Softball: Barrington slugs past Dundee-Crown
This Is Our Time. It's the slogan on the back of the Barrington softball jerseys. The Fillies are hoping this is the time to make another run at the Class 4A state finals after finishing in fourth place last year.
Barrington (26-7) got off to a great start in the regional semifinals at Dundee-Crown with a 10-0 slaughter rule win in five innings over the host Chargers.
"We certainly don't want to be looking ahead," Barrington coach Perry Peterson said. "We are just happy to get this win and be moving on to the next game. It was a good day for the 19 kids who put on that uniform for us."
Barrington will take on the winner of Wednesday's Crystal Lake South vs. Grant game in the 11 a.m. regional final on Saturday.
The Fillies' bats were slow to get going against D-C starter Sydney Ruggles the first time through the order, but second time was a whole other story. Barrington got on the board with 2 runs in the third inning then exploded for 6 runs in the fourth and closed it out with 2 more in the fifth inning.
Rachel Mcdonald, hitting in the 3-slot, had RBI singles in both the third and fourth innings.
"She's a real good pitcher," Mcdonald said of Ruggles. "She was around the plate and hitting her spots. We just started going up there looking to swing at the first pitch if it was a strike. Once we got going the hitting got contagious for us.'
Rachel Krzysko added a sacrifice fly for the other run in the third inning and also had an RBI single in the fourth inning. Jenna Fingerman got the fourth inning rally going with a leadoff double. Haley Luczak later added a 2-run double. Kelly Katis and Liz Sweeney also had RBI singles.
The first run in the fifth inning for Barrington came in on an error and the second run on an RBI single by Carly Kordich.
'We were able to just bear down at the plate," Peterson said. "We can't stand around too long up there when someone is throwing strikes. We started going up there swinging."
Sophomore pitcher Catherine McMahon improved to 21-6 with 5 innings of shutout ball. She gave up 5 hits while striking out 3 and walking just 1 batter.
"She has done a tremendous job for us all year," Peterson said. "You talk about just a little responsibility for a sophomore. But she has handled the pressure very well. Her location was really good today. She was working the sides of the plate.'
D-C (17-17) had some chances early on, but left 2 runners on in the third inning and the bases loaded in the fourth inning.
"Our nemesis all year has been not being able to come up with those clutch hits," said D-C coach Tracy Beatty, who has no seniors on her roster. "But we are a young team that made some great strides this year. With some work and maturity I think we have a lot to look forward to next year."