Softball: Group effort sends Barrington to supersectional
DeKALB - Barrington knows it can get a contribution from anyone in the lineup on a given day.
A case in point was Saturday's sectional final against Harlem.
The bottom third of the Fillies' batting order drove in all 4 runs as Barrington downed the Huskies 4-0 to win the Class 4A DeKalb sectional.
Eighth-place hitter Julia Kozar drove in 2 runs. Keenan Dolezal pitched a 3-hit shutout and also drove in a run for the Fillies (31-6), who advance to face Stevenson at 7 p.m. Monday in their own supersectional at the Fields of Dreams.
"We've got 18 girls on this team that really strive to push each and every day," said Barrington coach Perry Peterson. "The best Barrington Filly team we can put on the field is the one where everyone makes a contribution, so some days it's this kid and some days it's that kid. Today it's different than it was the other day."
Dolezal did a good job of mixing up her pitches, keeping the Huskies off balance all day.
"I had a good balance of all the pitches on both sides," she said. "My coaches really knew how to throw to their girls, and my team just came through hitting. It was awesome."
She struck out nine, and few Huskies made solid contact. After Megan Johnson's single leading off the fourth, Dolezal retired nine in a row until walking Dakota Watson to start the seventh. Dolezal got the final 3 outs on 2 popups and a strikeout to nail it down.
The Fillies' offense broke through in the second. Jenna Fingerman and Jamie Brown singled to start it off. After Haley Luczak drew a walk, Kozar plated the first run with a fielder's choice grounder. Dolezal helped her own cause with a shot to short center that scored Brown.
Barrington added a couple of insurance runs in the sixth on RBI singles by Luczak and Kozar.
The top four spots in the Fillies' lineup went a combined 2-for-16, with catcher Rachel Macdonald accounting for both hits. But the last 5 spots went a combined 6-for-14.
Harlem was held to singles in the second third, and fourth innings. The Huskies never got a runner past second base. The Fillies didn't give them anything, either, playing errorless defense.