DeKalb, Sycamore met in baseball, softball rivalry games this weekend. Here are 4 under-the-radar moments

On Friday, the Sycamore softball team headed down to DeKalb for a game between the two rivals, an 11-3 win for the Spartans.

Then on Saturday, the DeKalb baseball team traveled to Sycamore, rallying in the seventh inning but falling short in a 7-4 loss.

Beyond the standout performances for players such as Sycamore pitchers Sawyer Valdez and Addison Dierschow and DeKalb’s Hunter Kriese and Alyanna Johnson, here are some other moments that were pivotal but potentially overlooked.

Softball: Emma Hart breaks out the glove early

With a runner on third and no one out in the top of the first inning, Sycamore’s Addi Armstrong laced the ball into right center for what looked like a sure base hit.

Hart had other ideas.

The junior right fielder dove and came up with the ball for the first out. The runner scored, but Hart prevented an extra-base hit with the effort. Something that proved essential after a single later in the inning likely would have pushed the Sycamore lead beyond 1-0.

Hart nearly made another spectacular play going the other direction on a ball in foul territory, but it fell just past her outstretched glove.

Softball: Dierschow falls behind in the count in a pivotal situation, gets the out

The Sycamore starter had a lot of flashy moments in her eight-strikeout four-hit complete game, but a popout to second base early was just as important.

Sycamore was up 6-3 in the bottom of the third. Dierschow got the first two hitters, but Izzy Aranda and Cassidy Cavazos hit back-to-back singles. That brought up Johnson, who hit a three-run triple in the first inning that put the Barbs ahead 3-1.

Dierschow fell behind 3-1 in the count, but she won the battle, getting Johnson to pop up. She only allowed one baserunner in the final two innings of the rain-shortened game.

Baseball: Key Sycamore rally starts with three balls that did not leave infield

Baseball frequently is referred to as a game of inches, and Sycamore proved why in the bottom of the fifth.

Up 2-0 on the Barbs, Ben Anderson started the inning with a grounder to shortstop Jackson Kees. The all-conference shortstop took an extra pump of the ball before firing a rocket to first, but Anderson beat it out.

Adam Eder was up next and dropped down the perfect bunt. Kriese waited a second to see if it would go foul. It didn’t, and by the time Kriese realized that, his throw was late to get Eder.

Luke Stubbfield came on to relieve Kriese and Carter Yoakum tested him right away with another bunt. Since 5-11 first baseman Paul Kakoliris was in covering the bunt, Stubbfield’s slightly high throw pulled 5-5 second baseman Nik Nelson off the bag at first, allowing Yoakum to reach to load the bases.

All three would come around to score in the four-run inning as the Spartans led 6-0 after five. Those manufactured runs proved huge as the Barbs started rallying after a Nelson homer in the sixth.

Baseball: Answering runs by pinch hitter Tom Bredlau

Nelson’s homer made it 6-1 going into the bottom of the sixth. Sycamore coach Jason Cavanaugh said one of the things the Spartans track in the dugout is answering runs. And Bredlau added another check mark to the column.

Bredlau entered as a pinch hitter for Yoakum with two outs and Jack Block on third. He hit a single up the middle to score Block and push the lead to 7-1.

DeKalb scored three runs in the seventh inning and brought the tying run to the plate with one out, so the extra run proved to be huge for the Spartans.