Russells lead St. Charles N. over Geneva
If it wasn’t for “Russell” in St. Charles North’s lineup, Geneva starter Kelly McCaffrey managed to hold nearly all of the North Stars’ high-powered offense in check Friday.
Just one problem.
There’s not one but two Russells to contain, and those sisters Sydney and Taylor ignited St. Charles North’s comeback from an early 2-0 deficit with 6 unanswered runs and a 6-2 victory Friday, the 13th straight win for the red-hot North Stars (14-1, 8-0).
Sydney Russell went 3-for-3 and scored 3 runs in her leadoff role, while Taylor Russell ripped 2 doubles and drove 3 runs in her No. 3 spot.
The combined 5-for-6 performance — and a 3-run home run from Ashley Seering in the fifth inning — shows why it’s so hard to beat St. Charles North.
Even on a day Geneva (12-6, 6-3) hit the North Stars with 2 runs in the top of the first before making an out, even on a day when McCaffrey held St. Charles North’s 5-9 hitters to 2-for-15, there’s still too much firepower.
“They are very aggressive and they can hit it and put the ball in play,” said McCaffrey, who struck out three and walked none in falling to 11-6. “You have to always be ready.”
It was Geneva who was ready early. Amanda Ciran hit Dori Rogers with the first pitch of the game, and Bridget Weitzel bunted and reached on an error on the next pitch.
The North Stars threw home on grounders by Geneva’s next two hitters, Elena Wright and Melissa Barber, but both Rogers and Weitzel beat the throw to the plate to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead without a hit.
St. Charles North quickly regrouped, led by the Russells. Sydney singled to start the first and scored on Taylor’s double to left.
“Our focus just needed to be a little better coming out in the game because we can’t take any team for granted,” Sydney Russell said. “We have a big target on our back. We are doing really well. We are so composed and trust each other that we will get back. You have to score anyway to win a game. We just battled and did really well.”
While Ciran was in a stretch of retiring 12 straight Geneva hitters, St. Charles North took the lead for good in the third. Sydney Russell singled with one out, and she and Loren Cihlar both scored on another Taylor Russell double for a 3-2 lead.
Taylor Russell’s double came on the ninth pitch of a tough at-bat when she fouled off four 2-strike offerings.
“The two Russells, we had a hard time,” Geneva coach Greg Dierks said. “But she (McCaffrey) should feel good how she handled the majority of the team.”
Pitching with the lead, Ciran only allowed one runner to reach second base in the final 6 innings. A Sarah Laster single leading off fifth was all that stood between Ciran and a no-hitter.
In improving to 10-0, Ciran struck out five and walked none while making quite an impression on the Vikings, who will get a second chance when they host the North Stars next Friday.
“We haven’t seen a team whose best player might be their pitcher,” Dierks said. “She is a dominating pitcher. We haven’t seen one in a long stretch. Most of the teams we’ve played lately their hitting and defense had been their strength. It was a tough adjustment. I hope next week we’ll be better prepared.
“She gets into that (velocity) range where some of the kids struggle. She has good change of speeds. Probably threw 15 change-ups and you’ve got to worry about that and she’s also going to throw the ball 60 at you. It’s a wide range you have to be prepared for.”
The North Stars gave Ciran insurance in the fifth. Sydney Russell sparked the team’s third scoring rally with a double. Cihlar bunted for a hit, and both scored when Seering launched a 3-run home run to left field, another clutch 2-out RBI for the North Stars’ cleanup hitter who crushed the first pitch after going 0-for-2 in her first 2 at-bats.
“She did a good job of adjusting each at-bat,” North Stars coach Tom Poulin said. “She couldn’t go with a normal swing against McCaffrey because her ball tends to rise. She (Seering) adjusted and was thinking top half. With the ball rising she gets a lot of the ball and when she gets a lot of the ball it goes far. I was really proud of our approaches at the plate.”