Ciran delivers dominating spring

If there's ever been a player whose initials lend themselves to the perfect nickname, it's St. Charles North senior Amanda Ciran.

Start with the A, go to the C, add an E ... and you have Ace, one of the main reasons the St. Charles North girls softball team is headed to the Class 4A state tournament in East Peoria this weekend for the first time in school history.

“It started in summer ball, playing with (SCN teammates) Sydney and Taylor (Russell),” Ciran said. “I love that nickname. I wish everyone would call me it.”

Anyone who didn't call her Ace certainly was thinking it during a senior season that has seen Ciran take a 23-1 record with a 1.11 ERA and 149 strikeouts in 170 innings into Friday's state semifinal matchup with New Trier, earning herself the captain honors of the Daily Herald All-Area softball team.

Take an opposing coach like Geneva's Greg Dierks, whose team actually was the only one to beat Ciran during the regular season.

“She's very good. She's got a lot of weapons,” Dierks said. “She's tough out there. She's kind of imposing. Everything from her pre-inning warm-ups where she gets her run-up pitches. She's got a presence out there and a nice variety of pitches.”

Keep them guessing

Ciran uses four pitches: a fastball, change, drop ball and screwball. She said she's working on a curve but doesn't like to throw it in games.

Ciran uses the screwball mostly on lefties but also can jam a righty with it. The way she changes speeds makes life miserable for most batters and became a strikeout pitch much of this year. Just when the hitters think they've caught up to Ciran's fastball, consistently in the 61-63 mile per hour range, she has the ability to keep hitters off-balance with her change.

A four-year varsity pitcher, Ciran said her fastball already was humming at 59 mph her freshman year. Her main improvement in the circle is not with more power but her demeanor through games — evidenced as recently as Monday's 12-4 supersectional win over DeKalb when she kept her wits even after giving up 4 first-inning runs.

Sure enough, the poise paid off when Ciran didn't allow another run over the final 6 innings, earning a supersectional victory after a pair of sectional wins last week when she held Leyden and Elk Grove to 3 runs in 18 innings.

“Just being able to give up a home run and not let it affect me,” Ciran said. “I work so hard on my mental game. Getting four runs in the first inning and don't let it get to me is my biggest improvement.”

A perfect duo

There's several people who know Ciran better than Annie Korth. Ciran's parents, of course, and her sister Erika, a manger on the St. Charles North softball team.

But as the catcher at St. Charles North all of this season and much of the past three years on varsity, Korth has developed a tight relationship with Ciran.

So close, in fact, the two are going to continue playing softball together — and room together — next year at Loyola University.

So who better to speak to what it's like to work with Ciran than the person who has teamed up for that 23-1 record.

“What's great about her, she never gives up,” Korth said. “We have fun, her and I, we just have a great time. She's just a great pitcher and I love her to death.

“We're best friends, we're having fun while we're doing this. She's an amazing pitcher and hits her spots wonderfully. We click so well. Whatever I call she'll call and we have a complete understanding of each other. If she shakes me off I know what she'll call next.”

Korth made her decision for Loyola first as a junior. Ciran committed as a senior.

“I can't wait for college,” Ciran said. “We've been best friends since she joined varsity with me (sophomore year). We've been so close and grown together, we hang out in the summer. I'm ecstatic to go to college with her. I couldn't ask for anyone else behind that plate.”

Handling a heavier workload

Ciran certainly has made life easier for Tom Poulin in his first year as St. Charles North head coach.

Often times this spring after a close win or a comeback, a reporter would ask Poulin how the North Stars did it. And just as often he'd smile and say, “It helps to have Amanda on our side.”

“I would say that her consistency is one of her best assets to our team,” Poulin said. “Day in, day out she came to work and got the job done with her arm and her bat. Despite the obvious pressure that was put on her, as our No. 1 pitcher and all of the expectations that come with that job title and our team expectations, Amanda performed at the highest of levels.”

A varsity pitcher since her freshman season, Ciran has steadily improved each year. She started 9-3 as a freshman, improved to 11-5 as a sophomore and then 13-1 last spring. She takes a 56-10 career record into the state tournament.

It wasn't until this spring that Ciran started pitching in an every day role. She responded in a big way, losing once.

“I love it, it helps with my conditioning of my arm a lot more,” Ciran said of pitching more. “My arm is a lot more flexible. My arm can go around in circles a lot more when you are doing it every day instead of every other day.”

Ciran also provided a threat at the plate, both this year and throughout her career. She's hitting .326 with 6 home runs and 23 RBI this year, and she has 14 home runs in her four years.

A leader off the field, too

Ciran started pitching when she was 8 years old and began taking lessons when she was 12. She also played basketball at St. Charles North, taking off her junior season to focus on college recruiting but returning to the court this winter.

“I missed it so much I had to go back,” Ciran said of sitting out her junior year. “I love basketball. I like pitching a lot better but basketball is such a fun sport. It gets me in good condition, I was in good shape to start the (softball) season.”

Ciran's parents were both standout athletes at Hinsdale South High School. Her father Ron played basketball and baseball and her mom Sandi played softball.

Ciran said her mom's experiences in softball have taught her lessons.

“My mom has always been there, always behind me, telling me what I need to do, supporting me but keeping me levelheaded,” Ciran said. “‘Amanda you are good but you need to stay on the ground, keep working as hard as you can because you can never be perfect.'”

Her mom's advice has rubbed off, according to Poulin who said Ciran is a joy for himself and her teammates to be around. Poulin was just as complimentary of Ciran's off-the-field demeanor as all her success on the mound.

“Amanda has been a leader in the off-season and has led by example during the season,” Poulin said. “She has kept smiles on all of our faces every day we spend together. She is a fun-loving kid, but also a fierce competitor who plays her best in the biggest games. She is a true teammate and has represented St. Charles North very, very well.”

No doubt about it. Just call her Ace.