TOLONO — Shelby Smith thought it was a ball.
So did Matt Reed.
But when the Unity junior third baseman stepped back in to the batter’s box during the top of the third inning of a still scoreless Class 2A softball sectional championship game after taking an inside fastball on a 3-0 count for a strike, Smith and Reed, the Rockets’ coach, were sure glad the previous pitch from Normal U-High right-hander Makenzie Post found the strike zone.
Because Smith launched a two-run home run on the next pitch from Post, easily clearing the left-center field fence at the Rockets’ home field and setting off an offensive barrage from the rest of Unity’s talented lineup on Saturday.
The end result? A comfortable 16-1 win against the seventh-seeded Pioneers that had top-seeded Unity celebrating its first 2A sectional championship since 2022 by doing a victory lap around its field and receiving high-fives from its loyal fan base after the latest record-setting win.
These Rockets (33-4) are already the winningest team in program history and are now only one victory away from the program’s third trip to the state tournament in the last five seasons.
Unity will try to ensure it spends next weekend at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria when they play Auburn (23-5) at 4:30 p.m. on Monday in a super-sectional game at Workman Family Softball Field on the Millikin University campus in Decatur.
“This is a special group,” Reed said. “Regardless of what happens, they just prove themselves time and time again.”
Like Smith setting the tone on Saturday. Post had only given up a leadoff single to Jenna Adkins by the time Smith, Unity’s No. 8 hitter, stepped to the plate. But with Unity right fielder Korina Finical on first base after leading off the third with a walk, Smith connected on the first of six home runs hit by the Rockets to stake Unity to a 2-0 lead.
“I just saw the pitch was on the inside and I had to turn on it,” said Smith, who went 2 for 3 with three RBI, two runs scored and a walk. “Hitting a home run in a sectional championship game is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Mission accomplished. Then, the rest of her teammates got in on the fun. After U-High (19-17) scored its lone run on an RBI single by shortstop Meera Sundaram in the bottom of the third to cut the Pioneers’ deficit to 2-1, Unity catcher Grace Bickers led off the top of the fourth with a solo home run over the center-field fence to put Unity ahead 3-1. Three pitches later, Unity first baseman Sophia Beckett joined the home run parade with a solo shot over the left-center field fence to bump Unity’s lead to 4-1.
It was the first of two home runs in the game by Beckett. One of four seniors on the team, along with Jenna Adkins, Lindy Bates and Maegan Rothe, Beckett circled the bases again after she hit a three-run home run in the top of the seventh that was part of an eight-run outburst as the Rockets increased their lead from 8-1 at the start of the inning to 16-1 by the time the bottom of the seventh rolled around.
“These are happy tears,” Beckett said with a laugh as she wiped her eyes on the field after the game. “I didn’t think I would get emotional, but with the the last out, it’s just surreal. We’ve worked all year for this, and this is what we wanted to do. It’s good to see it come through in the last game at home and get the job done.”
Beckett finished 3 for 5 with four RBI and three runs scored.
“The first home run, I knew she was down in the count, so I was expecting something over the plate,” Beckett said. “The second one, I just told myself, ‘This is my last at-bat at home. Hopefully I can get the runners across.’ I didn’t expect that, but I’m grateful for it.”
The Rockets compiled 19 hits off Post and U-High reliever Grace Gaddis, who entered the game with two outs in the top of the fifth and Unity leading 8-1. Every Unity starter either had at least one hit, reached base at least once or scored at least one run.
“That’s what they’ve been doing all year,” Reed said. “I’m not surprised we hit, but I am surprised we hit like this.”
Adkins was 3 for 5 with two RBI coming off a two-run home run she hit over the center-field fence that extended Unity’s lead to 6-1 in the top of the fifth. Reese Frye, Unity’s sophomore second baseman and the Rockets’ No. 9 hitter, went 3 for 4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Her two-run home run over the left-center field fence in the top of the seventh pushed Unity’s lead to 13-1. Even sophomore pinch-hitter Bailee Gadeken contributed, with the sophomore drilling an opposite-field two-run double into the right-center field gap that started the scoring spree in the top of the seventh to pad Unity’s lead at 10-1.
“We had good at-bats all up and down the lineup. We worked counts well,” Reed said. “Here’s the deal: U-High has a lot of young players, and we have a lot of older players. This game is at home for us, and it’s one we needed to win.”
Making sure the Rockets did that fell on Unity’s offense. But Bates kept U-High off-balance in throwing a complete game to record the win. The right-hander scattered five hits, worked out of her only jam in the bottom of the third by getting a ground ball to leave two runners on base for the Pioneers and struck out three.
Saturday’s win was the third sectional title in Bates’ high school career, with the Parkland College recruit a staple of Unity’s successful run since she was a freshman. The last time, however, Unity hosted a sectional title game, the Rockets lost 8-6 to St. Anthony in 2023.
Bates, the losing pitcher in that game two years ago, didn’t want to experience the feeling again.
“I know even if I give up one or two runs, my hitters have my back and my defense has my back,” Bates said. “It’s a better feeling every single time in the postseason. We just celebrate each other. It’s such a special time.”
The Rockets’ time together will continue into Monday. And, if they have any say, well into next week, too.
“This season has been so much fun,” Smith said. “It’s like our comeback year. This year, at the beginning, we set a bunch of goals as a team. We haven’t accomplished all of them yet, but we’re getting there.”
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