Experienced Barrington to meet maturing Buffalo Grove
When you look at the lineups for Barrington and Buffalo Grove, you'll see one big difference.
The Fillies' batting order consists of seven seniors, while the Bison showcase five underclassmen.
But the two teams are the same in other aspects, one being that they are both playing in today's 40th annual Mid-Suburban League softball championship with a first pitch of 5 p.m. at Buffalo Grove.
On thing the teams have in common: Both feature sophomores on the mound.
Fillies ace Keenan Dolezal (21-1) is coming off a 1-0 perfect game over Fremd which earned her team (28-1, 16-0) the MSL West crown.
Bison ace Julia Camardo (13-7) has helped lead BG (15-8, 11-5) to the MSL East crown with her arm and her bat in the clean-up spot.
The Fillies edged Buffalo Grove 2-0 in a MSL crossover on April 29.
“That game definitely gives us some confidence,” said Bison coach Jamie Paul, who is in her third season. “We know we can play them well. We just have to put the ball in play.
“We know we beat ourselves the first time. We made two critical errors on routine plays that unfortunately made the difference in the game.”
One difference-maker for the Fillies this season has been their offense which has set several school records including 37 homers, .389 team batting average, 300 runs, 81 doubles, 11 triples and 257 RBI.
“While the numbers may look impressive, our veteran group realizes that each day is a new challenge and we need to continue to produce from one to nine in the batting order,” said Barrington Hall of Fame coach Perry Peterson.
The Fillies' seven seniors in the batting order are Tess Bolger (center fielder), Krista Moore (second base), Maggie O'Hara (right fielder), Raegan Fingerman (second base), Morgan Olszewski (left fielder), Loren Krzysko (third base) and Sam Rosenfeld (designated player).
Junior Katie Dehnert (first base), junior Erin Ward (shortstop) and sophomore pitcher Dolezal complete the batting order.
“This group set two goals at the beginning of the season,” Peterson said. “Today, we have a chance to accomplish one of them. They want to add their chapter to the storied history of the Barrington softball program.”
The Fillies have won 16 MSL division titles, 11 conference titles (most of any school) and a record six consecutive league titles from 2003-2008.
Peterson's 9 MSL titles are the most of any coach, followed by Hersey's Nancy Holmgren (6) and Elk Grove's Ken Grams (5).
“The opportunity to play for the conference title is a special one,” Peterson said. “The girls look forward to giving it their best shot.”
Buffalo Grove is making its first appearance since coach Laura Stock's Bison won back-to-back titles near the turn of the century.
Bison pitcher Kim Czapla defeated Prospect 9-0 in 1998 (that was when BG was in the MSL North and Prospect in the MSL South) and she blanked Fremd 3-0 in 1999 (first season of East and West).
Hoffman Estates coach Lindsey Hamma was the standout shortstop on those BG championship teams.
This season's Bison lineup features seniors Erin Barton (third base), Amanda Salzman (catcher), Megan Fu (designated player) and Kristina Dakas (right fielder).
Completing the Bison batting order are sophomore Caitlin Catino (centerfielder), sophomore Dea Barton (shortstop), junior Michelle Dublin (left field), junior Katie Conley (first base) and sophomore Camardo on the mound.
“Our strength is that we can put runs on the board from one through nine,” Paul said. “We don't always have to depend on the top of our order.”
Despite their youth, the Bison were hoping to reach the title game.
“This was the goal all along,” Paul said. “The girls are really excited. We are going to have to put the ball in play, that's for sure. And we must play solid defense.”
The Bison have won nine of their last 12 games.
“Everyone must step up their game,” Paul said. “Julia will have to shut them down and our offense must be behind her.”
Hall of Fame umpire Dan Krueger will work the plate with Tim McMahon and Mike Stephenson on the bases.