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Regional title No. 13 in a row for Barrington

Barrington senior third baseman Jennifer Inamoto embraces the opportunity to hit with two strikes on her.

"It's challenging," Inamoto says. "It's fun."

Inamoto sure did make a two-strike pitch some fun for the Fillies on Friday afternoon. She took Lauren Stanley's 1-2 offering deep over the left field fence in the bottom of the first inning, staking Barrington to a 3-0 lead in what became a 10-0 domination of Cary-Grove in the championship game of the Class 4A Cary-Grove regional.

It's Barrington's 13th straight regional title under coach Perry Peterson. In fact, the last time the Fillies did not win a regional title - in 2001 - they lost 1-0 to Mundelein on the same field they were celebrating Friday's championship on.

Barrington (25-11), which notched at least 25 wins for the 14th straight year, will take on Rockton Hononegah Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in the semifinals of the Jacobs sectional. Hononegah defeated Harlem 4-0 in the Rockford Guilford regional final Friday.

It took top seed Barrington less than 10 pitches to set the tone Friday against No. 2 seed Cary-Grove (19-13). Trojans' starter Amanda DeGroote struggled early, hitting leadoff batter Erin Ward with a pitch and then walking Taylor Moran. Cary-Grove coach Tammy Olson chose to go to senior Lauren Stanley in the circle at that point and Inamoto greeted Stanley's fourth pitch with a crushing swing to put the Fillies, who finished third in Class 4A last year, ahead 3-0.

"Our coaches always prepare us real well so you always have a mindset about what they're going to throw. With two strikes the game plan is to choke up and just make contact. You have to do something with two strikes and luckily the wind took that one," said Inamoto of her third home run of the season, a blast Peterson said, "Changed the flow of the game."

With that cushion, Fillies' junior right-hander Keenan Dolezal was able to put it on cruise control. She threw a 1-hitter in the five-inning win, striking out one and walking one. Cary-Grove's only hit was a clean single to left by Caitlyn Adams to lead off the fourth.

"I felt loose and well-rested," said Dolezal, now 24-9 on the season. "When Jen hit (the home run) it changed the game right away and it really helped the atmosphere of the game. There wasn't as much pressure and it was a lot more fun."

Barrington put the game away with a 7-run second. Sending 11 batters to the plate, Inamoto and Kat Panos each had 2-run singles in the inning for the Fillies, while Katie Dehnert and Kelly Katis each had RBI singles before Rachel MacDonald finished the scoring with a pinch-hit RBI double.

"This team has battled a lot and persevered all year long," said Peterson. "This makes them a first-time champion this season. We played in several different events and didn't make it happen so now they finally have a sense of accomplishment, that they finally did something."

Cary-Grove, which finished the season 19-13, did get a strong outing from senior Caroline Zasadil, the Trojans' third pitcher of the day. After taking over with no outs in the second and allowing Barrington's final 2 runs, she gave up just 2 hits in the final two innings.

"They came out to play and they played well," said Cary-Grove coach Tammy Olson of the Fillies. "They're a strong team and we wish them the best. You gotta be able to hit Keenan. We had to play our best game today and obviously we didn't."

  Barrington's Carly Kordich holds the team's Class 4A girls softball regional championship plaque as teammates gather around after their 10-0 win over Cary-Grove on Friday, May 30. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Keenan Dolezal, center, facing, is hugged by teammate Rachel MacDonald (15) and others after their 10-0 win over Cary-Grove in the Class 4A girls softball regional championship in Cary on Friday, May 30. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Jennifer Inamoto (8) is swarmed by teammates at home plate after her home run in the first inning vs. Cary-Grove in the Class 4A girls softball regional championship in Cary on Friday, May 30. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Kelly Katis tags out Lisa Semro on her way to second base in the Class 4A girls softball regional championship in Cary on Friday, May 30. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Cary-Grove's Colleen Kaveney, left, gives a comforting hug to a teary-eyed Caroline Zasadil after their 10-0 loss to Barrington in the Class 4A girls softball regional championship in Cary on Friday, May 30. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Cary-Grove's Colleen Kaveney, left, comforts teary-eyed teammate Caroline Zasadil after their 10-0 loss to Barrington in the Class 4A girls softball regional championship in Cary on Friday, May 30. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Taylor Moran leads off first base and away from Cary-Grove's Brianne Prank in the third inning of the Class 4A girls softball regional championship in Cary on Friday, May 30. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Cary-Grove's Caitlyn Adams leads off first and away from Barrington's Katie Dehnert in the fourth inning of the Class 4A girls softball regional championship in Cary on Friday, May 30. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Cary-Grove's Kat Panos, left, and Liz Sweeney leave the field together after the Trojans' loss to Barrington in the Class 4A girls softball regional championship in Cary on Friday, May 30. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Jamie Brown leads off second base as Cary-Grove's Caroline Zasadil pitches in the bottom of the fourth inning of the Class 4A girls softball regional championship in Cary on Friday, May 30. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Cary-Grove's Grace Pilz catches an out for Barrington in the second inning of the Class 4A girls softball regional championship in Cary on Friday, May 30. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Barrington head coach Perry Peterson takes Katie Dehnert aside before she goes up to bat in the third inning vs. Cary-Grove in the Class 4A girls softball regional championship in Cary on Friday, May 30. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Jenna Privatsky (2) leaps into the air to give assistant coach Jon Sander a high-five after scoring a run over Cary-Grove in the second inning of the Class 4A girls softball regional championship in Cary on Friday, May 30. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
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