Waubonsie Valley hands St. Charles East 1st UEC loss

St. Charles East is no longer flawless in Upstate Eight Conference softball play.

Waubonsie Valley southpaw Jordan Kurth essentially made but two mistakes on the mound Tuesday afternoon in St. Charles.

The senior pitched over a one-out triple in the second inning, but there was no defense for the lined-shot home run Rylee Stout drilled in the Saints' fourth.

But St. Charles East would manage but 2 other harmless singles, and the Warriors collected six times as many singles in their 7-1 victory.

Kurth was masterful throughout the game, bedazzling the high-octane St. Charles East lineup by repeatedly changing speeds.

"She definitely has a lethal changeup," Waubonsie Valley coach Valerie Wood said after her star hurdler extended her season-long winning streak to nine games. "I think that was the key for her today."

Kurth will employ her off-speed pitch at any given moment.

"That's a pitch I go to a lot, no matter if the count is 0-2, 3-2, 2-1," Kurth said.

Waubonsie Valley (14-4, 7-1) scored single runs in its opening two at-bats in support of Kurth.

Leadoff batter Sabrina Calabrese scored on a groundout in the Warriors' first, and Layne Thresh did likewise on an outfield misplay in the second.

Jordan Heiber was looking to halve the Saints' deficit after roping a triple into the right-field corner in the bottom of the second.

But Kurth responded with a strikeout and comebacker to preserve the Warriors' 2-run shutout margin.

"I don't like to dwell on the mistakes I made," Kurth said. "I forgot about it and get back to the game."

St. Charles East (14-2, 7-1) also had an undefeated starter in the circle as Jordan Hall also entered the game with an 8-0 record.

The junior not only dropped her first decision of the season but narrowly escaped a potentially devastating injury in the Warriors' fourth.

With Shannon Holman and Christina Pembrook on second and third, respectively, Michelle Calabrese hit a rocket back through the middle.

Hall got her glove up in the nick of time; the ball glanced off her mitt and struck her in the right cheek.

Both runners scored on the play to double the Warriors' lead.

"It was more scary than painful," St. Charles East coach Kelly Horan said.

"You could tell right away it was coming right at you," Hall said. "It's always (an element of) fear when you pitch without a mask."

Following the Stout home run in the Saints' fourth, Waubonsie Valley put the game away in its fifth with 3 runs.

Hohman, who went 3-for-4, Pembrook and Kurth all reached safely to begin and inning and eventually scored.

Thresh had a 2-run bases-loaded single in the key at-bat.

"Don't get me wrong, they're good," Horan said of the Warriors. "They should have won the game. But they should won 2-1, not 7-1."