Warren's Egofske bounces back powerfully at Barrington
Warren junior Julienne Egofske was very upset with her hitting performance on Tuesday against Lake Zurich.
"I had a horrible day, 0-for-4," the designated player said. "I was mad at myself and was afraid I wouldn't be hitting (Wednesday) either. But I said to myself 'No, I am going to find a way.' "
Did she ever.
In her last two at-bats of the championship game of the ninth annual Barrington Spring Fling softball tournament, Egofske hit 1-2 pitches over the fence at the Fields of Dreams for a 2-run homer in the sixth and a grand slam in the seventh.
Batting No. 2 in the order for the Class 4A defending state champs, Egofske accounted for the all the RBI in Warren's 6-0 shutout over the host Fillies.
Sophomore Hannah Nommensen earned the win with her first shutout of the season. The right-hander struck out nine while tossing a 3-hitter and ending Barrington's string of seven straight tourney championships.
The Fillies (2-1) had won 23 straight games in their own season-opening tournament.
Nommensen (3-0) and Barrington senior Keenan Dolezal (2-1) were in a scoreless pitchers' duel when Penn State recruit Emily Hudgins, a sophomore, led off the top of the sixth with an infield hit.
That brought up Egofske for her third at-bat after a strikeout and groundout.
Warren first-year coach Jenna Anderson said one of the reasons she had Egofske batting No. 2 was the junior's bunting ability.
"I didn't get the first two bunts down," Egofske said of her sixth inning at-bat. "So I just said to myself, 'just a single, just a single.'"
Instead, she powered a towering drive to dead center field which just cleared the fence and leaping center fielder Carly Kordich for the Blue Devils' 2-0 lead.
Dolezal, who struck out 11, retired the next three batters.
The Fillies threatened in the bottom of the inning when they loaded the bases with two outs - Liz Sweeney (walk), Rachel Macdonald (single to right) and Kelly Katis (walk).
But Nommensen escaped with a strikeout and got 4 more insurance runs with Egofske's two-out homer over the left field fence in the top of the seventh.
Catcher Crystal Pennell led off the inning with a walk.
Mollie Peter dropped a soft liner into left field for a one-out hit and Amber Leneau reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases.
Two batters later, the count went to 1-2 on Egofoske again.
"I'm very aggressive," said Egofske, whose father Mark is the Niles North head football coach. "So a lot of time I'm behind in the count."
She put the fourth pitch behind the left field fence for a grand slam in only her third varsity game.
"I knew Julienne was a versatile player," said Anderson, who played in the Spring Fling for three years when she was a Blue Devil before joining Millikin's softball squad. "We have her in the designated player spot because we know she can bunt, but it was her power that paid off this game."
Egofske was the only player with 2 hits. Shannon McKeon, Pennell, Peter and Hudgins each had 1 apiece for Warren.
Barrington's 3 hits (Jenna Fingerman, Rachel Macdonald and Nicole Chapman) all came in the fifth and sixth innings.
"I thought it was a great game for an early season matchup," said Barrington coach Perry Peterson. "We were right there with them. We had a chance in the fifth inning to take the lead (runners on second and third with one out) and in the sixth. It just didn't work out for us. We will work a little harder to get a little better."
Nommensen's first shutout of the season included four innings where she retired the side in order.
"Hannah is one of the most poised pitchers I have seen," Anderson said. "She doesn't get rattled much and we are happy to have her."