Softball: Huntley, Hampshire set to clash in Class 4A sectional semifinals

Hampshire had one of the area’s most impressive – and unlikely – wins of the season when it beat Huntley 13-8 on April 19 to end the Red Raiders’ 50-game Fox Valley Conference softball winning streak.

Friday’s Class 4A Hampshire Regional championship against Hononegah – a 4-2 win in eight innings for the Whip-Purs – provided just as many thrills for a young Hampshire team.

Hampshire scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to force extras, and Ali Sondergaard delivered the Whips’ biggest hit of the season when she hit a two-run homer in the top of the eighth, leading to a frenzied celebration at home plate.

Hampshire starting pitcher Lily Sippel gave up a leadoff single to start the bottom half but retired the next three batters to send the Whips to the sectional round for the first time since 2016.

Hampshire still was feeling the effects of winning a regional title the next day.

“The girls were very excited, to put it lightly,” Whips coach Jeremy Bauer said. “They came to practice [Saturday], and not many of them had their voices. I didn’t think there were going to be any home runs because the wind was blowing in so hard that day.

“It was hard to believe we got one out, but it was out by a long shot. It was a no-doubter.”

Hampshire’s win sets up a rematch with Huntley in the Hononegah Sectional semifinals at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The winner between the fourth-seeded Whips (14-15) and second-seeded Raiders (26-7) will face either Barrington or Harlem in the final at 5 p.m. Friday.

Woodstock North is the area’s only other team still playing in the postseason. North (14-14), which won back-to-back regional championships by defeating Prairie Ridge in the Crystal Lake South Regional final, will meet Sterling in a Belvidere North Sectional semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“The girls were very excited, to put it lightly. They came to practice [Saturday] and not many of them had their voices.”

—  Jeremy Bauer, Hampshire coach

Huntley has won eight regional titles in a row, while Hampshire got its first in seven years.

“It’s pretty hard to put into words,” Bauer said of winning a regional title. “We’ve had our ups and downs throughout the season, but the girls held their composure when we got down [against Hononegah]. The key to beating Huntley is we’re going to have to hit their pitching. When we beat them the first time, we were attacking every strike that we saw.

“We were really loose, and the girls were like, ‘You know what? No one thinks we can beat this team. If we lose, that’s what everybody thought was going to happen anyways,’ so that was a great attitude to have. And we shocked them.”

Huntley, the FVC champion for the third year in a row, will be a difficult challenge. The Raiders beat McHenry 3-1 to win their own regional Friday and give them their eighth straight regional title.

The Raiders had won three sectional titles in a row before last year’s stunning 9-7 loss to Barrington in the Class 4A Huntley Sectional final. The Raiders led 7-2 entering the seventh before the Fillies stormed back for the unlikely win.

Huntley beat Hampshire 11-1 in six innings when the teams met for a second time in FVC play on May 12.

Huntley, led by senior pitcher Juliana Maude and senior outfielders Katie Mitchell and Clara Hudgens, started three sophomores (Sadie Svendsen, Ava McFadden and Madison Rozanski) and two freshmen (Aubrina Adamik and Grace Benson) in Friday’s sectional championship against McHenry. Freshman Makayla Rasmussen also has been a key part of the Raiders’ success in the circle.

“It’s the first time that we’ve taken a really big roster and tried to do some role playing with runners,” coach Mark Petryniec said. “It gives us some depth. The kids have all bought in. It’s been drama-free, they follow and execute the game plan, and it’s just been a fun group to be around.

“We’re just taking it one day at a time. I’m not ready to be done with these girls yet, so I hope that we’ve got a couple more weeks in us.”

Maude, who pitched a compete game in the regional final, said losing to Hampshire helped the Raiders refocus. Huntley has gone 16-1 over its past 17 games, with their only loss to last year’s Class 4A state runner-up, Marist.

Huntley won’t lack any confidence when it sees Hampshire a third time.

“That game kind of made us reset and made us want it more,” Maude said. “It definitely wasn’t good to lose, but I think it helped us. ... It’s one and done now. I don’t want it to be my last one. You’ve got to have a little chip on your shoulder and believe you can do it.”