Glenbard North wins rematch with St. Charles East
Josh Sanew figured the only way for his Glenbard North girls softball team to avoid another setback at the hands of St. Charles East was to get an early lead and rely on pitching and defense.
The Panther coach delivered that message to his players before the Class 4A regional title game Saturday against the host Saints, reminding them of the 1-0 setback at the hands of St. Charles East to open the season.
Glenbard North put the words to action by staging a 3-run rally in the second inning and allowing pitching ace Hannah Santora to do the rest in aiding the Panthers to a 4-1 victory and the regional title.
Santora kept the Saints at arm's length after being spotted the early lead, allowing only 3 hits and walking two.
"I had really good defense behind me, which is the most important thing, and we got those early runs," said Santora, who improved her record to 21-4, as the Panthers will carry a 25-8 record into the Lake Park sectional.
"I felt more loose and was really in my comfort zone after the early runs," Santora said.
Jenny Nelson pounded a triple into the left-centerfield gap to start the Panthers' second-inning rally. Nelson scored when Laura Scott followed with a line-drive single to right, just over the glove of St. Charles East second baseman Jenny Niemiec.
After Santora reached on an infield single, Amanda Cygan shot a 2-run single up the middle that chased Saints starter Gabby Moe, who was replaced by Katie Stengler.
"Everyone has an off day, even our all-area pitcher," St. Charles East coach Kelly Barnett said of the early change in hurlers. "She came out flat, and they are a good hitting team and they crushed her.
"It was going to be a tougher climb to come back from three runs down against Santora," Barnett added. "But this whole season this team has come back against pitchers who are just as tough as her."
But Santora would have none of it, not allowing a St. Charles East hit until the bottom of the fifth inning when Niemiec walked and scored on a two-out double to left field by Kayla Brooks.
The Saints threatened again in the bottom of the sixth when Pam Sommer hit a tap back to the mound that Santora misplayed for an error with one out. Rebecca Reinbold reached on a dribbler in front of the plate, setting the stage for power hitter RaeAnne Payleitner.
Payleitner was retired on an infield pop-up, and Niemiec was retired on a slow roller to second base to end the threat.
The Panthers gave Santora an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Susan Lindstrom singled and scored on Bri DiGioia's second double of the game.
"The last time we played these guys, we only had 2 hits and they shut us down," Sanew said. "I said we are a better hitting team now, so let's attack early and get some runs in this game and get a lead for Hannah.
"When we got those first runs across, you could see our confidence boosted and everyone contributed," Sanew added. "We're clicking at the right time and it has been fun to watch."
Barnett didn't have as much fun, but her Saints did finish a solid season at 24-10.
"We needed one more hit today (in a key situation) and we just came up short," Barnett said.