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Sports

Dukes Fall to Glenbard West in Conference Finale

With a victory, York's softball team would have tied Downers Grove North for the West Suburban Silver title.The Dukes finish 10-2 in the WSS and look ahead to regionals next week.

York’s softball team had an opportunity Wednesday to grab a share of the West Suburban Silver title with Downers North. But it needed a victory at Glenbard West in order for that to happen.

The Dukes, who had defeated the Hilltoppers earlier this season, grabbed a 1-0 first-inning lead yet couldn’t generate any offense the rest of the way and fell to Glenbard West, 5-1.

Downers North, which knocked off Hinsdale Central 12-1 on Wednesday, captured its second consecutive WSS crown.

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“You take care of your own business and we didn’t do that today,” said York coach Tom Babyar. “But I give our kids credit. We had to win three, four, five in a row to get to this position and they did that. We’ve had some close games. We’ve beat Oak Park by two (runs); we’ve beat these guys (Glenbard West) by one (3-2), beat LT by one and won (each of) the games. We weren’t killing people but we were hanging in there and playing tough.”

The Dukes wrapped up their conference season with a 10-2 record for second place, just ahead of the third-place Hilltoppers (9-3).

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“We came out first, got a run early,” Babyar said. “We had a chance in the second (inning), but they (Glenbard West) got through it and you know what? They had a chance to score almost every inning.

“They deserved the game. They out-did us in everything. They outplayed us; they out-coached us. So give them all the credit in the world. They did a better job than we did.”

Gracie Sullivan led off the game for York with a single up the middle, eventually advanced to third and ended up scoring on an infield error.

The Dukes loaded the bases in the second inning as Mary Carol Sullivan and Danielle Morency each singled and Angela Scalzitti walked. However, the runners were left stranded.

Glenbard West put the game away with a three-run sixth inning. Until that inning, starting pitcher Tessa Kroll kept York in it.

Unless the Dukes are able to schedule an opponent or play a makeup game the remainder of the week, their game with Glenbard West on Wednesday was their regular season finale. They currently stand at 18-15 overall.

York, the 14th seed at the Schaumburg Sectional, opens play at the Conant regional at 4:30 p.m. Monday against 19th-seeded Addison Trail.

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