By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

It’s been nearly 15 months since high school postseason sports of any kind have been played in Illinois.

And for spring sports, it’s been two years.

But the goal in postseason hasn’t changed at all.

Survive and advance.

And that’s what the Teutopolis Lady Shoes did Thursday afternoon.

They didn’t capitalize on all their scoring opportunities, but they scored enough.

Their pitcher didn’t have her best game, but she was good enough.

And when the final out was recorded, the Lady Shoes had an 8-4 victory at home over Newton in an opening-round game of the Class 2A Regional A.

“It’s playoff time,” THS coach Crystal Tipton said. “I felt it all day. It’s exciting.

“COVID ruined everything last year,” Tipton added. “So it was great to be playing in the postseason again. We had a great crowd and it was a great atmosphere.”

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Courtney Gibson pitched a strong game, but Maggie Ward was even better.

Ward allowed just three hits, pitching St. Joe-Ogden to a 2-0 victory at home Wednesday afternoon over Teutopolis.

Gibson gave up just six hits and two runs – both scoring in the third inning. She walked two and struck out four.

But Ward was even stingier. She allowed singles to Kaylee Niebrugge in both the second and seventh and another to Emily Konkel in the fourth. Ward didn’t walk a batter and struck out two while throwing just 67 pitches.

SJO combined three hits and a wild pitch to score its two runs in the third inning.

The Lady Shoes dropped to 12-9 overall. They are scheduled to return home to face Pinckneyville on Friday and will then play at Effingham on Saturday.

Paige Cutright was dominant on the mound and Addie Squires delivered the walk-off hit in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving Casey-Westfield a 1-0 victory at home Tuesday over Teutopolis.

The game was scoreless as the Lady Warriors came to bat in the bottom of the seventh. Emma Mason walked with one out. Carley Zachary got a base hit with two outs and Squires then delivered the game-winning single to give the hosts the win.

Cutright allowed just four hits over seven innings of work. She didn’t walk a batter and struck out six while throwing 88 pitches.

The Lady Shoes got singles from Daischa Piedra in the second and Danielle Sarchet in the third. T-Town got two hits in the sixth. Sarchet had a lead-off single, but was erased in a double play. Emily Konkel then had a two-out base hit.

Tia Probst also turned in a terrific pitching performance, but was the tough-luck loser. She gave up five hits and the one run, while walking one and striking out three.

The Lady Shoes are now 13-12 overall. They will now enter the postseason. THS will play at home Thursday against Newton at 4:30 p.m. T-Town is seeded No. 4 in the Class 2A Regional A, while Newton is seeded No. 5. The regional championship will be played Friday.

Mattoon scored three runs in the fourth to take the lead and that was enough for Raven Morrison, who pitched the Lady Green Wave to a 4-1 softball victory Tuesday afternoon at Teutopolis.

Morrison allowed only four hits and two walks, while striking out eight, in her seven-inning, 104-pitch performance.

T-Town took a 1-0 lead in the second. Kaylee Niebrugge walked, went to second on a passed ball and scored on a two-out single by Estella Mette.

But Mattoon responded in the fourth, combining three singles, a hit batter, a walk and an error to score three times. The Lady Green Wave added a single tally in the fifth.

Tia Probst took the loss for the Lady Shoes. She went seven innings and allowed nine hits and four runs, while walking three and striking out four.

The Lady Shoes dropped to 12-8 overall and 2-4 in the Apollo Conference. They are scheduled to play today (Wednesday) at St. Joe-Ogden and then return home to face Pinckneyville on Friday.