Softball: Covek, Barrington roll past Hampshire
Senior pitcher Barbara Covek is committed to play tennis and softball at Wisconsin Stevens-Point where she plans to study interior architecture.
She sure has designed quite a start to her first season on the Barrington varsity softball team.
Covek ran her record to 6-1 on Friday by throwing the first five innings of the Fillies' 10-1 nonconference triumph over visiting Hampshire.
The right-hander allowed 4 hits and struck out five while sophomore Jackie Albrecht threw the final two innings, striking out three.
Last fall, Covek was a No. 3 doubles champion at the Mid-Suburban League tennis meet.
"I've always hit my spots but I never had the best speed," Covek said. "So I worked with coach (Mike) Freese (Barrington assistant) and the speed is finally here. We worked on how to push off the mound and the snap of the ball."
The Fillies (6-1) had some snap in their bats, too, on Friday.
Senior Kendall Peterson (3-for-3, intentional walk) and classmate Caroline Huttinger (3-for-3, walk) were both perfect at the plate while senior Leyden Atlas, freshman Brynn Nevers (home run, double), senior Gina Magro (double), senior Samantha Murphy and freshman Ellie Wintringer each had 2 hits.
The Fillies gave Covek a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the first.
Peterson and Atlas belted back-to-back doubles to left-center followed by Nevers' 2-run one-out homer for a 3-0 lead.
Magro started up the rally again with a double, followed by RBI singles from Murphy and freshman Sydney Granby to make it 5-1.
"I expected us to do well this season," said Covek, who pitched a few innings on the varsity when she was a freshman at the downstate Washington tournament.
"We were so good at the underlevels and coming up together at the varsity level, we are doing well. We just want to keep practicing hard and keep it going."
"Barbara is someone we really count on to be successful," said Barrington coach Perry Peterson. "She is doing a nice job and working real hard. She is very conscientious to maximize her talents and she is doing a lot of things to help our team. We hope it continues."
Another Fillies' first-year senior on the varsity is Patty Lidbury, who came in to play left field and belted her first homer (seventh inning) on any level.
"I was nervous," she said with a smile. "When I first came to the plate, I could feel my heart beating. The first pitch was a strike on the outside corner and then I got one right down the middle (which she blasted over the center field fence)."
Hampshire senior and No. 3 batter Sarah Bowen (2-for-4) blasted one over the left-center field fence with two outs in the top of the first to give the Whip-Purs (3-4) a 1-0 lead.
"Sarah had been in a bit of slump but she is coming out of it so we are happy," said Hampshire coach Kelly Wasilewski. "It's the perfect time with conference starting Monday."
Hampshire cleanup hitter Miki Snider, a sophomore, also went 2-for-4 while Morgan Haefling, Shai-Ann Currie and Bridget Haefling each had 1 hit.
"We hit the ball a lot better than we have been," Wasilewski said. "We were hitting it hard up the middle so the girls are doing what we want them to do. It's the errors, the miscues and the little things that are hurting us. We are young and inexperienced and have a lot we need to work on."