Illinois sends softball team to Senior League World Series after impressive run to regional title

BYRON CENTER, Mich. — A loss in the opening game of the Senior League Softball Central Regional didn’t put the Illinois District 17 players on their heels.

It motivated them.

The Illinois crew rebounded to win four consecutive games and the regional championship, culminating the run with a 6-3 victory Tuesday night over the Michigan District 9 — the team the Land of Lincolners lost to in the opener — to earn a berth in the 2022 Senior League Softball World Series.

Illinois District 17, which includes players from Brown County, Carthage, Macomb, Pittsfield and Pleasant Hill, will travel to Lower Sussex, Del., for the World Series beginning August 1. Illinois will face the winner of the West Regional in the first game of pool play.

At the Central Regional, Illinois suffered a 14-6 loss to Michigan District 9 as it committed nine errors and allowed just four earned runs.

District 17 committed just five errors the remainder of the tournament.

Illinois beat Michigan’s Taylor Senior All-Stars 6-2 as Pleasant Hill’s Ava Wombles went 2 for 3 with a double. In a 10-0 victory over Missouri’s LaCoMo East All-Stars, Brown County’s Taryn Moorman tossed a six-inning perfect game. She struck out 12. Pittsfield’s Emma Henry went 3 for 4 with three doubles and two RBIs, and Wombles went 3 for 4.

An 11-0 victory over Indiana’s Middlebury All-Stars pushed Illinois into the championship game. Wombles allowed three hits over the first five innings, striking out five. Rushville’s Addie Greene struck out two in one inning of relief. Carthage’s Elly Krieg went 3 for 4 with a double, a home run and six RBIs. Macomb’s Kylie Robinson went 3 for 4.

In the title game, Illinois trailed 3-2 before scoring twice in the sixth and two more times in the seventh. Wombles delivered a two-out, two-run double in the sixth, while Macomb’s Kaitlyn Robinson and Henry each scored on a wild pitch in the seventh.

The Illinois District 17 roster includes Wombles, Moorman, Henry, Greene, Krieg, the Robinsons, Pittsfield’s Grace Henry, Pleasant Hill’s McKinley Lowe and Makenna Winchell, and Havana’s Abby Cowell, Jaylyn Sarnes and Elisabeth Waymire. The coaches are Tom Orr and Richard Henry.