BATTLING BROOKE
McNichols survives rain-drenched mess as Marist ousts Barrington in state semifinals
PEORIA — She had retired nine batters in a row. She had Barrington down to its final out.
Marist pitcher Brooke McNichols felt like she had it all under control during the seventh inning of a Class 4A state semifinal game against Barrington.
And then, all of a sudden, she didn’t.
“It got chaotic,” McNichols said. “I got into the worst position for a pitcher to be in. I knew I could do it and my team would have my back. Still, it was so nerve-wracking.”
McNichols got it done, however, as the RedHawks hung on Friday for a wild 6-5 victory at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.
Emily Bojan contributed two hits for the RedHawks (31-5-1), who advanced to play in a 3:30 p.m. Saturday state championship game against St. Charles North, a 2-0 semifinal winner. Isabel Cunnea hit a home run and Breanna Hanik had an RBI double.
McNichols (23-4) struck out seven while allowing just five hits. She faced — and conquered — the biggest challenge of her Marist career in the seventh.
With two outs, McNichols walked a batter, allowed a double, hit a batter and walked in a run.
There was no room for another mistake.
“I started thinking about doing it for my teammates, for all of the coaches,” McNichols said. “I just knew I couldn’t give up another run because I wanted to end it there and not make them have to go hit again.”
McNichols built an 0-2 count on Barrington’s Nikki Vojack before getting her to hit a high pop fly that Hanik squeezed in right field.
Marist coach Colleen Phelan?
She didn’t even flinch.
“Brooke is tough as nails,” Phelan said. “I really, really never doubted her. The first inning was rough. I had some questions there.
“But in that last inning ... she wanted it. She was here last year on the bench, watching Abby Dunning going through a struggle. She wanted it bad. She was going to get it done for us.”
McNichols and Allie Goodwin, her Barrington counterpart, pitched through some of the worst weather conditions in state semifinal softball history.
It rained almost throughout the game. The two aces combined to issue 11 walks.
McNichols walked the first three batters she faced.
“It was really, really hard,” McNichols said. “The ball was just slipping out of my hand and going outside. I had to move away from a pitch I rely on a lot because it wasn’t my best.”
Barrington (33-6) had two runs in, the bases loaded and just one out in the top of the first inning when McNichols bounced in a pitch that got past Bojan.
“First I was like, ‘Oh, gosh, this is going to score two runs,’ ” McNichols said. “The next thing I know, Emily has the ball and she’s chasing a girl toward third.”
Bojan had the ball because, after it skipped past her, it struck the home plate umpire in the shoe and came to a stop.
Before the play was over, one Barrington runner was thrown out at third and another was tagged trying to dive back into first base.
“That was crazy,” Bojan said, laughing. “When the ball got past me, I saw it go up and heard, like, ‘Dink.’ I looked down and saw it and grabbed it.
“The ball was wet, so I was like, ‘Oh, God, I can’t throw this