St. Charles North 4, Geneva 1
Amanda Ciran was an inning short of perfection.
The St. Charles North freshman hurler surrendered three first-inning hits to Geneva, but it was all the Vikings softball team would muster Tuesday afternoon.
Ciran retired the final 19 batters in succession and capped the North Stars' 3-run fourth inning with a 2-run single to lead St. Charles North past the Vikings 4-1 in semifinal action of the Class 4A Geneva regional.
The North Stars (23-11), the fourth seed in the Schaumburg sectional complex, will face either fifth-seeded West Chicago or No. 12 York in the regional final on Saturday morning in Geneva.
The Vikings ended their campaign at 14-15.
"I was taking it one batter at a time," said Ciran, who won for the ninth time in 12 decisions. "It's a team game, and I would have never won it without my teammates."
The North Stars were flawless in the field to back the masterful performance by the North Stars' freshman; St. Charles North fielded a combination of 16 grounders, fly balls and liners without a miscue.
"Defense has been our MO," St. Charles North coach April Stary said. "Defense is going to win championships. We have lived and breathed by that."
The Geneva prospects were certainly bright to begin the contest. Nikki Davis' leadoff double to the left-center field gap was followed by back-to-back two-out singles by Melissa Barber and Rachel Hunter.
Kelly McCaffrey was the Vikings' starter in a battle between freshmen right-handers, but a passed ball in the North Stars' first enabled Ciran to tie the game at 1-1 with an unassisted run-scoring groundout to first.
St. Charles North, which managed only 5 hits, continued its theme of exploiting Geneva misplays.
The North Stars' breakthrough fourth inning began with a Geneva fielding error, and Sydney Russell later scored on another miscue by the Vikings.
Natalie Capone and Taylor Russell were perched at second and third with one out when Ciran came to bat.
"Whatever I could do to get them home," Ciran said of her objective. "Either hit it up the middle or the right side."
Ciran delivered a single up the middle, scoring both runners; none of the North Stars' 4 runs were earned, handing McCaffrey (11-8) a tough-luck decision.
"You just can't make mistakes," Geneva coach Greg Dierks said. "You might be able to get away with one, but we made too many. (St. Charles North) didn't help us any."
The North Stars' Brooke Jaeger made a stabbing shoe-string catch in foul territory to typify the defense behind Ciran to begin the seventh.
Ciran fanned five and walked none.