St. Charles North tops Bartlett
There’s a way to retire St. Charles North senior Ashley Seering, though hardly any pitchers have figured it out so far this spring.
Seering came into Thursday’s game against Bartlett hitting .543, then upped that a little higher going 2-for-3 with a 2-run single and an RBI triple in the North Stars’ 6-3 victory.
The 3 RBI gives Seering 15 in 12 games. The triple was her fourth, and she is delivering the timely hits, like her two-out single that scored a pair of runs in the third inning.
“She is making a habit of 2-out RBI which you need to win ballgames,” St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said. “Last four, five games, she’s got a 2-out RBI. She’s swinging a hot stick.”
Seering, an outfielder the past two years, started her second straight game at first base Thursday. She is playing for senior JuliaClare Plezbert, also a returning starter.
“It’s a little bit of transition,” said Seering, who played third and first base as a freshman before moving to the outfield her sophomore year. “As a sophomore they put me straight in the outfield and I fell in love with it. But I’ve always kept my versatility. I’m going to do my job for the team, work my hardest to make the plays and get the job done.”
Plezbert’s parents have health problems so she is working and not able to play softball, Poulin said. Plezbert played in 6 games this spring but Poulin said she probably won’t be able to play again.
“That has been weighing on a lot of girls too,” Poulin said. “Selfishly she’s a big stick and a heck of a first baseman but she’s just a great kid. We are staying in contact with her and she’s still part of the team and welcome here whenever she can. She has to do some things these other kids don’t have to deal with. We love her and miss her and wish her the best.”
After Bartlett (7-10, 4-3) had rallied from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game with a 3-run fourth inning, St. Charles North (11-1, 5-0) mounted the winning rally in the fifth.
Freshman Sabrina Rabin singled. She advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and groundout, then scored on a wild pitch for a 4-3 lead.
Seering’s triple to right field plated Taylor Russell, and Seering scored when Ciran ripped a double off the fence in right-center.
That was the hardest the North Stars hit losing pitcher Amanda Montbriand (4-3). A pair of walks led to the North Stars’ 3-run third inning.
Nicole Beck highlighted Bartlett’s 3-run fourth with her third home run of the year, a 2-run shot to left that followed an outfield error. Catcher Kaylyn Zierke singled in Lisa Matsie to make it 3-3 before third baseman Taylor Russell came up with Cara Carrion’s smash to strand two runners.
Amanda Ciran settled down after that, allowing just 2 hits in the final 3 innings. She finished with 7 strikeouts, 1 walk and just 1 earned run to improve to 8-0.
“If I would have got down (after Beck’s homer) it would definitely been a different outcome on this game,” Ciran said. “After that hit it kind of put the fire under my belly and got me more pumped up.”
Matsie had 2 of the Hawks’ 7 hits. Coach Jim Wolfsmith was encouraged with his team’s play, which included a diving catch by Beck at shortstop to take away a hit by Natalie Capone after Capone had done the same to Beck earlier.
“It was a great softball game,” Wolfsmith said. “Both teams played crisp softball.
For years we were kind of the measuring stick, us and Lake Park. This year everyone knows how good St. Charles North is and how good Amanda is on the mound.
“We are playing good softball, if you do that the wins take care of themselves. We just didn’t have that one extra knock when we needed it.”