St. Charles North nearly flawless

There is no shortage of veteran players on the softball diamond at St. Charles North this spring.

“We have 11 seniors, so we’re a pretty old team,” said four-year standout Natalie Capone.

Crafting an envious formula of effective pitching, flawless defense, opportunistic base-running and clutch hitting, the North Stars defeated Lake Park 2-0 Tuesday afternoon in Upstate Eight crossover action in St. Charles.

Amanda Ciran allowed 3 hits and walked none, and the North Stars handled all 19 defensive chances without an error to cement their victory.

“Our pitching and defense are going to carry us,” said first-year St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin.

“I told our girls (after the game) that they weren’t going to play a more sound defensive team this year,” said Lake Park coach Tom Mazzie.

Capone was a human vacuum cleaner at shortstop to anchor the North Stars’ virtually impenetrable infield.

The Indian State-bound Capone had assists on 7 of the Lancers’ first 11 balls put in play.

“Our defense is really sound,” Capone said. “We all just work together to get it done. The chemistry over the past few years has been very good.”

Lake Park (2-3) answered behind right-handed starter Lisa Baumgart.

The senior did not allow a St. Charles North player to reach safely the first time through the order.

“I really challenged my pitchers to have confidence in their stuff,” Mazzie said. “(Baumgart) dealt today.”

But St. Charles North (3-1) would break the scoreless tie in its half of the fourth inning.

Loren Cihlar had a one-out single and promptly swiped second.

The senior moved to third on an infield out, and yet another St. Charles North college recruit, Loyola-bound senior Annie Korth, delivered a shot to center to score Cihlar and give the North Stars the only run they would need.

“Whenever I am in that situation (runner in scoring position with two outs), I want to get (the ball) in play,” Korth said. “I watched (the pitch) all the way in and ripped it.”

Korth would also author a defining defensive moment for St. Charles North.

With Lake Park searching for the equalizer in the top of the fifth, Korth gunned down a runner who strayed too far off the bag on a pitch she initially mishandled.

“I knew I had her with how far off she was,” Korth said. “I just needed to make a good throw.”

The assist became particularly noteworthy as it took the bat out of the hands of sophomore Shannon Fritsche, who had 2 of the Lancers’ 3 hits off Ciran (3-0).

Taylor Russell had another two-out single to score Emily Watts in the North Stars’ sixth to frame the final score.