Softball: St. Charles North slams St. Charles East

Thanks to a series of bad weather and soaked softball fields, St. Charles North didn't play its first game this spring until April 7 - at which point many teams were already up to 9 or 10 games.

Fast forward to June 2, and almost all those opponents who got all those games in during March and early April have seen their seasons come to an end.

St. Charles North?

Still playing.

"We couldn't get the games in but we're getting in the ones that count," smiled North Stars coach Tom Poulin. "I'd rather play now than earlier. Who would have thunk it?"

St. Charles North certainly started the season slow, not just struggling to get on the field but then not playing up to its standards. The North Stars were swept by Batavia, and as recently as May 16 lost 8-0 to Geneva.

None of that matters now, as the North Stars completed an unlikely run to the Class 4A St. Charles East sectional title Friday, dominating the No. 1 seed and host Saints, 11-2.

The win sends fifth-seed St. Charles North (21-9), who also disposed of No. 3 Fremd and No. 2 Conant, to the Rosemont supersectional at 6:30 p.m. Monday against either Oak Park or Lane.

"I think we really overcame," winning pitcher Jillian Waslawski said. "We learned what's in the past is in the past and this is our legacy now so might as well make it a good one. East is scary to play against but we had the mentality we are going to do this."

Waslawski held hard-hitting St. Charles East (30-8), who hit 58 home runs this year, to 1 extra-base hit, a double by Hannah Cozzi. Waslawski struck out 4 and didn't walk a batter.

She also went 3-for-3 at the plate, leading the offense along with Ashlyn Jozefowicz who was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI. The North Stars outhit the Saints 13-7.

"I didn't think we'd win like that (by 9 runs) but as a team we just came together and did our thing," Jozefowicz said. "We have so much talent I knew we could do this. We weren't together then but we are now. So who knows how far we're going to go?"

The Saints, who made 5 errors to none for the North Stars, were off their game from the first inning on.

Leadoff hitter Natalie Walters was hit by a pitch to start the game, took second on an error and scored on a 2-out single by Jozefowicz.

The North Stars made it 5-0 with a 4-run second aided by 2 more infield errors. Allison Moberg hit a sacrifice fly, and Alyssa Eby and Jozefowicz both had run-scoring singles.

"A lot of runs early," Saints coach Jarod Gutesha said. "Some uncharacteristic things and mistakes. They moved the ball hard, and when you do things happen. There's still plenty of plays we'd like to have back."

Another of those came in the third when Walters tripled to right and came home to score on the play when the Saints threw wild to third.

Maddie Candre's 2-run single in the third plated Sarah Kreiner and Cozzi to bring the Saints within 6-2. But St. Charles North shortstop Grace Sobeski, who made several sure-handed plays all game, helped get Waslawski out of trouble by fielding a smash in the hole and throwing to Eby to get Candre diving back into second base.

"Those were the types of plays we didn't make earlier or communicate on," Poulin said. "She's (Sobeski) only a sophomore and is as talented as they come. She's a great athlete with a great arm and a softball junkie."

The North Stars, who scored in every inning but the fifth, put 3 more runs on the board in the fourth for a 9-2 lead. Eby's single scored one, the North Stars executed a double steal for another, and the third came in on a wild pitch.

The Saints weren't able to put more than one runner on base in any of their final four at-bats.

"We just made the plays we needed to make," Waslawski said. "My whole outfield making clutch catches. Grace Sobeski, her day at shortstop was huge. And overall walking out into that circle first inning I just felt really good today."

If St. Charles North does end up playing Oak Park on Monday - the defending state champion - it will be a rematch of the 2015 supersectional the North Stars lost 14-7 in a game Waslawski pitched.

The North Stars, whose victory Friday was the program's third sectional title, will be trying to get back to state for the first time since their 2011 team took second.

"A little bit of justice that needs to be carried out Monday night but now with how we are looking I feel really good about it," Waslawski said.

"I'm happy for everybody but for the seniors to have this run and have these memories, that's what matters to me," Poulin said. "This team kind of figured out how important team is."

Kreiner and Cozzi both had 2 hits for the Saints. Only 4 of the 11 runs losing pitcher Delany Devor allowed were earned.

"One of the messages to the girls was all the things we did accomplish," Gutesha said. "The last game is the one that matters and we didn't accomplish what we wanted today, but we did have a heck of a season."