St. Charles North shuts out South Elgin

It's early in the softball schedule - so early that spectators looked like they were bundled up for a December football game - but St. Charles North offered an enticing glimpse on Tuesday of why coach Tom Poulin thinks 2015 could be a special season for the North Stars.

North (2-1) was rock solid in every phase en route to a 12-0 five-inning victory over South Elgin (2-4) in St. Charles. Pitcher Allison Hausl threw a 6-hit shutout, the defense did not commit an error, and the offense efficiently reached double digits on just 9 hits.

"I think we have the potential to be as good as any team in the state of Illinois," Poulin said. "Our focus is on winning today. If we maintain that kind of focus, at the end of the day we'll accomplish what we want to accomplish."

In many ways, Tuesday's Upstate Eight Conference crossover clash was decided by clutch hitting. The North Stars plated 5 first-inning runs with two outs to stake themselves to a 5-0 lead and only left three runners on base for the game.

With runners on first and third base, third baseman Erin Nemetz drove in Kaitlyn Waslawski and Allison Moberg with a double. After Alexandra Millett walked, Hausl pushed the lead to 4-0 with a 2-run triple, and her sister Samantha sent her home with a double to the left-field wall.

Nemetz's RBI double to center field made it 6-0 in the third inning, and Nemetz scored on a Storm throwing error after advancing to third on a wild pitch.

North broke the game open with 5 more runs in the fourth. The hosts batted around the order in a rally punctuated by a 2-run single from Samantha Hausl. North's outburst was aided by a throwing error that led to 4 unearned runs.

Nemetz continued her torrid early season hitting, going 2-for-2 with a walk and 3 runs scored. The senior batted seventh in the lineup in 2014 and the opening game of this season but was moved up to fifth while batting over .800 so far this spring.

"I'm feeling my groove," Nemetz said, attributing her early success at the plate to a loose, aggressive mentality. "I don't want to anger the softball gods, this sounds bad, but I just stopped caring about my swing and just try to hit the ball hard. It's really that simple."

While North capitalized on its offensive opportunities, South Elgin stranded nine runners, including leaving the bases loaded in the first inning.

"I've got to commend St. Charles North. When they get runners on base, they rip that ball and score some runs," South Elgin coach Stephanie Katzenberger said. "We left a lot of runners on base. It was frustrating. I felt we struggled defensively, too. Karli (Dobler) pitched a good game, but we didn't play well defensively behind her. We're known for our defensive ability. I don't want to use the cold weather as an excuse. We just need to get a couple of things going together, like both our pitching and defense, and we'll be fine."

The game marked the start of busy stretches for both teams. North plays six games in five days, capped by matchups with state powers New Trier and Lockport on Saturday. The Storm hosts Larkin on Wednesday, visits Elgin on Friday and takes on Naperville in a doubleheader on Saturday.