Softball: Sujack's blast caps St. Charles East's win over Neuqua Valley
St. Charles East's freshman battery came up big.
Catcher Hayden Sujack smacked 3 hits, including a walk-off home run, and pitchers Makayla Van Dinther and Lexi Majkszak shut down visiting Neuqua Valley, leading the Saints to an 11-1, 5-inning win.
Stephanie Schnite also homered, and Samantha Gaca had a pair of RBI doubles for the Saints.
St. Charles East quickly turned a close game into a rout. The Saints led just 3-0 after 3 innings, but their bats came alive in the final 2 frames.
Schnite's homer to right center and Addison Wolf's double ignited a 3-run rally in the fourth, and Sujack's fifth homer of the year capped a 5-run, fifth-inning outburst. Samantha Beers and Holly Smith doubled in the inning.
The Saints scored in every inning except the second.
"We consistently put offensive pressure on them," said St. Charles East coach Jarod Gutesha. "It wasn't one big inning, it was a series of innings. It was a few here, a few there. We kept pecking away and before you know it, it was a walk-off home run."
Sujack had an RBI single in the Saints' 2-run first inning, then singled and scored in the third before ending the game in her fourth at-bat.
"I was really just looking to represent my team," said Sujack. "I always just try to feel good in the box, and I have been recently. And my teammates always encouraging me always helps."
Neuqua Valley couldn't take advantage of some early scoring opportunities. The Wildcats' first two batters of the game reached base, but Van Dinther got two strikeouts sandwiched around a popout to end the threat.
The visitors threatened again in the third, getting runners to second and third with two outs, but Van Dinther again escaped unscathed.
Majkszak took over to start the fourth and Krista Waldusky greeted her with a double to the right field corner, but she struck out three in a row to get out of the inning.
Neuqua Valley finally broke through in the fifth. Nadia Casanova beat out a bunt with two outs, took third on Ella Thormeyer's hit, and snuck home on a pickoff attempt at first base.
"Our offense battled back, they didn't give up," said Neuqua Valley coach Danielle Asquini. "We have some work to do offensively, but the girls are here for it. They're working on their swings and trying to get a little bit more aggressive with their plate approaches."
The Saints, on the other hand, got the offense going early. Nicole Johnston drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and scored on Sujack's single up the middle. The next batter, Gaca, doubled in courtesy runner Alyse Price for a quick 2-0 lead.
St. Charles East improved to 5-1 while the Wildcats fell to 1-3.