Keating clutch for Warriors Sophomore helps Wheaton Academy advance to regional semifinals.(Sports) - Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)

Byline: Dave Miller Daily Herald Sports Writer

Wheaton Academy has been lifted by freshmen this season, but it was a sophomore who came through when it counted most Thursday.

Rachel Keating picked the right time to break out of a slump. The sophomore delivered a game-winning hit with two out in the bottom of the seventh, giving No. 2 seed Wheaton Academy a 5-4 triumph over seventh-seeded Earlville in a Class A Newark regional quarterfinal in West Chicago.

'I was very nervous because I haven't been hitting that good lately,' Keating said. 'I've just been in a big slump so it feels good to come back.'

The Warriors (16-9) had runners on second and third with one out in the seventh, but it was all left up to Keating after Earlville pitcher Crystal Keller (9-6) recorded the second out with a strikeout.

Keating smacked a deep drive over the right fielder's head to score Lauren Chessum from third for the game-winning run. Wheaton Academy advances to Saturday's semifinal at Newark where it plays third-seeded Yorkville, which defeated No. 6 Plano 7-1.

It will be a rare regional semifinal appearance for Wheaton Academy. The only other time it won a quarterfinal was in 1997.

The young Warriors are on their way up after suffering through 3-17 and 6-16 campaigns the past two years. They do not have a senior on their roster.

'We've turned it around quite a bit,' Warriors coach Chris Hudson said. 'The reason is primarily a couple freshman, Lauren Chessum and Bryanne McClurg.

'It's still a work in progress. We still commit too many errors. We're a young team and there's moments you can tell so we've got a long way to go to arrive.'

Chessum (9-8) gave up 7 hits and 1 walk, while striking out five. Two of the 4 runs she gave up were earned.

Earlville (12-11) took a 1-0 lead on Jen Sampson's RBI double in the top of the first. Wheaton Academy answered with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning on Chessum's 2-run single. Earlville committed 2 of its 4 errors in the first.

'The errors in the first inning came back to haunt us at the end,' Earlville coach Shannon Cook said.

Chessum singled and scored on McClurg's double in the third that gave the Warriors a 3-1 lead. After Earlville scored on Laura Carter's RBI single in the top of the fourth, Alisa Wolfe singled to lead off the bottom of the fourth, stole second and scored on an error to put Wheaton Academy up 4-2.

Keller tied the game with a 2-run homer over the center-field fence in the fifth to set the stage for Keating's heroics. Her game-winner was the 10th hit of the game for the Warriors.

'The last three weeks our averages have dropped steadily,' Hudson said. 'We've been hitting a lot in the last three or four days trying to gear up for her (Keller) and we did hit today.'