Sammie Bloomfield is not your typical leadoff hitter — not when you’ve hit two grand slams and lead your team in RBIs.
In Alfonso Soriano-like fashion, Bloomfield was at it again Friday. The Barrington center fielder’s game-winning two-run homer provided the Fillies with a 2-1 victory over Lincoln-Way East in the Class AA quarterfinals at Mizuno Field.
Barrington (36-3) will face Downers Grove South (32-5) in the 10 a.m. semifinal Saturday.
“I knew when I hit the ball that it was going over [the fence],” Bloomfield said about her third-inning shot and one of only two hits off Griffins ace Jennifer Burns.
“When we fell behind, I knew we could come back and battle with them.”
Lincoln-Way East (31-8) scored in the second inning on a Kelly Laas walk, Brittany McElmury’s single and a passed ball that set up Brianne Lizen’s RBI groundout.
“So Sammie does it again,” said Barrington ace Claire Voris who improved to 35-2 and set a state record for victories in a season. Stefanie Steele of Morris was 34-2 in 1998 and Colleen Keenan of Reed-Custer was 34-3 five years later.
“I had turned my head in the dugout to get some water and didn’t see the swing,” Voris continued. “But I heard all the girls screaming.”
There is a different feeling among the Fillies in their fourth straight appearance Downstate, finishing third in 2004 and 2005.
“It seems like we’re more confident,” said Voris, who scattered six hits. “Maybe it’s because we’re mostly seniors, but we’re not as nervous as last year. Winning [a title] seems a little more in our reach.”
