Warren, Z-B post first-round wins

The first invitational tournament of the 2011 high-school softball season just might be the best.

There are no soft touches, so to speak, among the eight teams competing this week at the Spring Fling Invitational, which always highlights the first three days of the season and is hosted by Barrington High.

Barrington may have the best the best softball complex in the state, and the Fillies also figure to have one of the best teams, which they showcased on Monday by blasting Deerfield 11-1 in a game halted after five frames by the slaughter rule.

Other first-round winners in the eight-team, bracket-format tourney were Warren, Zion-Benton and Glenbrook North.

In today's semifinals, Barrington will play Z-B and Warren will face Glenbrook North.

Here's a look at Monday's four contests:

Warren 7, Maine West 0: Senior Marcee Olvara and junior Jessica Demski got it done in the circle for the Blue Devils. Olvara (5 innings, 3 hits, 3 punchouts, 0 walks) got the win, while Demski (2 innings, 0 hits, 2 strikeouts, 0 walks) also was sharp.

At the plate, Warren was led by Abby Anderson (2 for 3, 3 RBIs, 1 run scored), sophomore Megan Sowa (2 for 3, triple, 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs) and junior outfielder Sarah Shanders (2 for 4 at the plate and a diving catch in the field).

Warren coach Carri McGahan was a happy camper after the solid win.

"We have a lot of new talent that we're excited about," McGahan said. "We had a lot of young girls come up on varsity for our playoff run last year, and they saw what it's like. They saw what it's like. The hunger is still there.

"Both of our pitchers did very well," the coach added. "We haven't been able to throw on the dirt until today, but they both did a nice job. They didn't walk anybody and that's important for us."

Zion-Benton 11, Hersey 1: Senior pitcher Jennifer Lotz (0 earned runs, 4 hits, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk) worked all five innings in the game that was halted after five innings by the slaughter rule.

Hitting third in the lineup, she also helped her own cause by going 3 for 4 with a double, homer and four RBIs.

Leadoff hitter Shannon Lauret (1 for 2, 2 walks, 2 runs scored) and No. 2 hitter Tahla Wade (2 for 4, stolen base, 1 run scored) set the table for Lotz.

Veteran coach Rick Rymer had 4 seniors, 1 junior, 4 sophomores and 1 freshman in his 10-player lineup (DH was used).

"We're young and we have to figure out couple of spots yet," he said. "We saw a couple of things tonight we have to fix, but I have confidence in these young kids. They can play. They just need to relax."

Zion's new cleanup hitters is freshman Cindy Garces. "She has a nice swing," said Rymer. "She put here bat on the ball. She was just a bit nervous tonight."

Barrington 11, Deerfield 1: The Fillies have the best playing facility in the state and may have the best team.

Just one player graduated from last year's team, and this year's squad rolled past Deerfield 11-1 in five innings on Monday.

Deerfield, in contrast, has a young team, and sophomore pitcher Zoey Fishman never had a chance.

"We started slow and played slow the whole way" said Deerfield coach Kevin Koopman. "We just were outclassed tonight."We had a big turnover - graduated seven seniors, most of them starters - so we have a young team. We had three freshmen starting today and a sophomore on the mound."

Glenbrook North 5, Lake Zurich 4: Glenbrook North raced out to a 5-0 lead, then hung on as Lake Zurich scored four times in the sixth to make it close.

Losing pitcher for Lake Zurich was Megan Mattera (7 innings, 7 his, 3 earned runs, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk). She was hurt by three Lake Zurich fielding miscues.

At the plate, Mattera was 0 for 2 with a walk.

Tabatha Bohac was 2 for 3 for the Bears and scored once.

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