Here we go again: Huntley, Barrington softball to meet in 7th straight postseason

It seemed inevitable that the softball teams from Huntley, the Fox Valley Conference champion, and Barrington, the Mid-Suburban West champion, would meet again.

The powerhouses led by Mark Petryniec in Huntley and Perry Peterson in Barrington had plans to play this year at Barrington’s new Field of Dreams, but that game, unfortunately, was wiped away by unpredictable spring weather.

But after Huntley’s 11-1 win over Hampshire and Barrington’s 8-2 win over Harlem in the Class 4A Hononegah Sectional semifinals, the rivals with a long and fun history will face off again – marking seven straight seasons they’ve met in the postseason.

The second-seeded Red Raiders (27-7) and top-seeded Fillies (33-5) play at 10 a.m. Saturday at Swanson Park in Roscoe, with the winner advancing to the Barrington Supersectional at 7 p.m. Monday.

Starting with the most recent meeting, here’s a rundown of their previous six matchups in the postseason.

Seventh-inning stunner (2022, sectional final): Huntley held what seemed to be a comfortable 7-2 lead and was three outs from its third straight sectional title with senior ace Jori Heard in the circle. However, Barrington had other plans.

A bunt single by junior Nikki Vojack to start the top of the seventh, followed by a foul out, hit-by-pitch and an error turned the lineup over and started a crazy comeback for the Fillies, who sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs in the inning to steal a 9-7 win on Huntley’s home field.

Barrington junior pitcher Allie Goodwin had the inning’s biggest hit, a game-tying, three-run home run with one out. After back-to-back hits, a sacrifice fly by Ellie Wintringer gave the Fillies their first lead at 8-7. Then, it was Vojack again with a run-scoring bunt for Barrington’s ninth and final run.

Goodwin shut down Huntley in the bottom of the seventh, snagging a line drive for the final out and jumping into the arms of catcher Emma Kavanagh.

Simandl’s late-night walk-off (2021, supersectional): Huntley senior pitcher Briana Bower (16 strikeouts) and Barrington senior Jackie Albrecht (15 strikeouts) both went the distance in an 11-inning marathon that didn’t end until 10 p.m. at Barrington’s Field of Dreams.

Down 5-3 in the seventh inning, Barrington rallied for two runs and sent the game to extras. Goodwin had a solo home run to cut Huntley’s lead to one and the Fillies tied the game when a throw got away from catcher Lindsay Morgan on a steal attempt.

The game remained tied until an unlikely hero emerged in the 11th. That’s when Huntley senior Abby Simandl shocked everybody with her first home run of the season, sending the Raiders to a 6-5, walk-off win and back to the state tournament after the 2020 season was canceled because of the pandemic.

The Raiders went on to place third at state.

O’Rilley’s slam (2019, sectional semifinal): After Barrington eliminated Huntley from the playoffs in 2016, 2017 and 2018, the Raiders finally broke through with a program-altering win.

Freshman Reese Hunkins first gave Huntley a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh with a hard-hit ball that deflected off the glove of shortstop Katherine Stagnito. Then, with the bases loaded, junior Teagan O’Rilley fouled off eight consecutive pitches from Albrecht before teeing off for a grand slam and a 6-1 victory.

Huntley held off Fox Valley Conference rival McHenry 4-3 for its first sectional title a few days later, then defeated Hersey in the supersectional round. At state, the Raiders beat Marist 3-2 in the semifinals and blanked St. Charles East 1-0 in eight innings to win the school’s first team championship.

Behind the superb pitching of Bower, the 2019 Northwest Herald Softball Player of the Year as a sophomore, the Raiders ended the season with 19 consecutive wins. The last four were all by one run.

Raiders fall short again (2018, sectional final): Huntley had plenty of chances against Barrington, but stranded seven baserunners in an eventual 5-3 loss to the Fillies. Barrington scored four of its five runs with two outs in the second inning against Tiffany Giese – the Raiders’ all-time winningest pitcher – in her final year.

Junior Grace Kutz gave Huntley life with a two-out, bases-clearing double in the third to cut the Fillies’ lead to 4-3, but the Raiders wouldn’t get any closer.

Giese went on to play at Wisconsin Green Bay and recently became the program’s career hits leader.

Early fireworks not enough (2017, sectional final): Huntley had never been to a sectional championship game before 2017 and began its first in thrilling fashion with a two-run homer in the first inning by senior Rylie Porretto.

Giese was in cruise control for the first three innings but Barrington got in a groove and scored 13 unanswered runs in a 13-2 win. Junior Abbey Jacobsen had the game’s biggest blow with a three-run home run in the sixth.

Oh, so close (2016, sectional semifinal): Huntley’s first attempt to beat Barrington was a low-scoring affair. Senior Hayley O’Mara provided all the offense for the Raiders with a solo homer, but Huntley fell short in a 2-1 loss.

Huntley had only one freshman on its roster: Sofia Tenuta. She would go on to drive in the only run in the 2019 state championship.

Over the years

2022: Barrington 9, Huntley 7 (Class 4A Huntley Sectional final).

2021: Huntley 6, Barrington 5, 11 inn. (Class 4A Barrington Supersectional).

2020: No season.

2019: Huntley 6, Barrington 1 (Class 4A Hampshire Sectional semifinal).

2018: Barrington 5, Huntley 3 (Class 4A Huntley Sectional final).

2017: Barrington 13, Huntley 2 (Class 4A Huntley Sectional final).

2016: Barrington 2, Huntley 1 (Class 4A Belvidere North Sectional semifinal).