St. Charles East avenges loss to St. Charles North

Relying on solid pitching, strong defense and balanced offense, St. Charles East's softball team inched a bit closer to its second consecutive Upstate Eight Conference River Division championship Thursday afternoon.

Junior pitcher Jordan Hall (16-3) scattered 6 hits and received excellent defensive support from her teammates during the Saints' 6-3 victory over crosstown rival and host St. Charles North (19-4, 14-3).

While pocketing their eighth straight win, the Saints (24-4, 16-2) broke the virtual tie for the top spot in the UEC River with the North Stars heading into their final 4 conference contests.

"It's great to play in such a wonderful atmosphere," said Saints coach Kelly Horan, who watched her team collect 12 base hits and play flawless defense. "It was a lot of fun today."

The Saints capitalized on some shaky North Stars defense to grab a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning against freshman pitcher Jillian Waslawski (7-3).

Kelly Rinker (2-for-4) singled to start the game while an infield error on a bunt by Olivia Cheatham (2-for-3) and a walk to Katie Kolb loaded the bases with nobody out.

Sophomore Jordan Hieber (3-for-4) drove in the first run with an RBI single through the left side before Rylee Stout's bloop single knocked in Cheatham for a 2-0 lead.

The Saints extended their lead to 3-0 in the third on Molly McGovern's 2-out RBI single that plated Hieber after a questionable defensive decision by the North Stars.

"I thought we gave them two if not three (runs) early on plays that should have been outs," said North Stars coach Tom Poulin. "In the four losses that we've had, that's the M.O. right there. In the four games that we've lost, we haven't played well defensively. At this point of the season, that should not occur."

St. Charles North whittled the deficit to 3-2 with a pair of fourth-inning runs. Abby Howlett led off with a long double off the fence in left-center before Ali Moberg reached on an infield single and a hit batsman loaded the bases.

After center fielder Kolb made a nice running catch of a pop fly off the bat of Sam Hausl for the first out, Alex Millett broke the ice with a 2-run single.

Allison Hausl singled to load the bases before Hall fanned the next 2 batters to end the threat.

"I don't have enough good things to say about what Jordan did on the mound," said Horan. "Even when things got tough, she was there and she buckled down. It's fun to see her mature as the year goes on."

For Hall, who walked 4 and struck out 4, it was a measure of revenge for the Saints' 4-3 loss to St. Charles North on April 22.

"I was better today and more prepared than I was the first time I played them," said Hall.

Hall also benefited from an outstanding defensive play that second baseman Cheatham turned in to end the sixth.

Ranging far to her right, Cheatham fielded a grounder off the bat of Allison Hausl and flipped the ball with her glove to shortstop Rinker for the third out.

"We work on glove work every day," said Cheatham. "I was happy to kind of give a boost to the team and get us going again so we could score those final runs."

"We talk all the time about 'love the glove' - she really does that," Horan said of Cheatham. "I think what really sparked that last inning was the great defensive play by Olivia."

Cheatham led off the Saints' 3-run seventh with a single and scored on Stout's sacrifice fly.

"You couldn't ask for a better hitter to be up at that time because she was feeling it - she was in the zone," said Horan. "It's so great when seniors do that. It's great when anybody does it but it makes you extra happy inside when it's a senior."

"It feels great to get the win, especially because I've played with most of these girls," said Cheatham.

Cat Crossen's 2-run double upped the margin to 6-2 before Jordyn Wolfe's RBI double accounted for the North Stars' final run.

"They tried their best and they battled but obviously we've still got some work to do," said Poulin.