Softball | Marist returns to state with 3-0 win over Lockport
By Randy Whalen
Correspondent
Isabel Cunnea has ties to Lockport.
Her mom, Jeanine Ondrus Cunnea, is a 1988 Porters graduate.
After homering against her mom’s alma mater in the IHSA Class 4A Marist Sepersectional, Cunnea also has ties to the RedHawks record book.
Cunnea creamed her 22nd home run of the season, one of a trio of long balls Marist hit in a 3-0 victory that sent them to the state finals for the fourth straight season.
The 22 home runs tied Angela Zedak, a 2019 graduate who just finished her senior season at Northwestern, for the most in a season in program history.
When the RedHawks (35-2) face Barrington at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the state semifinals at Louisville Slugger Stadium in Peoria, Cunnea will get the first of two more opportunities to break that record.
Marist, which is making its seventh downstate appearance since 2012, will look to advance to its third straight state championship game. The RedHawks won Class 4A titles in 2012, 2015 and 2021, and finished runner-up in 2022
Cunnea, a senior center fielder, went back and robbed Lockport junior third baseman Ava Swain of at least a leadoff double in the top of the fifth inning. In the bottom half of the inning, she came up with two outs and none on and crushed a 1-1 pitch for a line shot homer to left to make it 3-0.
“We knew Lockport was a super good-hitting team and we had to keep scoring runs,” Cunnea said. “I mean, it’s really awesome and I’m just so excited to compete with my team again at state.”
The RedHawks also got solo homers from sophomore third baseman Gabi Novickas and junior catcher Caroline O’Brien.
Sophomore right-hander Gianna Hillegonds shut down the Porters (31-9), who were playing in their first supersectional in 18 seasons. Sophomore right fielder Breanna Hanik and senior left fielder Morgan Rogers also made nice defensive plays, with Rogers running to make a diving catch to rob junior left fielder Giuliana Giordano of what would have likely been an RBI double.
Rogers missed last season with a left knee injury and missed a week this season with a facial injury.
“It’s just an amazing feeling and I knew I had to do it for this team,” Rogers said. “I was just reading the ball off the bat and instinctually I was ready.”
The RedHawks now have 91 home runs as a team this season. Every homer added to a new team state record they set this season.
“These girls love to hit,” Marist coach Colleen Biebel said. “They stay after for an extra hour after practice and hit on their own. Every single girl in the lineup can pop one out at any time. Gianna is calm and collected out there and she’s only a sophomore.
“We are just looking at the next game but our girls have played on this stage before. So they don’t get too high or too low.”
Local News
Mother Mac unveils new lights and scoreboard
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Across the nation, women’s sports are on the rise in terms of viewership, enthusiasm, sponsorship and excitement. Mother McAuley is no stranger to the impact that women’s athletics has on the development of an individual, strengthening of a team and key skills and attributes developed along the way. South Side…
Sign changes cause controversy in Orland Park
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Despite a controversy about signage, the Frederick T. Owens Village Hall, the William R. Vogel Civic Center and the Franklin Loebe Recreation Center will continue to be named after those three historic Orland Park men. “Nothing has changed,” Mayor Keith Pekau said after the May 6 meeting. But a recent…
Cicadas in the park in Palos Park
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Cicadas are coming and the Village of Palos Park is ready. The village hosted its 31st annual Arbor Day Celebration on Sunday, May 5, themed, “The Wonder of Trees” at The Center in the Lodge, 12700 Southwest Highway, with featured speaker, Tricia Bethke of The Morton Arboretum who presented, “Cicadas…
Palos Heights SD 128 sees enrollment boom
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Over the past few years, Palos Heights School District 128 has experienced an explosive growth among incoming students. There has been a significant increase particularly at Indian Hill Early Learning Center, 12800 S. Austin Ave. Chippewa Elementary School, 12425 S. Austin Ave; Navajo Elementary School, 12401 S. Oak Park Ave;…
Comings & Goings: Orange’s Pancake House now open in Palos Heights
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Palos Heights is the home of a popular new breakfast café. Orange’s Pancake House, 11845 Southwest Highway, held a ribbon-cutting event on April 18. Owners, Elvia Briones, of Virgina, and Fernando Cruz, of Evergreen Park, said they were very excited to be in the heart of the Palos Heights community.…
Sisters make Chicago Lawn a world destination
Spread the love. Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 . Earlier this month was the Fifth Lithuanian Documentary Film Festival, with distinguished guests from Lithuania and other parts of the United States visiting the neighborhood. They held a photo session in the editorial office of…
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone, everyone
Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 517-7796 . Yet another Mother’s Day is upon us. I wish everyone a happy day. By everyone I do mean everyone. There are a lot of dads who do it alone, along with important mother…
Mother’s Day is truly a day to be celebrated
Spread the love. Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . Mother’s Day happens on Sunday, May 12. If this isn’t something to celebrate, I don’t know what is. Motherhood means new life, new beginnings, new possibilities. Even if you won’t be seeing your mom, you can still…
Boys Volleyball | Marist tops Nazareth for ninth straight win
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Marist ran its winning streak to nine game with a 25-16, 25-17 victory over East Suburban Catholic Conference rival Nazareth on May 2. The win streak is the RedHawks’ second longest streak of the season after their season-opening 12-match run. Eight of the nine matches during the current streak…
Neighbors
State officials offer last goodbye to former Thompson Center as renovations begin
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State officials kicked off the private renovation of the building which once served as the state government’s Chicago headquarters. The James R. Thompson Center, as it was known under state ownership, was sold in 2022 to a development firm that is renovating the building for its…
Public officials seek greater oversight of prescription drug middlemen
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois draju@capitolnewsillinois.com As state lawmakers hold hearings targeting the role of pharmacy benefit managers – an influential arm in how the health insurance industry prices prescription drugs – multiple state agencies are considering how to better regulate the industry. Often referred to as pharmaceutical “middlemen,” PBMs act as third-party intermediaries…
Thousands of youths at risk of losing access to after-school programs
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Advocates for community-based after-school programs say as many as 40,000 youths statewide could lose access to tutoring services, recreation and other extracurricular activities this summer unless Illinois lawmakers approve an infusion of funds to keep them going. “The time is now for legislators to act to…
Lawsuit alleges sexual abuse was rampant in state-run juvenile detention centers
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Rampant sexual abuse occurred unchecked for decades at Illinois’ juvenile detention centers, a new lawsuit filed on behalf of 95 former detainees alleges, citing hundreds of incidents over more than two decades. The plaintiffs were boys between 12 and 17 years old when the alleged abuse occurred and…
House GOP advances 2 human trafficking victim protection bills as others remain in limbo
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com After Illinois received another failing grade from a national advocacy group, state House Republicans have introduced legislation aimed at further protecting victims and prosecuting perpetrators of human trafficking. Shared Hope International, an advocacy organization that works to prevent sex trafficking, said in its 2023 Illinois report card that…
Remembering Lee Milner
NEWS TEAM Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com On Wednesday, April 17, the Springfield, Illinois Capitol and journalism communities lost a devoted friend and advocate when Lee Milner passed away. As Dean Olsen wrote in his piece in the Illinois Times earlier this month, “Readers of Illinois Times often have seen Milner’s work as a freelance photojournalist. But…
Former state trooper who caused fatal crash halts effort to get driving privileges restored
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com The former Illinois State Trooper who pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter of two sisters in 2007 has abandoned his efforts to have a hearing into the restoration of his driving privileges – for now. Matt Mitchell, 45, requested at least two delays in the hearing after he failed…
Flooding is Illinois’ Most Threatening Natural Disaster. Are We Prepared?
by Meredith Newman, Illinois Answers Project April 16, 2024 This story was originally published by the Illinois Answers Project. The electricity in Mary Buchanan’s home in West Garfield Park was not working – again. The outage lasted four days, starting just after a crew dug up her front lawn to install a check valve in…
Lawmakers pitch sweeping changes to energy industry and Chicagoland transit system
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com A group of lawmakers and influential environmental advocates are calling for broad changes to the state’s energy industry and a massive increase in state oversight of Chicagoland’s transit system – which faces a projected $730 million budget shortfall. Advocates for the policy platform, which is broken up into…
Democrats flex muscle to kick off final month of session as revenues remain on track
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – With about three weeks to go before the Illinois General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn its spring legislative session, supermajority Democrats showed their strength this week as fiscal forecasters noted state revenues remain on track. April is typically a make-or-break month for state coffers, as income…