Tough Loss Ends Barrington's Summer Softball Season

The philosophy Savonnah Osmanski uses when she approaches the plate is to get on base anyway she can, even risking injury by taking the pitch off her body.

“I won’t back off (the plate) even if I have two strikes on me,” Osmanski said of her being hit by pitches 16 times over the summer season for the Hurricanes.  “I want to get on base for my teammates no matter how.”

Osmanski “stands tight on the plate and dares pitchers to throw inside,” said Barrington’s coach Perry Peterson.  “I think we are blessed to work with a really competitive athlete who truly understands what it takes to ‘take one for the team.’ ”

Being hit by pitch is a tough way for any player to get on base, especially when it happens to be the catcher who is already taking countless abuses behind the plate, but Osmanski wasn’t worried about the pain.

“It was the most I had ever been hit,” said Osmanski who had the dubious honor of leading the team in the category.  “I was lucky I had no real bruises, so it made it worth it.”

Osmanski now will get some much-needed rest to heal an injured thumb that had her essentially batting one handed (since she had a brace over her other hand). The Hurricanes (40-17) finally finished up a grueling summer schedule that saw the team participating in 57 games over 43 days, which included playing in seven different tournaments throughout Illinois and the Midwest.

The Hurricanes officially ended their season with a 5-2 loss to the Chi-town Elite during the rain-shortened Sparks Tournament held in Elgin. Barrington was eliminated during the July 23 portion of the tournament after splitting the first two games they had in pool play (6-3 win over the Sparks and a 7-1 loss at the hands of the Michigan Elite).

“The weather certainly dampened our opportunity to see great competition this week,” Barrington’s coach Perry Peterson said of the teams from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Nebraska that made up the 48 teams participating in the tourney. “The (6-3) victory over the (Orland Park) Sparks certainly proved to be the highlight and it demonstrated what our team is capable of doing in pressure situations.”

The 19th annual Sparks Invitational College Exposure Event was to have Barrington playing five games and then participate in the single-elimination tournament. Unfortunately, the Hurricanes would have to make due with their shortened schedule.

The Hurricanes jumped on the scoreboard quickly against the Sparks thanks to the top part of the lineup that saw their first three hitters for Barrington finish the game with eight hits in 10 at bats, scoring four runs and driving in five.

“Ally (McLaughlin) realizes what her strong suit is – getting the ball on the ground and utilizing her speed,” Peterson said of his leadoff hitter who recorded 83 hits and a .522 on-base percentage. 

And like so many other games for the Hurricanes, the catalyst for the game against the Sparks, and the team, was outfielder Ally McLaughlin.

McLaughlin, who despite always facing a condensed field due to her bunting, leads the team in batting this summer with a .483 average. Once on base, McLaughlin stays disruptive with stolen bases (23 for 29 attempts) and her ability to score. McLauglin averaged just over a run scored per game.

McLaughlin, Kelsey Kazmier and Loren Krzysko all started the game with a hit, but the biggest one came off the bat of Krzysko, who hit a double that scored the game’s first two runs. 

The Sparks, national qualifier for the Armature Softball Association, would see Barrington pull away during the second inning as the front section of Peterson’s lineup continued to hit. After Kazmier’s triple knocked in Danielle Dilorio and Osmanski, Krzysko added to her RBI totals for the game by scoring Kazmier. Krzysko would end the season with 48 RBIs and had three in the game.   

Barrington would cruise to victory behind the pitching of Cassidy Kraimer (21-11) who went the distance, giving up only three earned in Barrington’s 6-3 win over the Sparks.  The win was Kraimer’s 21st of the season and edged out Krzysko (18-5) for most wins.

The win over the Sparks was just Barrington’s second win in 13 tries against the Orland Park squad and Barrington’s last win for the season as they would lose their next pool game to Michigan Elite and a couple of days later to end the season against Chi-town Elite after a multitude of rain postponements.

“The rain really didn’t make my day,” Osmanski said.  “As soon as the game was over, so to was my season.”

“But I’m thankful for some rest,” Osmanski went on to say of the time she could use for mending some injuries.

Peterson also hopes the team takes a much-needed break, but not too much.

“Hopefully these girls will relax for the remaining weeks of the summer vacation,” Peterson said, “then attack their individual player weaknesses over the winter months in hopes of improving their total game by the beginning of March; before you know it, we will be hosting Barrington’s Spring Fling.”