DeKalb’s Kowalski fires a four-hitter

Updated: May 25, 2011 10:39PM

At times on Wednesday it looked like Elgin had finally solved DeKalb pitcher Katie Kowalski, only to walk away puzzled and frustrated over and over again.

The Barbs freshman hurler, who no-hit the Maroons early in the regular season, wasn’t quite as dominating this time around, but masterful nonetheless as she fired a four-hitter to deal the Maroons a 4-1 defeat in the semifinals of the South Elgin Class 4A Regional. The Maroons had their chances but left six runners stranded, including five in scoring position.

“We had our opportunities against her,” Elgin coach Chad Dahlman said. “We just couldn’t come up with the big hits when we needed them. She’s a tough pitcher. But we needed to find a way to put the ball in play when we had runners on base and we couldn’t.”

The Maroons got off to a quick start with a run in the first inning. Leadoff batter Anna Eckholm reached on a swinging bunt down the third base line. Rachel Roth laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Eckholm to second.

A single by Hannah Perryman moved Eckholm to third and she scored on a grounder by Kelly Bremer. Elgin had a chance to do more damage, but Perryman was left stranded at third base when Kowalski struck out Jennah Perryman to end the inning. It would be a sign of things to come.

“Jumping out in front like that gave us some confidence,” said Dahlman. “We were able to get some runners on the rest of the way but (Kowalski) really bore down on us when she needed the big out.”

Jaclyn Navarro led off the second for the Maroons with a walk, went to second on a wild pitch and stole third. However, Kowalski struck out the next three batters to leave Navarro stranded at third base. Hannah Perryman had a two-out double in the third, but was left there.

DeKalb took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth with the help of a costly Elgin error that brought in the go-ahead run.

The Maroons had their best opportunity to break through against Kowalski in the sixth inning when Roth led off with a bunt single and Hannah Perryman reached on an error. The two advanced to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by Bremer.

But once again Kowalski put out the fire by striking out Jennah Perryman and Navarro to end the threat.

“She has grown up so much in such a short time,” said DeKalb coach Jeff Davis.

“You expect a junior and senior to be able to handle that kind of pressure. But I think she turned up a notch and threw even harder when she got in trouble. I think she got a little upset and just dug in. She’s probably at her best when she’s a little upset.”

DeKalb tacked on a pair of insurance runs to seal the win in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The loss can’t erase the success the Maroons had this season. They finished with a 20-14 record.

“Overall it was a great season for us,” said Dahlman. “The girls worked so hard starting with the time and the effort they put in during the offseason.”

Hannah Perryman took the tough-luck loss, giving up just two earned runs.

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