St. Charles East downs Kaneland for 4th straight win
It's still early, but home runs are flying off St. Charles East's bats at a record clip.
A missile by Alex Latoria sailed over the right-field fence during the Saints' 5-2 win over Kaneland Wednesday in St. Charles.
That homer actually slowed the pace for St. Charles East (4-0), now averaging 2 home runs a game during an explosive first week of softball.
"It's all about a good, solid approach," Saints coach Kelly Horan said. "All of our home runs yesterday (against Wheaton North) were just great swings. We don't ever swing for the fences. My kids are very disciplined right now and swinging hard for base hits and sometimes the home run is the result."
Latoria's blast capped a 3-run first inning that proved to be all the offense Jordan Hall needed. The junior improved to 2-0 holding Kaneland (3-2) to 4 hits while striking out 3 and walking 3.
Freshman Madelyn Candre started the rally with a double and she scored on Katie Kolb's single. Latoria followed by taking an outside pitch from Angie Morrow the opposite way for her second home run of the season.
"Inside or outside either way, I just go with it," the Evansville-bound senior said. "Everyone has been high energy and everything has been going well. Good attitudes and everything."
Hall didn't allow a hit until Meg Cohrs opened the fourth inning with a triple. Hall stranded her at third, getting a strikeout and two groundouts.
After the Saints scored an unearned run on Morrow - the RBI coming on Kelly Rinker's single - to make it 4-0 in the fourth, Kaneland got on the board in the fifth.
Samantha Payton drew a 1-out walk, took second on a groundout and scored on a bloop single into left field by Rachel Goress. At first Payton held at third before coach Peter Goff sent her in when the Saints didn't field the ball cleanly in left.
The Saints got the run right back in their next at-bat. Latoria laced another extra-base hit to right, this time a double, and scored when catcher Rylee Stout lined an RBI single to left.
"If you throw one over the plate there's a great chance she's going to hit it really hard," Horan said of Latoria who joined Stout as the Saints with 2 hits. "She's a great player."
So is Cohrs who connected on a home run that sailed a good 25 feet over the center-field fence in the sixth.
That turned out to be the only earned run Hall allowed.
"I thought Jordan did a great job," Horan said. "She threw a lot of ground balls today. Their No. 4 hitter (Cohrs) is a great ballplayer but what made that one OK is that nobody was on. I thought she (Hall) did a great job all the way around."
The Saints ended the game turning a 5-3-2 double play. Latoria fielded a grounder at third, looked the runner back at third, then threw to Rinker for the out at first. Rinker quickly fired home to Stout who tagged out the runner from third trying to score.
Stout also made a diving catch on a foul pop to strand a runner at third in the third inning.
Cohrs finished with 2 of her team's 4 hits. Kaneland also has flashed its power early this season, Gorress and Paige Kuefler homering Tuesday.
"The first at-bat was a little rough but then I got in my groove and felt better," Cohrs said. "We had some little mistakes but we are working through those and getting better. It's always good to play big schools and talented schools early in the season to get ready for conference."
Kaneland's next game is its conference opener next Tuesday against Yorkville. Goff liked what he saw out of Morrow, who recently returned to the circle after getting her wisdom teeth out. She allowed just 1 earned run over her final 5 innings and finished with 5 strikeouts with just 2 walks against a dangerous lineup with the wind blowing straight out to center.
"I thought Angie did a good job of bearing down and keeping us in the game," Goff said. "You have to give credit to St. Charles, they came out and hit. I told her I was proud of her effort today. (Our whole team), they never quit."