Aaron, Conant living the dream
Conant's softball team is off to a dream start with its perfect 9-0 record.
And it was a sophomore catcher named Dream who helped the Cougars remain undefeated on a cloudy Thursday afternoon in Hoffman Estates.
Dream Aaron went 3-for-3 and cracked the game-winning 2-run single up the middle with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning resulting in the final runs of Conant's 5-3 victory over visiting Barrington.
"My mom's dream was to have a girl as her first child," Aaron said. "So I am mom's Dream."
Aaron also was on the receiving end of a dream pitching performance from her classmate Kali Schumacher (3-0), who struck out 12 batters, including seven in a row for Conant's first 7 outs of the game.
"Kali pitched a great game," said Conant coach CathyAnn Smith, who watched her team improve to 5-0 in the Mid-Suburban West, tied for first with Schaumburg (also 5-0).
"She hit every spot we called and she stayed composed when things weren't going her way. She is a sophomore who shows great maturity. She pitched a great game."
Schumacher trailed 3-1 after Barrington (12-6, 4-2) scored all its runs in the top of the fourth.
Kat Panos led off with a sharp single to center and went to third on Jennifer Inamoto's double off the left field fence. Kelly Katis singled home Panos before Katie Dehnert lined a single to right to score 2 runs.
But the Cougars answered both runs in the bottom of the inning, thanks to Alissa Wachal's third homer of the season (leadoff blast to center) and a RBI single by Elisa Ambrose, who went 3-for-4 with a double to left in the sixth inning.
"Elisa knows how to put the ball in play," said Smith about her leadoff hitter. "What's great is that she can place the ball deep or wherever we need her to hit. And the pressure doesn't get to her."
Ambrose's single drove in Aaron, who had singled to left following a walk to junior first baseman Hailey Rothstein.
Aaron was also involved in the Cougars' first run in the third inning when she doubled to left, then came home when freshman Lauren Grzelak reached on a bunt and went to second on an error.
"Dream has been a catalyst," Smith said. "She's always our voice out there, too. She is one of the best confidence boosters on the team. It's great that she was able to pull though and make things happen for us."
The winning rally started with a one-out single to center by Telly Hunter (2-for-4), the Cougars' clean-up hitter and second baseman who also made a nice forward dive to snare a liner off the bat of Katis in the fifth inning.
Wachal, (2-for-4) followed with a single to left for runners on first and second.
Hunter and Wachal each advanced one base on a wild pitch, setting up Aaron's clutch rip to center field for the 5-3 margin.
"I just try to get hits because that is what I'm working on so hard with my travel team, the Bash, which is such a great organization and all the great morning practices we have here at Conant," Aaron said. "It makes me want to come out here and put the ball in play."
Schumacher's counterpart, Barrington junior Keenan Dolezal (11-6), also showed her skills on the mound.
The Loyola recruit struck out 10, facing one of the most explosive lineups in the area.
"We knew we were going to see some of the best pitching we've seen," Smith said "And Barrington always has good disciplined hitters at the plate."
Eight different Fillies had hits, including a single to left by Erin Ward to start the game followed by Carly Kordich's bunt single which gave the visitors runners at first and second with no outs.
But Schumacher escaped unharmed by striking out the next three batters.
"Conant has an impressive group of athletes," said Barrington coach Perry Peterson who takes his team to the Washington tournament today where he plays at 5 p.m. (against Brimfield, ranked No. 3 in Class 2A) and 6:30 p.m. (against the host Panthers).
"I thought our team competed really well. We'll just keep working hard to get better."