St. Charles North's bats come alive against Batavia
St. Charles North's softball team put together a complete game against Batavia Friday afternoon on a day when the game only took 5 innings to complete.
Sending 24 batters to the plate in the first 3 innings, the North Stars (16-3, 11-2) erupted for 11 runs while junior pitcher Allison Hausl (7-0) tossed a 5-hitter during St. Charles North's 11-1, 5-inning Upstate Eight Conference River Division victory over the Bulldogs (11-10, 6-7) in St. Charles.
"I thought that was one of Allison's best performances," said North Stars coach Tom Poulin. "She was around the plate and hitting her spots for the most part."
St. Charles North grabbed a quick 2-0 lead in the first, benefiting from an infield error and walk to its first 2 batters. Allison Moberg drove in Kaitlyn Waslawski with a groundout before Erin Nemetz punched an RBI single over the Bulldogs' infield.
The North Stars did most of their damage in the second inning.
Perseverance paid off for senior shortstop Amanda James during a lengthy at-bat against Batavia starting pitcher Alena Theis.
After fouling off 7 consecutive pitches, James smacked Theis' 13th pitch down the left-field line for a double to lead off the second.
"My mindset is always to keep fighting," said James. "I just wanted to get things started for my team."
James, the No. 9 hitter in the North Stars' lineup, was 1 of 5 players to enjoy an extended at-bat (5 pitches or more) in the first 2 innings.
"The last three or four games, we've really stressed getting deep in the count and forcing the pitcher to throw a lot of pitches," said Poulin, whose team has now won 9 straight games. "We have good hitters but we're not as good as we can be when we're impatient. Lately from top to bottom, we've had quality at-bats."
Waslawski (2-for-3) knocked in James with a single through the middle of the Bulldogs' infield to make it 3-0.
With 1 out, senior Abby Howlett (2-for-3, 4 RBI) sliced an opposite-field double to left-center, plating Waslawski with the North Stars' fourth run.
Moberg (1-for-3, 2 RBI) drove in Howlett with a single to right and the North Stars added a pair of unearned runs to extend their lead to 7-0.
"It was nice to see us jump out to a lead," said Poulin. "I think it's always important but against conference opponents we want to try and bury them early because we respect them. If you're not sharp, we know they'll beat you. We want to kind of leave no doubt right away."
James hit her fifth home run of the season - second in as many games - leading off the third to make it 8-0.
"I liked the fact that Amanda James' home run was to right-center because she has been a pull hitter," said Poulin.
Howlett capped the scoring for the North Stars as she waited on a slow changeup before launching a towering 3-run home run - her third of the season - over the right-field fence.
"We've been doing a lot of hitting work with timing and now slowing our hands down when the pitch is slower," said Poulin. "I thought we had a lot of at-bats where we were able to do that."
Ashley McNamara accounted for the Bulldogs' lone run with an RBI single in the fourth.
"This is one of the better defensive teams I've seen in a long time fundamentals-wise," said Batavia coach Lupe Castellanos. "It's hard once you get down to get that momentum on your side.
"For us, I think it's a matter of coming out with a little bit more intensity and a little bit more focus. These teams like this - the (St. Charles) Easts, the Norths - they're ready to play. I think we should come out with more urgency."