SPORTS SPOTLIGHT BY JOHN MONTGOMERY
To say that Lane has dominated high school softball in the Chicago Public League would be an understatement. If Marshall was queen of girls basketball with 22 shields then Lane is king of boys 16 inch softball with 12 championships. The Champions dominated girls’ softball with 16 titles including 11 crowns this century.
The school now nicknamed Champions was denied another championship banner losing 10-0 Farragut in the semifinals of the city tournament at Hamlin Park.
"They were definitely the better team today," Lane head coach Mario Nunez said after the loss.
"Unfortunately, we couldn't execute today. It is going to be a nice rivalry for us in years to come."
It was evening of surprises on the softball diamond as Payton stunned top seeded Taft 10-5 while Farragut (15-3) used an unprecedented 14-run first inning to beat Payton in the title game 14-2 by slaughter rule. Payton beat Farragut last season in the semifinals. For the Admirals it was the school's first varsity CPS championship since winning soccer in 2006.
"Simple do what you did in the last game," Farragut head coach Cary Bolnick stated on his surprising Saturday in October at Hamlin Park.
Payton won softball title in 2024 beating Lane 7-6.
"It was mental lapses that hurt us," Taft head coach Tommy Angsten said who was former softball player at Lane. "The pressure got to them and we made mistakes."
CPS added boys’ softball as a varsity sport in 1999 with Schurz winning the first inaugural tournament. Former St Benedict grad Tom Horn who is now living in Las Vegas guided Lane to the first softball shield ever in 2000. Boys’ softball is played during fall along with football and volleyball while the girls play in the spring along with baseball.
The coaches in the Chicago Public League are hoping to talk with IHSA officials about making softball which is one of the most popular recreational sports in Chicago a sanctioned sport similar to girls’ flag football.
For now, after final softball game of the season Farragut can say we are the champions after scoring 24 runs against two of the top four seeds as pitcher Robert Trejo won both games for the Admirals.