Emma Hart said she needed to bust out of her slump, so she busted out the bunt.

The DeKalb left fielder and No. 9 hitter pushed a beautiful bunt past a drawn infield and scored the tying run in the fourth.

Then she bunted for a hit again in the sixth, scoring the go-ahead run for the Barbs in a 4-3 win over Metea Valley on Wednesday, their second one-run win over the Mustangs in five days at DeKalb.

“I haven’t been hitting well lately, so I was just like, ‘Coach, I just think to see the ball I’m going to bunt,’” Hart said. “They both ended up working out perfectly for me.”

The Mustangs (4-12 overall, 0-7 DuPage Valley Conference) jumped out to a 3-0 lead early off the Barbs (7-5, 3-1) and sophomore starter Addison McKiness.

DeKalb got the first run back in the third when Kennedy Latimer led off with a double, then Sydney Myles singled her home with two outs. Naz Dean was thrown out at the plate trying to score to end the inning.

“Pitching and defense wins ball games, and we were right in there,” Metea Valley coach Michaela Paprota said. “It was a close one, maybe one or two plays here or there, but we were right in there, and our defense backs up our pitcher and our pitcher threw a really good ball today.”

In the fourth, Gabby Kenney bunted and reached on an error and advanced on an errant pickoff throw. After McKiness struck out, Hart laid down her bunt to set runners up at first and third.

The small ball didn’t stop there. Hart stole second, and the throw by catcher Maille Ernser went wild for the second time in the inning, allowing Kenney to score and Hart to reach third. Hart came around to tie things up on a wild pitch.

The Barbs loaded the bases in the fifth but couldn’t score. In the sixth, Hart started things off with a bunt single, then Alaynna Johnson with a bunt single up an empty left side of the infield. Cassidy Cavazos lined a single that caught pitcher Haylie Wisch in the neck. Wisch was shaken up but remained in the game.

With the bases loaded and no outs in the 3-3 tie, Wisch struck out No. 3 hitter Latimer after she reached base her previous three at-bats. Sarah Foltz followed with a pop-up to first base that was ruled an out due to the infield fly rule. Hart took off for home, but catcher Ernser didn’t get a tag down and Hart was safe.

Ernser threw Johnson out at third after taking a wide turn to end the inning. Johnson was called out for leaving the base path.

Rayma Miller led off the seventh with a single and reached third with two outs on a single by Aleyna French, but McKiness got Wisch to pop up to right to end the game.

McKiness finished the game with nine strikeouts and allowing one walk. The Mustangs got eight hits off her. In a 12-11 win on Friday in which McKiness got a walk-off walk in the bottom of the seventh, McKiness allowed 10 hits and one walk while striking out four in 5⅓.

“I’m really proud of Addison for coming in and taking a varsity role like this as a sophomore,” DeKalb coach Erica Swan said. “She went the distance hitting her spots. She had great command changing speeds, left a couple of them standing. I was really proud of what she was able to do tonight.”

Regular DeKalb starter Jasmine Rodriguez has been dealing with shoulder inflammation and is resting, Swan said. She’s been out since April 13.

The Mustangs scored all their runs in the third. Elsie McMurray-Kendall and Ernser each reached on bunt singles. Rayma Miller brought McMurray-Kendall home on a fielder’s choice and Ernser scored on a sacrifice fly by Lilly Aguilar. After Olivia Wipff doubled with two outs, Aleyna French played her on one of her three singles.

Ernser had two hits for the Mustangs and Hart had two hits for the Barbs.

Swan said Hart has a lot of skill from the left side of the plate on a couple of different levels, one of which was on display Wednesday.

“Whether she swings away and slaps up the middle, or bunts up the side, she’s got potential,” Swan said. “She asked if she could have the freedom and I said, ‘Go for it kid.’ I had all the confidence in the world in her.”