Saints keep composure, win again
It was going to take more than watching Neuqua Valley tie the game in the seventh inning to ruin a beautiful day Thursday for the St. Charles East softball team.
"It's never poor me," explained St. Charles East coach Kelly Barnett. "We play on this beautiful day on this beautiful field with beautiful kids, beautiful uniforms in this beautiful league, it's never poor us. It's always, 'What's next?'"
What's next turned out to be the latest St. Charles East thriller, this time a two-out RBI single by senior captain Rebbeca Reinbold in the bottom of the eighth inning that gave the Saints a 3-2 win over Neuqua Valley.
The victory keeps the Saints (19-6, 12-2) tied for first in the Upstate Eight with St. Charles North while dropping the Wildcats (15-7, 11-5) three behind in the loss column.
It seemed like Neuqua Valley had momentum heading to extra innings after Amanda Mener's RBI single tied the game with two outs in the seventh, and the way Colleen Hohman was mowing down the Saints.
After St. Charles East scored 2 runs in the second inning on a passed ball and a wild pitch, Hohman struck out nine of 11 hitters in one stretch on her way to a 14-strikeout effort.
But her control once again got her in trouble in the eighth with a one-out walk to Saints leadoff hitter Mary Kate Brooks. Brooks took second and third on 2 of Hohman's 6 wild pitches, then came home when Reinbold laced a 3-1 fastball into right field.
"Coach just told us to clear our mind, focus on each pitch," Reinbold said. "I just kept my head down, watched the ball the whole way and drove it. We have never given up throughout the entire season."
Up to that point, Reinbold was 0-for-3 with 2 strikeouts.
"What better sitaution than to have our senior captain leader in the game," Barnett said. "She is such a mature player now that she can look terrible her first three at-bats but I will never count her out. Never, and neither will her teammates."
Neuqua Valley out-hit St. Charles East 9-4. Only two of the Saints' hits left the infield.
RaeAnne Payleitner had the first, a single that started the 2-run second. Mener and Jenna Marsalli both went 2-for-4 for Neuqua Valley.
"We talk a lot about walking hitters and giving them the opportunity to run the bases on us and not taking control, that is not going to put us in position to win," Wildcats coach Michelle Schmidt said.
The Kansas-bound Hohman fell to 11-4. Two of the three walks she allowed scored.
"Consistency needs to be there," Schmidt said. "We had a little bit of a slump in the second inning. We've got to be smart from start to finish."
Katie Stengler worked the first 6 2/3 innings for the Saints. Gabby Moe (13-2) relieved and fanned the Wildcats' No. 3 hitter Marsalli to strand the bases loaded in the seventh, then pitched a scoreless inning for the win.
The Saints' quest for the UEC title continues today at South Elgin, part of a challenging stretch that continues with Lake Park, Bartlett and St. Charles North next week.
"You just have to go game by game," Barnett said. "When you win one like this I say you enjoy it through dinner and then it's, 'What's next?'"