Softball: Cusack’s walk-off single completes Lake Park’s comeback against St. Charles North

It was a stressful last at-bat for Caleigh Cusack.

With the game-winning run on third base in a tie game, the Lake Park senior was trying anything she could to put the ball in play to get the win over St. Charles North.

And in her first five swings, all she could do was push the ball foul.

“Those moments are definitely very stressful,” Cusack said. “But I just had to believe in myself and keep my cool. I knew I could do it and if it’s up to me, it’s up to me.”

And on her sixth swing of the at-bat, her belief payed off, as the senior shot a single into right field to give the Lancers an 11-10 walk-off victory over the North Stars.

“That was amazing, and being able to hug my coach afterwards was a great feeling,” Cusack said. “It was such an amazing team win, everybody did all they could and it was just great to come out on top.”

It was a come-from-behind effort for the Lancers (14-4 overall, 5-2 DuKane), who faced a 6-0 deficit through three innings of play. Their 11 runs in the game marked the first time they’ve scored double-digit runs against the North Stars in DuKane Conference play.

“We’ll take it. It’s always fun to have that,” Lancers coach Lynsey Gunnells said. “Everybody woke up and we were extremely aggressive on the bases. But you have to take a chance against a team like St. Charles North, and it worked in our favor.”

The Lancers drew even for the first time after a four-run fourth inning and five-run fifth inning tied the game at 9-9. Maya Melendez tied the game again in the sixth inning with an RBI single to make it 10-10.

“We just all trusted each other and knew that we were capable of winning this game,” Cusack said. “We just had to trust each other and keep our energy up and know we could all do it. It was a complete team effort. We won this game as a team. There was no individual person.”

Lake Park was led by a trio of three-hit performances by Melendez, Gianna Doyle and Kaylee Fritzler, with the latter leading off the seventh inning with her second double of the day before scoring the winning run.

“I was a little nervous, but I knew I had to make the adjustments and square a ball up,” Fritzler said. “I had to go through my swing, be loose and that’s exactly what ended up happening.”

Fritzler and Melendez led a different approach in the circle for the Lancers, who were without Illinois-Chicago commit and ace Gianna Furlano for the day with an undisclosed injury. The two switched every nine batters, with Fritzler facing the final 12 batters, which included a scoreless seventh inning.

“That just kept our arms in the game and that just really helped both of us and we kept cheering each other on,” said Fritzler, who allowed five hits and three runs in a combined 4⅔ innings. “Going into the final inning, I just cleared my head and knew how I wanted to throw. Took a deep breath before every pitch, and did what I needed to do.”

On the other side, it was an uncharacteristic game for the North Stars (12-1, 5-1), who entered Friday’s contest allowing just 14 runs over their first 12 games. It’s also the first time the team has given up 10-plus runs to an in-state opponent since a 14-4 loss to Marist in 2023.

“It’s been one heck of a week where we’ve played every single day, and there’s not as much juices in our pitches,” North Stars coach Tom Poulin said. “But our defensive execution wasn’t great. We made too many mistakes defensively and gave them extra bases. But that team battles and always can hit. And every time we play them, it’s a crazy game.”

St. Charles North got out of the gates hot with a four-run first inning, which was capped by a two-run home run by Abby Zawadzki, who later added an RBI single in the sixth inning to make it 10-9.

Jillian Salter added four hits in the game, including two two-run doubles, one giving the North Stars a 6-0 lead in the third inning while the other gave them a 9-4 lead in the fifth.

“Jill’s bat always needs to be in the lineup,” Poulin said. “We have a lot of options, and she just had a really good day. But we haven’t been in those high-pressure situations much this year, so this is good for us and will make us better. But I’ll tip my cap to Lake Park. What a way to battle back, continue to believe and show a lot of character there.”