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Stanford Olympia, 23-2, seeks to become only the second school in
the 28 years of IESA softball to capture three straight titles.
Perennial powerhouse Casey-Westfield wore the crowns in 1993, 1994
and 1995, during the years of the single-class state series.
Stanford Olympia could become only the second school to win three in
a row. Overall, Casey-Westfield has won six IESA softball state
tournaments. Stanford Olympia has won three of the last seven
titles, winning in the one-class system in 1998 and in Class A in
2003 and 2004. Competition gets under way Friday at 10 a.m. in the
first of four quarterfinal games. Semifinals are set to begin
Saturday at 10 a.m. The third-place game is set for 2 p.m. Saturday,
and the title game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Class A state final also is being played at Champion Fields
in Normal, on different diamonds. The four quarterfinal games in the
Class A tournament are scheduled for Friday, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
The Class AA quarterfinal schedule Friday shows Bloomington
Junior High, 16-7, facing next-door rival Stanford Olympia in the
opener at 10 a.m. In the second game, at noon, Antioch, 12-1, faces
Minooka, 14-4. Williamsville, 27-1, battles upstart Mattoon, 18-1,
in the third quarterfinal game, set for 2 p.m. At 4 p.m., Lincoln
Junior High School, 18-6, meets Momence, 22-5. The eight teams bring
a combined won-loss record of 150-27 -- a dazzling winning
percentage of .847 -- into the state final.
IESA softball began in 1978 and was a one-class state series
until 2001, when the split to Class A and Class AA competition
brought eight teams in each class to the state final. Classes in
IESA two-class competition are determined by evenly dividing the
schools entered in the sport. This year a total of 155 schools
entered the softball series, and 77 began Class AA competition at
the regional level. The Class A enrollment range was from one to 166
for seventh- and eighth-graders. Class AA began at the 167
enrollment mark.
Stanford Olympia’s two losses this year were both on the road to
teams that have qualified for this year’s Class AA finals. On Aug.
11, the Spartans dropped a 6-5 decision at Lincoln. Then, in the
last regular-season game of the year, on Sept. 8, the Spartans lost
8-7 at Williamsville. On Sept. 7, Stanford Olympia beat defending
Class A state champion Streator St. Stephen 3-0.
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 Five of the eight teams in this year’s Class AA field are making
their first appearances in the tournament. In fact, Mattoon entered
its team in the state series for the first time ever. The first-time
qualifiers are Bloomington Junior High School, Antioch, Lincoln
Junior High School and Momence Junior High School. Minooka and
Williamsville are appearing for the second time. Stanford Olympia is
playing in its fourth Class AA state final in the five years it has
existed. In its only other Class AA appearance in 2001, Stanford
Olympia finished third.
The Williamsville-versus-Mattoon quarterfinal game could produce
a team capable of being the stumbling block for Stanford Olympia.
Williamsville’s only loss was 4-3 to Springfield St. Agnes, when the
winners scored in the bottom of the seventh inning. Williamsville
not only beat Olympia in the regular season but also Bloomington and
Lincoln. St. Agnes is playing in the Class A tournament this
weekend. Mattoon’s only loss was to Teutopolis in 10 innings in the
last regular-season game. In the sectional, Williamsville rolled
past arch-rival Riverton 12-2 in the semifinals and then stopped
Edwardsville Lincoln 7-1 for the sectional title. Mattoon stopped
Toledo Cumberland 3-2 in its first sectional game and dumped
once-beaten Newton Jasper County 7-1 to win the sectional.
The winner of the Williamsville-versus-Mattoon game could run
into Lincoln in the second semifinal game Saturday. Lincoln beat
Green Valley Midwest Central 10-0 in the sectional semifinals and
then stopped Quincy 2-1 for the sectional title and a berth in the
last quarterfinal game Friday.
The combined seventh- and eighth-grade enrollment of the 2005
Class AA field is 3,579. Bloomington is the largest, at 863, and
Williamsville is the smallest, at 212. The others are Stanford
Olympia, 339; Antioch, 640; Minooka, 476; Mattoon, 561; Lincoln,
262; and Momence, 226.
[IESA
news release]
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