Fence holds Hill's drive, sends Fillies to sectional

With Barrington pitcher Kim Cygan an out away from throwing a perfect game, Grant coach Mike Dolezal looked at C.J. Hill and pointed to the outfield fence as the senior slugger stepped to the plate.

"I gave her the home-run sign," Dolezal, who was coaching at third, said with a laugh.

Hill gave it a heck of an effort, pounding an outside pitch to right field for a two-out double in the top of the seventh inning.

Cygan's perfect game was gone, but a perfect bounce allowed Barrington, the No.-2 seed in its own sectional complex, to escape with a 1-0 win over 10th-seeded Grant on Saturday in the Class 4A Mundelein regional final.

Hill's ball hit the top of the right-field fence, but it somehow stayed in the park. Hill hustled into second standing.

"It looked like it was gone, but we just got a lucky bounce," Cygan said. "That was a really good hit."

Cleanup-hitter Brie Brugioni then coaxed a walk to put the go-ahead run on base. But Cygan got her 13th strikeout to complete a 1-hit shutout, give Barrington (32-3) its eighth straight regional championship and send the Fillies into Thursday's 4:30 p.m. sectional semifinal against Lake Zurich at Barrington's Fields of Dreams.

"Credit to the young lady who hit the (double)," Barrington coach Perry Peterson said of Hill. "That was a great hit and certainly a good performance by her in a pressure situation.

"And the next kid (Brugioni) had hit the home run the game before (against Buffalo Grove in the regional semifinals), so we were careful with that young lady so we didn't get beat."

The perfect game would have been Cygan's first this year, but the Fillies ace wasn't lamenting.

"I'll take a win," she said, smiling, after improving to 28-3.

Grant (18-17) was down to its final strike when Hill socked Cygan's 2-2 offering.

"I knew she was painting the corners so I just made sure I stepped toward (home plate)," Hill said. "I knew they were going to go outside every time."

Cygan's gem overshadowed by a 3-hit performance by Brugioni, who struck out 10 and walked four. Barrington manufactured its run in the fourth.

Brugioni issued a one-out walk to Nora Logue, who then stole second base. With two out, Jordan Wekony hit a groundball that squeezed through the first baseman and second baseman. The ball got knocked down but rolled far enough away to allow Logue to race home.

"Brie pitched a great game," Dolezal said. "I'm proud of her. I'm proud of the team. We came a long way this year."