Softball: Taraschewsky’s 5-hit shutout lifts Barrington past Palatine
After falling from first place in the Mid-Suburban West four days earlier, Barrington's softball team found itself playing for second place Monday against Palatine.
This time, the Fillies rose to the occasion.
Sophomore Katie Taraschewsky fired her eighth shutout of the season, tossing a 5-hitter with 4 strikeouts as Barrington won 7-0 at its Fields of Dreams.
"It was definitely needed after Friday (3-1 loss to Fremd), but I was proud of how we looked on Saturday (11-0 win over Yorkville Christian) as well and this was the cherry on top," said Taraschewsky's ace receiver Emma Kavanagh, who added to her program record in doubles with her 54th on Monday. "Now we just have to keep coming out and continue this kind of play."
In addition to Kavanagh (2-for-3, RBI), Shannon Kenney (2-for-4) and Greta Mueller (2-for-4) also had multiple hits for the Fillies (16-1, 6-1).
"We had a win on Saturday which helped get the rhythm going again," said Barrington coach Perry Peterson. "And Katie pitched a shutout against a very talented Palatine team (11-6, 5-2) so we feel good about that. There is always room for improvement."
Taraschewsky (16-1) got all the runs she needed when the Fillies put up 4 in the bottom of the third.
Mueller led off with a single to left center. Mimi Cline followed with a base hit to center before Kavanagh grounded a sharp double to left center to bring home Mueller.
Cline then scored when Reese Cullen reached on an infield error for a 2-0 lead.
Batting cleanup, Taraschewsky helped her own cause, singling home Kavanagh before courtesy runner Lexi Thiomas came home on a wild pitch to make it 4-0.
"Katie looked great pitching and in the batter's box," Kavanagh said. "That's really helpful with her pitching and hitting well."
The Fillies added two more in the fifth. Kenney began the inning with a single to center before Pirates left fielder Quinn Schwartz (2-for-3) made a beautiful diving catch near the foul line to rob Nina Breback of a second hit. Harlow Engel followed with a walk and Thomas got hit by a pitch to load the bases. An infield error allowed 2 runs to score for a 6-0 lead.
"With Quinn at the bottom of our order (No. 9), I think it helps turn the lineup over and she's done a good job putting the bat on the ball and making the opponent make plays," said Palatine coach Nicole Capalbo about the talented hockey player who recently tried out for the U.S. national team. "I've been really impressed by her. She had that great diving catch, too. She reads balls so well and gets to them. She competes."
Barrington scored its final run in the seventh when sophomore pinch hitter Maddie Van Ryn doubled off the left field wall to score freshman courtesy runner Shaylee Hiser with two outs.
"I was really happy with Maddie coming off the bench to hit that ball hard," Peterson said. "That ball was crushed. At this time of the season, you've got to bring all three facets of the game if you want to be sharp: good defense, quality pitching and consistency in hitting the ball.
“Defensively we played pretty well. Gabi Phillis had a nice play in right (robbing Grace Adame). Mimi Cline was pretty solid at second base and Greta Mueller was pretty solid at first base. So that's us. We are not going to strike out 14 every game. We've got to come and play defense every day. So we are working on that."
In addition to Schwartz, Palatine also had a double from pinch hitter Hannah Wachler and singles from Adame and Meghan Czyzowicz.
Capalbo would have liked to have seen less defensive miscues by her team.
"You can't make as many errors as we did (4) against a good team like Barrington," she said. "Our pitchers (Holly Steffus and Paige LaSalle) are giving us outs and we're not making the plays."