Grohmann’s leads Highland past Mascoutah in regional semis; Bulldogs then secure crown

Highland senior infielder Maggie Grohmann was not particularly happy with her second plate appearance during the IHSA Class 3A Civic Memorial Regional semifinals Tuesday, May 23.

On her last two trips to the dish, however, Grohmann changed that tune and, in the process, gave the Bulldogs’ offense a massive power surge.

Grohmann, who is headed to Southwestern Illinois College to play softball next year, ripped a two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth and then hammered a three-run shot to dead center field in the bottom of the fifth, driving top-seed Highland to 12-2, 10-run mercy rule win over sixth-seeded Mascoutah at Bethalto Sports Complex.

Starting the playoffs with a strong opening-round performance against Mascoutah was a nice feeling for Grohmann as she helped power Highland’s 14-hit attack with a 3-for-4 day with two homers, three runs scored and five RBI.

“I wasn’t really happy with my last at-bat (before the home runs) and I was looking to settle back in and just looking to have a better at-bat and I got some pitches to hit,” Grohmann said.

Seeing the Bulldogs hammer out another 10-plus hit game was a pleasing sight for Highland coach Glen Nicholls.

“We actually had hitting practice before the game today so that when we got here we didn’t have to worry about hitting Wiffle balls. They came to play and I’ve got to give them a ton of credit,” Nicholls said.

Mascoutah jumped on HHS early with two runs in the top of the first as Ellie Lowe and Callie Kunz dropped in run-scoring hits to make it 2-0.

Highland got a run back in the bottom of the first as Grohmann singled, stole second, and then came home on Trauernicht’s base hit. In the bottom of the second, HHS went ahead to stay on a two-out, two-run double by Abbie Schultz for a 3-2 lead as the Bulldogs bats began cracking.

“I think when they got the two runs on us (in the first) it kind of woke us up and we were like okay it’s time to hit and time to play so that definitely to us going,” Grohmann said.

HHS plated two more runs in the bottom of the third off Mascoutah pitcher Haley Frierdich as Trauernicht led off with a triple and followed by Karli Dant’s single off the pitcher. Sophie Parkerson then delivered a two-run triple to centerfield, pushing the gap to 5-2. Parkerson finished 3-for-3 with a run scored and 2 RBI, while Trauernicht went 2-for-3 with one RBI.

“You never know what’s gonna happen in a game like that, but I was really confident that we were gonna get the bats going,” Nicholls said.

Grohmann got her bat going in the bottom of the fourth, hitting a two-run blast over the left field fence to make it 7-2.

Finishing touches on the W

Then, in the bottom of the fifth while holding a 9-2 lead, the Bulldogs launched one final surge to stop the Indians. Grohmann came to bat with runners on first in second and pounded a 1-0 pitch from Mascoutah reliever Ava Moore over the centerfield fence for a game-ending three-run home run that shocked and elated Grohmann and the Bulldogs at the same time.

“My first reaction was I was in shock,” Grohmann said. “I was not really looking to hit it out, but I got the pitch I wanted and I hit it,” Grohmann said.

“Hitting is contagious and it’s one of those things where one of the kids is swinging a good, hot bat and you want to do the same thing ... and it’s fun being around them when they’re swinging the bat like that,” Nicholls said.

Junior pitcher Sophia Donoho took care of the circle for HHS, pitching five innings with six strikeouts, just three hits allowed, no walks, and two earned runs.

Mascoutah finished the season at 10-16.

Sectionals up next

Following the Mascoutah win, Highland (24-7-1) defeated fifth-seeded Civic Memorial (15-14) 12-9 on Friday, May 26, to claim the regional title.

The Bulldogs — who previously defeated the Eagles 9-5 and 11-4 in Mississippi Valley Conference action this spring — now advance to the Highland Sectional where they will face Charleston (25-5) at 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 31.

HHS had several offensive stars against Civic Memorial, including Grohmann (3-for-4, 3 RBI); Trauernicht (2-for-5, 3 RBI); and Alex Schultz (3-for-4, 2 RBI).

Donoho earned the win, striking out 10 in a complete-game effort.

This story was originally published May 23, 2023 at 11:34 PM.