St. Charles North keeps pace in UEC

In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, it ain't over till it's over.

But it's getting closer.

St. Charles North shoved South Elgin 3 games out of the Upstate Eight Conference softball race Thursday, downing the Storm 4-3 in South Elgin. With St. Charles East beating Neuqua Valley, the North Stars and Saints maintained their 2-game lead over Lake Park in the championship race, and now lead Neuqua Valley and South Elgin by 3 games.

But, the North Stars and Saints would be wise not to make room in their trophy cases just yet. Each of the leaders still have 6 league games left, including one against each other next Wednesday.

"With our conference ... you look around and see someone's beaten someone you didn't expect," said North coach April Stary. "Everybody has good days and bad days."

Thursday was a good day for the North Stars (17-8, 12-2), who got a stellar performance in the circle from Amanda Engel and who took advantage of South Elgin errors with timely hitting to score the runs that decided the game.

"It was a great game," said South Elgin coach Jason Schaal. "They jumped out to a lead and we did a great job of coming back. We played some little ball, which we don't do a lot, and that got us back in the game, so that's a positive. But someday we have to figure out how to win these 1-run games. Of our 10 losses, that's six now that have been by 1 run."

The North Stars jumped ahead 2-0 in the third inning. Sydney Russell, who was 4-for-4 on the day, doubled to lead off and went to third when South Elgin made both a fielding error and a throwing error on Taylor Russell's groundball. Juliaclare Plezbert and Ashley Seering followed with singles to stake Engel to a 2-0 lead.

The Storm (15-10, 9-5) came back to tie the game in the bottom of the inning, Layla Ismajlaj coming up with a 2-run single to right after Kim Pierce beat out an infield single and Courtney Bosteder reached on a bunt that SCN failed to get Pierce out at second on. Lauren Vitiello's sacrifice bunt moved the runners just before Ismajlaj's single.

The North Stars then used back-to-back infield errors to set up a 2-run fifth inning. With runners at first and second, Amanda Ciran (2-for-3, 2 doubles) smoked a double just out of reach of a diving Caitlin Stredde in left to score Plezbert and Seering and make it a 4-2 game.

South Elgin came back with a run in the bottom of the inning when Stredde (2-for-4) beat out a two-out infield single and scored on a double to the left field wall from Pierce (2-for-3). But Engel got Bosteder to fly to right to end the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, Engel needed to go 1-2-3 to avoid Pierce, who is hitting well over .600, to come to the plate. The SCN junior did just that, leaving Pierce in the on-deck circle as the game's final out was recorded.

"I just look at her as another batter," Engel said of Pierce, an Indiana State recruit. "But it was lucky for us she didn't get to come up again. I just wanted to get them 1-2-3."

Stary, whose team hosts Waubonsie Valley today, was happy with the win but acknowledged that her team, which left 11 runners on base, could have scored more.

"I'm very happy with coming back and then with a 1-run lead getting after it and shutting them down," she said. "That's our defense. They do their job.

"But we've been working on that - not getting runs across. But we came back and scored when we had to."

Cary Thereon (8-6) suffered the loss for the Storm, but allowed just 1 earned run.

"Cary's been battling all year and she does a great job," said Schaal, whose team hosts St. Charles East today. "She doesn't fold and to leave 11 of their runners on base is a great job."

The Upstate Eight race

The contenders

St. Charles East 12-2

St. Charles North 12-2

Lake Park 10-4

Neuqua V. 11-5

South Elgin 9-5

Bartlett 8-6

Remaining games

St. Charles East: Today at South Elgin, Monday vs. Bartlett, Tuesday at Lake Park, May 20 vs. St. Charles North, May 21 vs. Elgin, May 22 vs. Larkin.

St. Charles North: Today vs. Waubonsie Valley, Monday at Larkin, Tuesday vs. East Aurora, May 20 at St. Charles East, May 22 at Streamwood, May 23 at Neuqua Valley.

Lake Park: Today vs. Larkin, Saturday at Bartlett, Monday at Neuqua Valley, Tuesday vs. St. Charles East, May 20 at Waubonsie Valley, May 21 vs. South Elgin.

Neuqua Valley: Today at Elgin, Monday vs. Lake Park, May 20 vs. Larkin, May 23 vs. St. Charles North.

South Elgin: Today vs. St. Charles East, Monday at Waubonsie Valley, Tuesday vs. Streamwood (at Judson University, 6:30 p.m.), May 20 at East Aurora, May 21 at Lake Park, May 22 at Elgin.

Bartlett: Today vs. East Aurora, Saturday vs. Lake Park and East Aurora, Monday at St. Charles East, Tuesday vs. Elgin, May 20 at Streamwood.