Wheaton North edges St. Charles East
In a game that saw a little bit of everything, mere execution proved to be the tragic downfall for St. Charles East in an agonizingly close 2-1 defeat to Wheaton North on Wednesday in Villa Park at the Willowbrook Regional.
The Saints left 11 runners on base, including the tying run on second base in the top of the seventh inning, as their inability to come through in the clutch sealed their fate.
"Missing one key hit, that's kind of been our entire season," St. Charles East coach Kelly Horan said. "One key hit and we win who knows how many more games."
The game started ominously for St. Charles East (18-15) after a 90-minute lightning storm delayed the start of the contest. Wheaton North jumped on the scoreboard in the first inning behind first baseman Kelsey Ullrich's RBI single with two outs.
The second inning saw a rarity as Wheaton North pitcher Katie Thornton sawed off the bat of the Saints' Dani Asquini, sending the barrel of the bat helicoptering across the infield dirt. Nobody was hurt as Thornton calmly threw on to first base to get the out, as the barrel lay in the hole between third base and the shortstop.
The broken bat appeared to be a microcosom for the Saints as they proceeded to leave eight more runners on base over the next five innings. Their only run came from shortstop Jenny Niemiec's RBI single, as the senior went 3-for-4 in her final game.
"It's a tough way go to out," Niemiec said. "We played well all the way around, but we were just one hit away."
Meanwhile, the Falcons (26-10) made the most of their opportunities, highlighted by Thornton's 2-out, game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning.
"I was just trying to make contact with two outs," Thornton said. "I just wanted to hit the ball hard and it ended up working out really nicely."
However, the Saints threatened again in the top of the seventh with the tying run of second with two outs. Infielder Julie Sobieski put a charge into the second pitch of the at-bat, launching a ball down the left-field line that went foul by just feet.
"I was freaking out until I saw it go foul," Thornton said. "Then I went to thinking that it was just a long strike and I wanted to come at her with the next pitch."
After Sobieski battled off a few more pitchers, Thornton finally got the strikeout and the victory for Wheaton North.
"They had runners on all day and we were scrapping for runners," Wheaton North coach Karen Calabrese said. "When we got them on, the girls put the ball in play and got the big hits and that's the difference in the game."