Perez, St. Charles East a big hit against Geneva

A 15-hit slugfest was without a doubt the St. Charles East softball team's best showing of the season Monday against Geneva.

The Saints looked unstoppable in their 15-3 win in 6 innings against the Vikings in nonconference play in Geneva.

"It's one of those things where, from a coaching standpoint, you like to see because you get to see them in practice all day and see what they are certainly capable of, so it's finally nice to come out here, execute and drive the ball like we know we can," St. Charles East coach Eric Ray said of the Saints' double-digit hits. "That's something we need to continue … let's not stop here, let's keep going."

"It was very nice," St. Charles East pitcher Victoria Perez added. "I knew we could all hit. We were just waiting for it to happen and today it happened. I was really glad."

St. Charles East (6-4) went on a tear in the first inning after scoring 6 runs on 4 hits, highlighted by a 3-run double from Claire Desrosiers, an RBI single from Cortney Morgan and an RBI double from Bethany Carrignan.

"It's going up there, being aggressive and seeing the ball," Ray said.

The Saints scratched 3 more runs across in the second on 3 hits, including an RBI double from RaeAnn Payleitner for a 9-0 advantage.

Back-to-back RBI singles from Rebecca Reinbold and Perez sparked the third inning. They both tallied an RBI each in the fourth, when the Saints scored 4 more runs off 4 more hits.

Through 4 innings, the Saints had all 15 of their runs and hits. Six players finished with multiple hits with every starter posting at least one hit.

"(The Saints) pounded the ball," Geneva coach Greg Dierks said. "They hit the ball really well … they used the entire field. They made every girl on our field play defense. It was a very good display of hitting."

Geneva (4-5) finally scored in the fifth inning after Dee Phalon's RBI single and Rachel Hunter's 2 RBI single.

"We won the fifth inning," Dierks said. "At least in that last inning, we hit some balls hard, so I'm glad we didn't get shut out."

The Vikings posted 5 hits off Perez, who threw a no-hitter for the first three innings. The senior also finished with 6 strikeouts.

"She threw the ball well," Ray said of Perez, who improved to 3-3 this year. "She kept them guessing, changing it up. That was good to see."