Scott, BC score big win over Barrington
Another day, another win for the Burlington Central softball team.
Ho-hum, right? Well, not quite. This wasn't just any old win for the Rockets, now ranked No. 2 in the ICA Class 3A statewide poll.
No, this win was a statement that the Rockets are every bit as good as advertised.
Junior Mackenzie Scott tossed a 3-hitter with 12 strikeouts and the Rockets played aggressive softball in downing defending Class AA state runner-up and Class 4A No. 6 Barrington 5-1 at Barrington's Fields of Dreams.
"It was nice to come out here and play a good team and show us where we're at," said Scott, whose hitless streak extended to 19 ½ innings before Barrington's Lindsey Dulla beat out an infield dribbler with one outr in the sixth.
"It's a good win and it's an honor to beat a team like Barrington."
The Rockets (5-0) scored twice in the top of the first as Barrington, playing on its varsity field for the first time this season after 6 games on its JV field, committed 3 throwing errors.
Junior speedster Kayla Oranger led off the game for the Rockets by beating out a bunt. Then, on an Ashley Scheffler grounder, the Fillies (6-1) committed 2 throwing errors, allowing Oranger to score and Scheffler to go to second. With Sam Gruner at the plate, Scheffler stole third and Barrington committed another throwing error, Scheffler scoring to make it a 2-0 game before most of the fans even showed up.
"We jumped on them right away and that was big," said BC coach Scot Sutherland
The game was then dominated by Scott and her Barrington counterpart, junior Kim Cygan, until the sixth. Scott's 12 strikeouts gives her 47 in her 3 wins this spring while Cygan also pitched admirably, striking out 10 and walking none while allowing 5 hits.
Scott pitched out of a tough spot in the bottom of the sixth after allowing her first run of the season, which came home when Dulla scampered in from third on a BC throwing error.
With two outs and the tying run on second in the person of Lisa Shandley, who had singled and stole second, Scott struck out Barrington's No. 3 hitter, Devinne Wapotish, to end the threat and preserve the lead for the Rockets.
"We knew coming in Barrington was a good hitting team but our defense pulled it together and (Gruner) did a good job of calling the game," said Scott, who has been named the Toyota Athlete of the Week and will be featured on WBBM-AM 780 at 6:15 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 6:15 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. today.
"That was their best against our best," Sutherland said of the Scott-Wapotish matchup with the game on the line. "Mac went out and did what Mac's capable of doing. It was good to see."
The Rockets, who will play a makeup game at Princeton today, then iced the win by tagging Cygan (6-1) for 3 runs and 3 hits in the top of the seventh. Gruner and senior Brooke Porto led off the inning with singles and with one out, Lindsay Lange doubled off the left-field fence to drive in courtesy runner Jordan Maisto. Porto then came home on a fielder's choice grounder by senior Erica Maisto, and Lange scored the game's final run on a wild pitch.
"They do the finer things way better than we do at this point of the season," said Barrington coach Perry Peterson. They were deserving and they were the better team. We'll keep working at it."