Chargers let lead slip away, fall to Turks in regional championship game

TREMONT, Ill. — The Illini West softball team’s start against Tremont on Saturday was everything the Chargers could have asked for, but a seven-run fourth inning led to a 9-7 victory for the Turks in the Class 2A Tremont Regional championship game.

The Chargers scored five runs in the top of the second. Payton Downs drove in Alivia Frazier with a one-out single for the Chargers’ first run. After an Ella Shutwell walk loaded the bases, Natalie Wibbell scored on a wild pitch with Rachel James at the plate to make it 2-0.

James walked, then the floodgates opened. Two straight wild pitches to begin Kaelyn Ferrill’s at bat scored two more runs. Ferrill grounded out to second to score James and extend the Chargers’ lead to five.

The teams traded runs in the third. The Chargers added another tally in the top of the fourth to bring their advantage to 7-1, but that lead slipped away in the bottom of the inning. The Turks scored seven runs on five hits, a walk, three errors, and two hit by pitches to take an 8-7 lead.

Tremont tied the game at seven on a two-out single by Maia Lorengo, then Lilly Elston doubled to drive in Lorengo and give the Turks the lead.

Tremont added an insurance tally on another Chargers error in the fifth.

Illini West (16-11) loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh on an error and singles by Downs and Shutwell, but Turks reliever Maddie Feagin, who didn’t give up an earned run in five innings, induced a James pop out, struck out Ferrill, and got Elly Krieg to fly out to center field to end the game.