St. Charles North pounds out 22 hits vs. South Elgin
The St. Charles North softball team expects to be able to score a lot of runs this season.
The North Stars sure did on Friday.
Pounding out 22 hits - 20 of them singles - off two South Elgin pitchers, St. Charles North rolled to a 16-1 Upstate Eight Conference win over the Storm in South Elgin.
The North Stars (5-1, 1-0) scored 7 runs in the first inning on 8 hits and never looked back.
"It's important," said SCN's Taylor Russell of the quick start, "but our defense is good and if we don't get ahead early we know we'll hit later."
There was no later to Friday's game. With one out in the top of the first, the North Stars used 3 straight hits and 2 South Elgin errors to set up Amanda Ciran's 2-run double off South Elgin starter Xenia Cerda. RBI singles from Kristin Damm and Natalie Capone added to the inning and when it was finally over the Stars had a 7-0 lead before South Elgin had an at-bat.
"It's nice to have the cushion and relax a little," said North Stars coach April Stary. "These kids just keep producing. It's comforting to know it's out there like that."
Loren Cihlar and Taylor Russell were each 4-for-5 for North. Russell had a booming solo home run to lead off the second inning, drove in a run in the fifth and drove in another run in the North Stars' 6-run seventh, giving her 5 RBI for the game.
"We were just thinking about hitting the ball because that's what we're known for," Russell said.
With the big lead, Amanda Engel held South Elgin (1-7, 0-3) in check for five innings before giving way to Emily Watts, who struck out four and gave up 1 hit in the final two innings. Engel (3-1) allowed just 4 hits and had 4 strikeouts and no walks.
"If she can keep that up she can get more pitching time," Stary said of Watts.
Sydney Russell, Ciran (3 RBI), Juliaclare Plezbert (RBI) and Damm each had 2 hits for St. Charles North, while Ashley Seering, Jenna Trusso and Caitlin Khoury each drove in runs.
Stary was particularly pleased with the play of her "rookies" off the bench, Khoury and Trusso, who threw the speedy Katelyn Stonecipher out from left field when Stonecipher tried to score from second on Courtney Bosteder's single in the fifth inning.
"That was a fantastic throw," Stary said.
For South Elgin, it was another frustrating day for a young team that has now lost seven straight after winning its season opener. But it didn't come without some bright spots. Sophomore catcher Sara Irving had 2 hits, including an RBI triple, and sophomore pitcher Sam Bolin held the North Stars to just 1 run in the middle three innings before tiring and allowing 6 runs in the seventh.
"I told our girls after the game that for five innings we played pretty well," said Storm coach Jason Schaal. "To play a team of that caliber and hang with them for five innings is good. But we came out flat and unfortunately it snowballs.
"St. Charles North is a great team that will be a front-runner in our conference and could go far in the postseason."
Schaal was pleased with Bolin's effort in the circle, a day after she threw more than 130 pitches against Lake Park.
"Bolin came in and pitched well," Schaal said. "She had a long tiring day (Thursday).
"We hit the ball pretty well and hit some good shots right at people. I'm not terribly upset. We have some things to work on. We're a young team. We'll continue to play and we'll improve."