hurler Kora Navarro. It was the first PTHS base hit of the game.
Gourley stole second on the first pitch and scored when Krause lined a single to center to put the Indians up 1-0. Krause then stole second to get in scoring position with Bailey Masching at the plate.
Masching then singled to center to send Krause home for a 2-0 lead. Masching took second on the throw to the plate. She moved to third when a pickoff attempt resulted failed.
This brought up Rylee Zimmerman, the hero of the sectional title game, who lofted a sacrifice fly to plate Masching for the three-run advantage.
“We played Pontiac softball,” Hayner said. “We had a huge third inning of manufacturing runs. We got runners on, got them over and got them in.”
Now pitching with a cushion, Krause went back to work by striking out the next five Broncos she faced. This whittled down the opportunities for the suburban team, but Montini still tried to make some noise.
Ava Franklin finally broke through for Montini with a base hit. Alexa Bauman followed with a single to put runners on first and second and Krause faced her first serious challenge since the first inning.
The response was in the form of a seasoned veteran — a punch out of Erin Grimsley on three pitches.
Krause showed her dominance over the final two innings with five strikeouts, including setting down the side on strikes in the seventh to keep the season going for the Indians.
Krause finished with a line of 19 strikeouts while allowing just three hits as Pontiac improved to 27-7-1.
On offense, Krause had two hits, drove in a run and scored a run. Masching also had a hit, drove in a run and scored while Gourley singled and scored. Makayla Metz and Mackenzie Coates each singled and Zimmerman had a run batted in.
Pontiac will take on Rockridge in the first Class 2A semifinal game Friday. The second semifinal matchup pitch Illini Prairie Conference rival Tolono (Unity) against Freeburg.
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Elena Krause dominates in circle as Pontiac reaches state finals
