LANE WINS PLAYOFF OPENER IN SOFTBALL
By John Montgomery
Lane begins its quest this week to win its fifth straight Public League softball championship. The Indians(19-13) will try to regroup from embarrassing losses to Willowbrook and Young last week.
The Indians started defense of their city title on Monday with a 12-2 win over Amundsen in the opening round of the CPS softball playoffs.
Lane finished third in the Fenton tournament this past weekend after losing the section title with a 9-6 loss to Young.
Lane ended the regular season with a 7-4 victory over Waukegan to earn third place at Fenton. The Indians lost to Willowbrook 4-3 a team that they had beaten earlier.
“Absolutely, I was disappointed,” Lane head coach George Stavrakas. “Our mindset going into Fenton we were looking at this tournament like a regional. We had a nice win Friday. We lost to Willowbrook who we had beaten. We played at 8 am on Saturday morning and played it like an 8 am game. Our base running killed us.”
“It was really disappointing,” said junior pitcher Kaleigh Ambrose who has won 13 games. “We lost our focus. It was a good lesson. It kind of woke us up. We really weren’t into this tournament for some reason. We thought we could win it. We might have been overconfident (against Willowbrook).”
Lane’s title dreams may rest with Ambrose who is also the team’s leadoff hitter. The Indians are talented but inexperienced with seven freshman in the starting lineup.
“I believe in the freshman,” Ambrose admitted. “They are so amazing. I can’t imagine how good they will be as seniors.”
Stavrakas has a different philosophy and he put his most talented hitter at the top of the lineup. So far it has paid dividends as Ambrose batted .426 with five homers and 24 RBI during the regular season.
Ambrose has been a fixture in Lane’s lineup since freshman year and batted .376 with 42 RBI as a sophomore.
Another bad day at the office occurred for Lane in a 9-6 loss to Whitney Young. The Indians fell behind 9-3 after beating the Dolphins in the first matchup 8-1. The loss was costly as Lane was seeded third in Public League playoffs while giving Northside Prep the section championship.
Lane is obviously looking forward to a rematch in the city semifinals.
“With young kids, you don’t know what team will show up,” Stavrakas said after the loss to Young. “This is the first time I didn’t talk to the team after the game. We had an all-around bad game. We had a nice meeting on Friday.”
“We will win city,” proclaimed Ambrose who believes in her teammates.
Two key contributors for this season have been pitcher Avelyss Roman and catcher Emily Espinosa. Roman is expected to become the ace after Ambrose departs while Espinosa plays an important role as the team’s starting catcher.
“She’s one of the best catchers I’ve had as a pitcher,” said Ambrose who played against Espinosa in travel softball. “We work real well together. She has thrown a lot of people. She’s an awesome hitter. I always noticed her(as an opposing player).”
Roman won the section opener against Lincoln Park.
Stavrakas was impressed with Ambrose as a freshman.
“She has the physical tools to play softball,” Stavrakas said on his superstar who also plays basketball. “I’ve not seen a kid hit the ball the way she does at the plate. Relatively speaking, she’s the best pitcher I’ve seen this year with the exception of two other kids. She’s one of the best pitchers in the Chicago area.”
Ambrose will probably play shortstop at the college and currently plays for the Oak Park Windmills during the summer. Ambrose is also hoping to play for the Chicago Bandits in the future.
One thing that Lane would like to accomplish is advance downstate.
“My goal is to be playing in the month of June,” Stavrakas said on the upcoming state playoffs. “I think this group has the potential to get to a supersectional. There is a great opportunity in the next two years for this group to make a run(in the state playoffs). ”
This team has been plagued by inconsistent play and probably can’t afford a bad inning in the state playoffs against tougher competition.
Michigan had the “Fab Five,” in college basketball, and Lane is hoping for success in the state playoffs over the next four years with its “super seven”.
Will this act play in Peoria ?
