A singular success for Conant
Unlike Saturday, Conant’s softball team didn’t hit any balls out of the park on Monday.
But the Cougars still hit a home run in the Mid-Suburban West standings.
With all 12 hits singles, the defending Mid-Suburban League champs took over first place with a 10-0 victory over visiting Barrington in six innings.
Cougars senior Briana Cavin (13-1) threw a 3-hitter to her sister Miranda, a junior who hit 4 of the Cougars’ 8 homers in a doubleheader sweep of Stevenson two days earlier.
Conant (14-1) improved to 4-0 in the MSL West, one game ahead of Barrington (13-3, 3-1), Fremd (15-3, 3-1) and Palatine (10-7, 3-1).
Conant hosts Fremd on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
“We do not really focus on what place we are in (the standings),” said Miranda Cavin, who went 2-for-4 with 4 RBI. “All we care about is coming out pumped up and ready to go for that day’s game.
“We feel if we focus on where we are in the standings, then that will go to our heads. If we come out and play our game, we don’t have to worry about anything else.”
The Cougars’ game on Monday was making contact up and down the lineup.
Miranda Cavin’s one-out 2-run single that got past a pulled-in infield gave her Wisconsin-Green Bay bound sister Briana all the runs she would need.
The Oklahoma State-bound Miranda Cavin, Creighton-bound Kim Jacobson and Megan Reff each went 2-for-4 while sophomore first baseman Telly Hunter was 3-for-4.
Radford-bound Rachel O’Malley, Sarah Thompson and Allie Bauch, who scored a game-high 3 runs, each had 1 hit.
“We needed good solid discipline at the plate with good contact and good baserunning,” said Cougars coach CathyAnn Smith. “And that’s what we did. The girls were determined.
“We knew were facing obstacles with the wind and cold and a very respectable Barrington team that is organized and disciplined. The girls knew they had to put the ball in play and make things happen.”
Barrington, which also fell 10-0 at Conant in five innings last season, committed 4 errors.
Prior to last season, Barrington had never lost on Conant’s field in 18 seasons under coach Perry Peterson.
“Now we’ve haven’t scored a run here in two years,” said the Fillies coach, who threw Cassidy Kraimer (6-2) for 32⁄3 innings and Emma Woods the final 21⁄3 innings. “They are the class of the MSL and they’re deserving of the victory.
“The difference between the two teams in this game was apples and oranges today. This is why they created a tomorrow.”
Barrington’s 3 hits were scattered.
After senior Ally McLaughlin drew a walk to lead off the game, she advanced to second on Loren Krzysko’s single to center with one out. Both runners moved up on a passed ball.
With two outs, Tess Bolger was robbed by Cougars’ center fielder Sarah Thompson, who made a nifty running one-handed stab near the right-center field fence.
“I felt I let my left and right fielders down earlier in the inning,” Thompson said of a ball she felt she should have caught. “But they picked me up and were so supportive of me.
“Now we have to just focus on not committing errors. Out bats have been OK but the defense must step up more.”
Catcher Savonnah Ozmanski had a leadoff double in the third and Tess Bolger a one-out single in the sixth for Barrington’s only other hits.
“Bri was really in synch,” Miranda said. “She was hitting all her spots. And that helped make them hit pop-ups or grounders which we wanted.”