Softball: Huntley, St. Charles East missing out on rare opportunity

What's harder, being the Huntley softball team coming into this spring after winning the first state championship in school history last year and not getting a chance to defend it?

Or St. Charles East, who lost that state title game to Huntley, and not getting a chance to avenge it?

Suffice it to say, it's not much fun for either.

The Saints already have attended three school pep assemblies this year for state champions in boys cross country, boys bowling and combined swimming.

"Every time we go to one of those assemblies, I'd see the kids after that and they would be more pumped up," Saints coach Jarod Gutesha said.

"That's (winning state) something the kids have been talking about when I see them in the hallway."

Huntley defeated St. Charles East 1-0 in 8 innings in last year's Class 4A state title game June 8 in East Peoria, making history for the school with a program that to that point had not won a sectional. Huntley's remarkable run included four straight postseason wins by 1 run.

"Getting to a state championship is always a goal but always seemed like it was almost unattainable," Huntley coach Mark Petryniec said. "I was very surprised that we were able to not play tight throughout the weekend. I was glad that we have so many Huntley coaches who were able to share their experience with us and helped us be prepared for the big stage."

Often times when a team plays in a state title game, it's the result of either a senior-heavy team or a few key Division I players who have since graduated. Getting back to state isn't a likely scenario.

Not these two teams. The starting pitchers for both, Huntley's Bri Bower and the Saints' Katie Arrambide, were just sophomores. And both teams returned several key hitters.

Both Bower, who threw a 2-hitter with 13 strikeouts and just 2 walks in the title game, and Arrambide (6 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts) were on top of their games when the lights shined brightest.

"The game flew by," Gutesha remembered. "Obviously we lost and were on the wrong end of it but it was a fond memory to look back on. The experience the kids did have. We had a couple opportunities to score a run, the ball bounces a different way and we're on the other side of the coin. It was a great game. It's what you want in a state championship game."

Bower allowed just singles by Paige Ligocki in the fifth and Alex Wooten in the seventh. Both coaches said the game's turning point came in the bottom of the seventh when Bower alertly covered third to tag out a runner trying to take an extra base on a sacrifice bunt, thwarting a rally that could have given St. Charles East the championship.

Huntley, who had a runner thrown out at the plate in the third, finally pushed across the only run in the top of the eighth. Taylor Zielinski slapped a single, took second on an error on a bunt, another sacrifice bunt moved her to third and she scored on Sofia Tenuta's sacrifice fly to right. Bower set the Saints down 1-2-3 in the eighth, striking out the final two.

After schools were closed for the rest of the school year Friday due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IHSA is expected to officially cancel the spring sports season Tuesday.

"This year's team was really looking to defend that title and I really liked our chances," Bower said. "My heart goes out to all the spring sports seniors who might not get to have their senior season. I miss my teammates and playing the game of softball now."

Since that state championship game both Bower (Mississippi State) and Arrambide (Harvard) have committed to Division I colleges.

"We're disappointed but we know obviously if it was safe to play they would let us play," Arrambide said. "I think we are disappointed not to be able to strive for that state feeling again. We want to feel that again and we wanted our newcomers to experience not just the varsity season but that postseason thrill. We were hoping to get back to that point, maybe face Huntley again, who knows."

Ironically, the teams were scheduled to play in the regular season this past Saturday at Marengo's tournament. That game, of course, was canceled, and now it looks like the rest of the season will be as well.

"We are fortunate to have the videos from the state series and many Facebook memories from our parents that come up each day to remind us how special 2019 was to all of us," Petryniec said.