Softball: St. Charles East wins thriller, hands rival 1st loss
A diving play is always a thrilling way to end a game.
But it becomes oh-so sweeter when it’s a diving play with the bases loaded and two outs to preserve a one-run lead against a crosstown rival.
And for St. Charles East’s Holly Smith, that was just the case.
Her diving catch at first base put a stop to St. Charles North’s late-game rally as the Saints held on for a 4-3 victory over their crosstown rival Friday afternoon.
“I dive a lot, so it was just really fun,” Smith said. “It was definitely a highlight of my Saints career for sure.”
The Saints (11-5, 2-2 DuKane Conference) entered the top of the seventh with a 4-2 lead, but the North Stars made pitcher Grace Hautzinger work for the final three outs. Anna Lamb started the inning with a pinch-hit solo home run to centerfield to cut the lead to one.
After Hautzinger got the next two batters out with a strikeout and a groundout, North (8-1, 2-1) had its next three batters get on base on a double, an intentional walk, and an infield single after Smith couldn’t get her foot on first base in time.
“I was frustrated because I thought that we got her out,” Smith said. “I felt like I blew it.”
The misplay led to a battle between Hautzinger and Abby Zawadski, who put the North Stars up 2-1 in the fourth inning with a two-run shot to right-center field. And with a 1-1 count, Zawadski managed to put the ball in play, but Smith made the catch to end the rally.
“To put ourselves in that situation shows you what we’re made of,” North coach Tom Poulin said. “But I thought that Hautzinger just hit her spots really well in that at-bat, and that was a nice defensive play at first.”
Hayden Sujack put the Saints in the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run home run over the centerfield wall for her third extra-base hit of the game. After being up 3-0 in the count, she said that she was just trying to find a pitch to hit.
“When (pitcher Paige Murray) got that first strike I was like ‘OK, she’s going to throw it again,’” Sujack said. “And I saw that next pitch right out of her hand and it was almost like a movie scene.”
Sujack finished 3 for 3 with a home run and two doubles, including one in the first inning to give the Saints an early 1-0 lead.
“From the start, I know that’s what my team needed, and I’ve been lacking that, so I really wanted to come and help them,” Sujack said. “So starting that off and getting that going, I think that always just gives everyone a little bit of motivation and gets the ball rolling.”
East coach Jarod Gutesha said that playing in close games against good teams, especially when its a rivalry game, are always fun to do, and that games against the North Stars always bring a giant fan turnout along with it.
“It’s easy to say it was a fun game when you win,” he said. “But these games are always so competitive. Everybody’s into it, and the energy from both sides make it an enjoyable day.”
Gutesha said that getting the win over North is a big momentum boost as the team heads into the latter half of the season.
“When the kids look at the schedule, usually the very first thing they look for is when we play St. Charles North,” he said. “It just adds a sort of excitement and hype to the game, and we just hope we can come play in competitive games in the future.”
On the other side, Poulin felt like the North Stars didn’t play their best in their first loss of the season. Despite that, he said that playing in a rivalry game against quality competition like the Saints will help his young team get better for future games.
“I feel like we have a ton of depth in this group,” Poulin said. “These girls are just gaining experience and are getting better every day. And I think that this is going to be a special team when it’s all said and done.”