For senior Ellie Kolb and junior Molly Mullen, the joy of the Class 3A downstate berth with the Fenwick High School softball team began with the trip to Peoria.
“The bus rides [were memorable],” Kolb reported. “Whether it was from Fenwick to Peoria or from the fields to the hotel, chattering with the girls and blasting music was so much fun.”
The Riverside residents enjoyed quite a journey this season. Fenwick (19-8) not only achieved its first downstate berth since 1998 but finished a program-best third by beating Waterloo 4-2 on Saturday after losing to state champion Pontiac 10-0 in five innings in Friday’s semifinals.
The 1998 Friars finished fourth in Class AA, the program’s only other downstate berth.
“This is an awesome accomplishment,” Mullen said. “We all knew we were going to break history if we won at least one game. This is a great feeling and I am so proud of all of my teammates. We blasted music and talked the whole way down. It was so much fun and we were all in it to win it.”
First-year head coach Valerie Jisa, also a Riverside resident, served as an assistant in 2023. A Riverside resident since 2010, she lives with husband Wendell, a 1990 Fenwick alum, and their three children.
“So proud they made it there. I am on cloud nine,” she said. “The bonding experience for these girls in the hotel, on the bus, seeing these other amazing softball players and to show what it looks like to be an athlete, it was bigger than anything I can imagine and bigger than the wins and losses.”
Completing her third varsity season, Mullen started at first base on Saturday and Friday. Mullen batted .205 in 24 games with one home run, six runs batted in and two doubles.
Kolb was among three four-year varsity players and six seniors. She had six RBIs and two doubles in 14 games, often contributing as a pinch or courtesy runner. She did not play Friday and missed Saturday’s game because of a pre-scheduled graduation trip to Europe with her twin sister.
“Though I wasn’t there physically, I was there in spirit. I followed the game through the livestream on GameChanger,” she said.
Saturday’s comeback exemplified the Friars’ spirit. Against Pontiac (31-7), they were held to a single by junior Teresa Nevarez with two outs in the fifth as junior pitcher Elena Krause (24-5), a Stanford commit, had 12 strikeouts and no walks. Junior Leah Lowery also reached base in the fifth on a dropped third strike.
“After the game, their next goal was, ‘Let’s go out with a bang and try to secure the third-place trophy,’” Jisa said.
Fenwick broke a scoreless tie with Waterloo (28-8) with a four-run third behind five hits from junior Gabriella Simon (double), freshman Bella Bigham (RBI single), senior Maddie Entler (RBI double) and Lowery and Nevarez (RBI singles). Senior winning pitcher Sophie Stone (8-2) struck out 10 over the final five innings.
“We kept the same energy we had on the bus ride down. We did some team bonding on Friday night and came back ready to play on Saturday,” Mullen said. “From the first day in the weight room, the coaching staff has brought nothing but positive energy, especially Coach Jisa. All of my teammates and I have been engaged and excited to play each game. The dugout atmosphere is positive and keeps us all motivated to do our best.”
The Friars have won three straight regional titles. When Kolb, Entler and Stone were freshmen on varsity, the Friars were 3-22.
“Our team culture, thanks to my teammates and the coaching staff, has been vibrant this year, which I believe contributed greatly to our success,” Kolb said.
“We focused on the process all season, not an end point. The one goal was to be better than we were last year (16-15), which we crushed. Placing third is such an accomplishment within itself, but it also leaves room for even more growth in the years to come.”
