Softball: Barrington's big sixth inning tops Palatine

With first place in the Mid-Suburban League West on the line, the inning-by-inning line was even at 2-2 after five innings between Palatine and host Barrington.

But the defending West softball champion Fillies used a 5-run bottom of the sixth to pull away and post a 7-2 triumph in a game that started with two teams with a combined 25 wins in 27 games.

A perfectly placed bunt by junior Katherine Stagnito sparked the Fillies' big inning which led to their 15th win in 16 games and a 5-0 record in the West.

Palatine now stands at 11-2 and 3-1.

"I thought that bunt (bringing home 2 runs on an error) changed the game for us," said Barrington coach Perry Peterson. "Katherine has such great wheels. I like when she can put pressure on the other team. She has talent and she has speed. And she played a flawless game at shortstop."

After her nifty bunt that got home Maria Gryzlo and Samantha Murphy (2-for-4), the Fillies went on to add 3 more runs with an RBI single to center by Jenna Patino (2-for-4) and a 2-run single to left by winning pitcher Tori Meyer (7-0).

Catherine McMahon went the first four innings and Meyer closed it out with 2 strikeouts, 3 hits and no earned runs.

"Coach P had all the confidence in us," said Meyer (2-for-4), who was all-tourney choice this past weekend with teammate Kendall Peterson at the downstate Washington Panther Classic. "All we had to do was lay down a bunt correctly and we finally got it down with Katherine. That was excellent and it kind of went on from there. We built on each other."

Meyer helped the Fillies build a 1-0 lead when she led off the second with a single to left and stole second

The junior then came home on Murphy's one-out single to down the first baseline.

That was the only run given up by starter Sarah Grossman, who left the mound after three innings. She hyper extended her knee following a long blast to center which Caroline Hoppe made a stellar catch to save 2 runs.

Earlier in the inning, Grace Huff belted a homer over the left center field fence and outstretched glove of left fielder Murphy. That tied the game at 1-1,

The Fillies regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth on catcher Abbey Jacobsen's sacrifice fly to right which got home Rachel Mori, who had drawn a leadoff walk.

Mori went to second on Patino's single to right and took third when Kendall Peterson (1-for-3) was hit by a pitch.

"Barrington is really a good team," said Palatine coach Nicole Capalbo. "I have all the respect in the world for Perry and what he does with his program. They capitalized on our errors and miscues. You can't make them against a good team like Barrington."

The Pirates tied the game in the top of the sixth when Amanda Stanczuk led off with a single to center. Her pinch runner Emily Brinckerhoff advanced to second and third and on an error and came home on Grossman's sacrifice fly to right to make it 2-2.

Huff, who had the defensive play of game with a terrific back-handed running catch to rob Meyer of extra bases in the third inning, also drew an intentional walk when the Pirates threatened in the fifth inning.

Maddie Craver was the only player in the game with 3 hits. The senior third baseman went 3-for-4 from the No. 2 spot. Rhianna Dick, who took over on the mound for Grossman, also had a hit for the Pirates.

Freshman right fielder Kaitlyn Reed also made a standout catch while sliding just before the foul fence to rob Stagnito.

"Unfortunately, it took is too long offensively to adjust," Capalbo said. "We had our plan going into the game but we didn't act on it until the fourth inning. It's got to be a little sooner next time.

"The good news is that we get to play them again. The bad news is we've got to wait a little bit."

Due to a leg injury, Rutgers recruit Leyden Atlas had to wait until Monday to make her season debut. She got her first hit in the Fillies' big sixth inning.

"We were definitely prepared and ready for this game," Meyer said. "We knew Palatine was a good team."

"We have a lot of respect for the Palatine team," Perry Peterson said. "Nicole has done just a terrific job with them and we really respect what they do. They have talented players and we knew we had to come ready to play."