The 2 Peoria-area Class 1A and 2A softball teams playing for 2024 IHSA sectional titles

Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star

The Illinois High School Association softball Sweet Sixteen is here.

Class 1A and 2A sectional semifinals set the field of 16 in the two smallest classes on Tuesday. Illini Bluffs is looking for its fifth consecutive Class 1A Elite Eight appearance, while Olympia looks for a sectional title in Class 2A.

IHSA softball: 2024 state tournament bracket, schedule, scores, pairings

Here is what awaits these teams in Friday's sectional finals and how they won in the semis.

CLASS 1A

Illini Bluffs (22-1) vs. Pleasant Hill (26-5)

  • What's next: Host IB faces Pleasant Hill at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Top-ranked IB has made four successive state title games and has outscored its three postseason opponents 35-1. No. 10 Pleasant Hill has never won a sectional, having won three regionals in its last four seasons.

  • How they won: Illini Bluffs used a first-inning grand slam by Morgan Lowe to beat Payson Seymour, 6-1 in Tuesday's sectional semifinal. Illinois State recruit Lexi Brinkman added a third-inning solo shot. The Tigers pounded out five hits including two hits from Brinkman and Sara Finn. Cora Ellison scattered five hits and struck out 10 for IB.

'Amazing': Illinois State recruit has Illini Bluffs softball near fifth straight trip to state finals

CLASS 2A

Olympia (29-1-1) vs. Auburn (26-7-1)

  • What's next: Olympia takes on Auburn at 4:30 p.m. Friday in the Williamsville Sectional title game. The fifth-ranked Spartans look to win their first sectional title since a 2019 Class 2A fourth-place finish. Oly has six state trophies including three state championships. Auburn is the sectional in back-to-back seasons for the second time in program history (2009, 2010).

  • How they won: Olympia rallied for a 9-6 victory over Quincy Notre Dame on Wednesday. The Spartans, who trailed by four runs heading into the top of the seventh, used five hits including two triples to extend their winning streak to 21. Illinois recruit Danika Frazier's run-scoring single started the onslaught, adding two runs off Lydia Rutledge's triple. Two batters later, Sarah Cross knocked home another run with a three-bagger of her own. Frazier struck out six, gave up 13 hits and surrendered five earned runs.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA softball: Roundup of 1A, 2A sectional semifinals in Peoria area

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