St. Charles North 7, St. Charles East 2

After dropping the opener of its 3-game series with St. Charles East Tuesday, St. Charles North's baseball team didn't exactly get off to the start it envisioned Wednesday afternoon.

Spotting the Saints a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the North Stars (12-5, 8-3) showed no signs of panic.

It also helps when you have junior pitcher Zach Hirsch on your side.

The left-hander tossed shutout ball the rest of the way, allowing just 3 more hits, and received some additional support from his offense during the North Stars' 7-2 Upstate Eight Conference triumph over the Saints (8-10-1, 7-5-1) at St. Charles North.

"After the first inning, we were confident coming into the dugout," said Hirsch, who improved his record to 3-2. "We knew we had a chance to get some runs and we did. After that, I think it just gave us confidence the rest of the game."

With the score tied at 2, the North Stars took the lead for good with a 2-run third.

Back-to-back singles by Colin O'Carroll (2-for-4) and Ryan Richardson (2-for-4) kick-started the rally before a costly throwing error on a potential inning-ending double play allowed the go-ahead run to come across.

"We made a few mistakes today and they capitalized," said Saints coach Mark Foulkes. "Even if we just get one out in that situation…"

St. Charles East left runners in scoring position in both the fourth and fifth innings before the North Stars added 3 huge insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth.

The key hit came off the bat of senior pinch-hitter Brandon Nothnagel, who laced a 3-2 pitch between short and third into left field, driving in Brian De la Torriente and Danny Jimenez to make it 6-2.

"At 3-2, you've got to be expecting anything," said Nothnagel of his first pinch-hit appearance this spring. "You've got to choke up, you've got to protect, and the groundball got through."

"It was a big hit by Brandon Nothnagel to kind of open it up there," said North Stars coach Todd Genke. "He hasn't been hitting the ball very well so that was a big hit."

Hirsch did the rest in a workmanlike effort, fanning seven while going the distance.

"I was just able to bear down," said Hirsch, who admittedly was disappointed with his curveball. "I had troubles getting it over, but I was able to put my fastball wherever I wanted."

"You've got to tip your hat to him," Foulkes said of Hirsch. "He changed speeds well and threw three pitches for strikes."

Kyle Wiebe (3-3) suffered the loss for the Saints.

The two teams will meet in the rubber game of the series at 7 p.m. tonight at Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva.

"Even though we lost today, we still consider ourselves to be in a good position," said Foulkes. "We still have a chance to win the series -- something we haven't done since 2004."

"Each team has thrown a punch," said Genke. "Now we're going to see who gets the knockout."