St. Charles North rises, outshines Elgin

The St. Charles North softball team needed a wakeup call Monday.

The North Stars got it after Elgin scored an unearned run in the bottom of the second. Taylor Russell homered in the third to give North the lead, and the North Stars went on to win their 15th consecutive game 6-2.

“We have been starting games slowly as of late,” North coach Tom Poulin said. “We need to realize that you don't just show up and you're going to get a win — everyone is going to give you their best.”

The Maroons' Jaclyn Navarro reached on a two-out error in the second. Monica Stockman hit a chopper over first base for a single. The North Stars' right fielder misplayed the ball and Navarro came all away around from first to score.

Loren Cihlar, who went 3-for-4, led off the top of the third with an infield single. Russell followed with a line-drive home run to center as the North Stars (16-1, 10-0) took a 2-1 lead.

North added two more runs in the fourth on a run-scoring singles from Sydney Russell and Taylor Russell for a 4-1 lead.

Elgin (14-9, 3-6) got a run back in the bottom of the fourth as Jennah Perryman singled with two outs on a hard come-backer that hit North pitcher Amanda Ciran. After two walks, Ciran threw a wild pitch, allowing Perryman to score. Ciran got out of the inning by forcing a groundball back to her.

“Today a lot of things were working for me, especially my changeup,” Ciran said. “That's my go-to pitch. I like playing around with the batters with that pitch.”

The North Stars added an insurance run in the sixth on a Sydney Russell sacrifice fly and another in the seventh on an infield single from Sydney Russell.

North's 1-2-3 hitters – Sydney Russell, Cihlar and Taylor Russell – combined to go 7-for-11 with a home run, 6 RBI and three stolen bases.

Ciran (12-0) took care of the rest. The senior allowed just 2 hits, walked three and struck out 10 in the complete-game effort.

“She's got that changeup that she throws for a strike and that kept us off balance all day,” Maroons coach Chad Dahlman said. “When you can spot an off-speed pitch like that, it's tough to hit.”

Hannah Perryman (7-3) suffered the loss, allowing 12 hits and 6 runs, 5 earned. She walked five, hit a batter and struck out 11.

“After the first time through the order, I thought we settled down and had a better approach against her,” Poulin said. “She's a handful. She's probably the best pitcher we've seen so far this year.”