Goettel, St. Charles North blank Huntley
St. Charles North pitcher Ava Goettel had plenty of tense moments against Huntley, last year's Class 4A state third-place finisher, but never gave in.
"She's tough, she buckled down, and she just kept hitting her spots," North Stars coach Tom Poulin said of his rising junior ace. "We were telling our girls that we just saw one of the best pitchers in the state, and so did [Huntley]."
Goettel wiggled out of jam after jam Monday, stranding nine baserunners total, as the Raiders were unable to scratch across any runs despite multiple chances. St. Charles North held on to beat Huntley, 2-0, in the season opener for both teams.
Goettel stranded two baserunners in each of the first, third, fourth and sixth innings.
She got Raiders starting pitcher Jori Heard, her travel teammate at Wasco Diamonds, to ground out to third baseman Julia Larson for the final out in a game in which both teams struggled to string together hits on an infield clogged by mud.
A couple of St. Charles North batters fell as they ran out of the batter's box, and umpires briefly huddled before play continued in the pitchers' duel.
Goettel's season-opening win was a carry-over from last year's postseason run in which the North Stars (1-0) won a Class 4A sectional title.
"She kind of left off with what she did last year for us," Poulin said. "She was dealing in the [playoffs], and that's kind of what we saw from her today. She was getting ahead and she was mixing up her spots. She's experienced. She's pitched in some big games for us."
Goettel credited her teammates for keeping her calm with runners on base.
"Definitely it's my teammates who that keep me up and keep me going," said Goettel, who struck out nine and walked three in a complete-game victory. "I tend to get down on myself but I know they're behind me to pick me up."
As Goettel held the Raiders to four hits and kept them from scoring, Heard was dealing for Huntley (0-1). The Raiders senior struck out 16 batters in a dominant effort for Huntley (0-1), allowing only one earned run, scattering three hits and walking none.
North Stars catcher Sophia Olman accounted for the game's only two runs in the top of the first when she laced a hard-hit ball past the glove of Huntley third baseman Madi Smith and into left field. The hit scored leadoff hitter Leigh Vande Hei, who reached on a fielding error, and No. 2 hitter Ashlee Chantos, who singled.
After another fielding error and a single, Heard struck out the final three batters in the first to prevent any further damage. Heard, who is committed to Valparaiso, allowed only one hit the rest of the way, a base hit by Meghan Nicastro in the top of the second inning. She did not allow any more baserunners over the final five innings.
"Jori did phenomenal," Huntley coach Mark Petryniec said. "St. Charles North is a great team, they're a big-hitting team. If Jori does what she is capable of like she did today, then we're going to be in a lot of games.
"We're just looking forward to what she's going to be able to do over the course of the season. She had to kind of sit and wait her turn. She's very talented. We're expecting good things from her."
Heard likely would have a lot more innings under her belt in high school already if not for four-year varsity pitcher Briana Bower, who led all pitchers in the state last spring with 31 wins - along with 460 strikeouts. Bower now is at Mississippi State.
As a junior last spring, Heard went 4-1 with a 1.96 ERA and 74 strikeouts and nine walks in 46 1/3 innings.
"I was always looking up to Bri because she's always been so good," Heard said. "I'm just excited to work with everyone here and work really hard this season. I think we're all really good and think we can go far."
Heard, Sadie Svendsen, Zoe Doherty and Meghan Ryan accounted for the only four base hits for Huntley, all singles. The North Stars also cut down a potential run at home plate in the third on a relay from Vande Hei in center field.
"The field conditions, both sides had to play in it, and you saw two great pitchers go at it today," Petryniec said. "It was fun. I'm glad we got out here and got to see some great at-bats against a really good pitcher.
"Our small ball got taken away, but they're the same type of team, so it was even across the board. Just a couple of miscues in the beginning, or we'd still be sitting at [a score of] 0-0."