Softball: Huntley finishes perfect at Marengo tourney

Because of a scheduling conflict there was not actually an "official" title game at the Marengo Softball Tournament on Saturday.

However, Huntley can certainly stake a claim as the uncrowned champion. The Red Raiders were the only team to finish the tournament 3-0.

Huntley (21-5) knocked off Bishop McNamara 9-5 in the semifinals while Hampshire came from behind to beat Montini 5-4 in 8 innings in the other semifinal. Huntley and Hampshire were scheduled to meet in the championship game, but since the two teams play each other Monday in a Fox Valley Conference game the coaches from both teams decided not to play one another.

Instead Huntley faced off against Montini and Hampshire squared off against Bishop McNamara. While the Whip-Purs fell 6-2 to Bishop McNamara, the Red Raiders rolled past defending state champion Montini 11-6 in the final round.

Earlier this week Huntley had a 15-game winning streak snapped by Cary-Grove,

"I couldn't be prouder of the girls," Huntley coach Mark Petryniec said. "That was a tough loss against Cary-Grove earlier this week and to be able to bounce back and play this well against some of the top teams in the state says a lot about our team."

Huntley's Autumn Kasal ripped a line drive 2-run homer to right center in the 7th inning against Montini to break a 6-6 tie. The Red Raiders tacked on 3 more unearned runs in the inning.

"Their pitcher had been throwing it outside all game," Kasal said. "So I went up there looking to go the other way. A lot of people might get stressed when the game is close. I just have fun. I love those moments."

Catlin Brown had a pair of RBI in the game on a sacrifice fly and a groundout. Starting pitcher Tiffany Giese was 2-for-3 with 3 runs scored and an RBI. Giese went 4 1/3 innings in the circle before being relieved by Hali Marte, who retired 8 of the 10 batters she faced while holding Montini scoreless the rest of the way to pick up the win.

"Tiffany has been our workhorse," Petryniec said. "But she was starting to wear down, so we brought in Marte. She has not had a lot of opportunities, but she did a phenomenal job closing out the game."

Giese was the winning pitcher in the semifinal game against Bishop McNamara. Jacque Dorin was the hitting start with a pair of homers and 4 RBI. Teagan O'Riley also homered and had 3 RBI.

Hampshire (19-8) won its semifinal game in dramatic fashion with a walk off 2-run single by Morgan Haefling. Montini had scored twice in the top of the eighth inning but the Whip-Purs answered back with 3 runs in the bottom inning all coming after a Montini error that would have ended the game.

"We got a break and took advantage of it," Hampshire coach Kelly Wasliewski said. "I thought we played awesome the first two games of the tournament, but I don't know what happened in the last game."

Bartlett had a 12-4 win against Andrew, but lost the second game on Saturday 13-1 to Marengo, which finished 2-1.