DeKalb ends league title drought

It was a long time coming for DeKalb. Meanwhile, the wait continues for Yorkville.

In a softball game in which all five runs were unearned, the host Barbs prevailed 3-2 Tuesday on Kelly Gerace’s seventh-inning RBI single to claim the program’s first conference title since America’s Bicentennial in 1976. The game featured a pitchers’ duel between freshmen Katie Kowalski (18-2) of DeKalb and Rachael Owens of Yorkville that bodes well for the future of the rivalry. Each of them spun a five-hitter.

“When Katie pitches we have an opportunity to win and compete in every game. That’s the difference between last year and this year,” said DeKalb coach Jeff Davis, whose team is 22-3 overall and 8-1 in the Northern Illinois Big 12 East with one game remaining against Morris, which has three league losses.

Yorkville, which has never won a conference title and hadn’t won more than four conference games in the past 10 seasons, could have earned a share of the league lead if it could have squeaked out the win with one league game remaining against Kaneland. The Foxes fall to 14-10 and 6-3.

“She’s really done a good job for us, coming up as a freshman and making us be competitive,” said Yorkville coach Kathi Dockstader, who brought Owens up at midseason.

“We played some good defense, too, but we had some mistakes. I think the big difference was their hits got in the gaps and we hit the ball hard several times and they made some good plays.

“We couldn’t get our hits to fall. They no-hit us the last time we played them. I think (Kowalski) had 13 strikeouts against us last time (8 Tuesday). We’ve got a battle for a long time.”

Yorkville took the early lead, putting up two runs in the first. Sonja Gilbertson capped a nine-pitch at-bat against Kowalski by lining a single to center field. Cacey Maciejewski followed with a sacrifice bunt that the Barb third baseman threw down the right field line for a two-base error that allowed Gilbertson to score and Maciejewski to race all the way to third.

Lauren Rhodes followed with the first of her two hits, bouncing a high hopper that skied about 15 feet in the air in front of the plate, allowing Maciejewski to race home.

Kowalski then cruised until the sixth inning when a single, walk and sacrifice helped the Foxes put runners on second and third with two out and Gilbertson coming to the plate. Davis held a conference and Kowalski walked the Foxes’ standout leadoff hitter with four straight that were well off the plate, outside.

“She’s their best player and reading in the paper she’s 3-for-4, 3-for-4, 3-for-4 every night, it seems,” said Davis. “I was saying, ‘Somebody might beat us but it ain’t gonna be her.’ We pitched around her and got the next girl on a strikeout.”

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