advertisement

Hausl sparks St. Charles North past Elgin

Being successful is, many times, all about taking advantage of opportunities and St. Charles North sophomore Alison Hausl did just that on Tuesday.

Hausl ripped sharp singles to lead off both the fourth and fifth innings, setting the table for the North Stars to score 7 runs and pull away from Elgin in an 11-3 Upstate Eight Conference River Division softball contest at Maroon Field.

"I just know I have to get on base and help my team," said Hausl, the North Stars' No. 7 hitter who went 3-for-4 in a win that kept the North Stars (14-6, 10-2) tied with St. Charles East for the River lead. "We have a strong hitting team and we have confidence in every person in our lineup."

Hausl won't get any argument from SCN coach Tom Poulin on that one.

"We've got confidence in everybody and we talk to them about making the most of their opportunities," Poulin said. "It was good to see Alison make the most of hers today. She's done that all year, offensively and defensively."

Elgin sophomore Jessica Rago held the North Stars at bay for the first two innings but SCN broke loose the next three frames.

The Stars scored 4 runs in the top of the third. Winning pitcher Sabrina Rabin (3-for-3, 3B, 3 RBI), Kaitlyn Waslawski (2-for-3, 2B, 3 RBI) and Erin Nemetz each drove in runs in the inning.

The Maroons (10-12, 5-4) closed the gap to 4-2 in the bottom of the inning when Rago drove a home run deep over the center field fence, driving in Melanie Berg, who reached on an error, ahead of her.

But the North Stars began their separation by scoring 5 runs in the top of the fourth then adding 2 more in the fifth.

Hausl led off the fourth with a solid single to right and moved up on a walk to Abi Ginther. After Rago recorded 1 of her 12 strikeouts, Rabin, Waslawski and Alex Millett followed with RBI singles before Abby Howlett delivered a 2-run single to make it a 9-2 game.

St. Charles North then added 2 more runs in the fifth. Hausl again led off with a single and after Rago struck out the next 2 batters, Rabin ripped an RBI triple to right-center. After Waslawski walked, Millett drove in Rabin with the North Stars' final run.

While the bats were booming, Rabin's only blemish was the home run to Rago, who had 2 hits in the game. The Northwestern recruit allowed only one other hit, a single to Jennah Perryman in the first inning. She struck out 7 and didn't walk a batter. Senior Katie Roggemann pitched the final 2 innings, giving up an unearned run with 2 strikeouts and a walk.

"They hit the ball well and they hit it where we weren't," said Elgin coach Dr. Nick Bumbales of the North Stars. "They did a nice job today. We knew we were facing one of the toughest pitchers around today and with the wind at her back she really hit her spots."

The North Stars now get ready for a 2-game series with Geneva, today and Friday. The Vikings took St. Charles East to extra innings Tuesday before falling 4-3.

"Every game's big now," said Poulin. "We're trying to be playing our best softball, as cliché as it sounds, as we head to the tournament and part of that is putting ourselves in position to win the conference."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.