Bartlett 6, St. Charles North 4
Looking for its 13th consecutive Upstate Eight Conference softball victory this season, Bartlett found itself in unfamiliar territory heading into the bottom of the third inning -- trailing 3-0.
After freshman Amanda Ciran's two-out double cleared the bases, giving St. Charles North (16-7, 8-4) a 3-0 lead in the top of the third, the Hawks (17-5, 13-0) wasted little time getting back into the game.
Scoring their first run on a throwing error with the bases loaded, the Hawks' Lauren Wydra helped her own cause by belting a towering 3-run home run during a 4-run rally that put her team on top to stay.
The Hawks went on to post a 6-4 triumph Monday afternoon in Bartlett.
"It's good for us to get ourselves down 3 (runs) even though you don't want to do it as a coach," Hawks coach Jim Wolfsmith said of the early deficit. "We haven't been in that position a lot so to get down and battle back is always a good thing."
It was Bartlett's No. 8 and 9 hitters, Nicole Beck and Tia Filishio, that helped ignite the 4-run third, as Beck led off with a single before Filishio walked to runners on first and second.
"We're good at 8 and 9," Wolfsmith said of his eighth- and ninth-place hitters. "Our 8 hitter, (Nicole) Beck, is hitting .340 and she's got a couple home runs. Tia's (Filishio) also a very good hitter. She's batting .275 in that ninth spot.
"When you've got girls who can get on base in front of Elizabeth Kay, in front of Callie Dennison, in front of Lauren Wydra, we know we're going to score runs. We're averaging about 9 or 10 runs per game."
Kay helped provide some insurance with her clutch two-out, 2-run double that gave the Hawks a 6-3 lead after 4 innings.
"I give our kids a lot of credit for being focused and getting some big hits," said Wolfsmith. "Lauren had the biggest hit obviously with the home run but right before that Callie had a big hit that brought in Elizabeth Kay."
Wydra, who battled early control problems with 4 of her 5 walks coming in the first 4 innings, struck out eight while retiring the side in order for the first time in the seventh to improve her record to 12-2.
"She battled today," said Wolfsmith of his senior ace. "She fought and she threw pitches when she needed to."
Wydra, whose third home run of the season came on a low 0-1 pitch, wasn't overly concerned when her team fell behind early.
"We're the type of team that when we get down, we want to show them who we are and just come back right away," said Wydra.
Ciran (5-2) walked a pair and fanned one for the North Stars, who had dropped an 8-0 decision to the Hawks on April 12.
"Our pitcher is a little bit upset about the loss," said North Stars coach April Stary. "I just told her, 'take away one pitch and that's a 'W' for us and an 'L' for them.' You can't do anything about it.
"We take away that we're a way better team than we were the first time."