Softball: Schaumburg gets its revenge against St. Charles North

While Schaumburg earned a good dose of revenge with an 8-5 win at St. Charles North on Wednesday, any victory would have been sweet for the Saxons after a rare 0-3 start.

Paige Alt did her part in getting that first win, going 3-for-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI including the go-ahead hit in Schaumburg's 5-run sixth inning. She also pitched a complete-game, holding the North Stars to 1 run over the final 5 innings after a shaky start.

"It's nice (to beat SCN) but it's nice to get this first win," said Alt, whose team went 29-2 last year with both losses to the North Stars including in the sectional championship game.

"I think it's more a confidence-booster for us to show we could battle with good teams. We were still staying up in the dugout (down 4-0), making sure we were in the game at all times because we know we can come back. We have a hitting team."

That Schaumburg does. The Saxons (1-3) blasted 6 extra-base hits, getting big games from Alt, Michelle Birkholz (2-for-4, triple, double), Christina Candotti (1-for-1, 2-run double), and Brittney Butt (3-for-4, double, 2 RBI), among others.

Yet it was St. Charles North (1-1) who got off to the quick start, scoring 2 runs in the first and second innings. Alt said the key to her improved pitching the rest of the game was getting her drop curve going.

Schaumburg, ranked No. 8 in the Daily Herald preseason Top 20 to St. Charles North's No. 9, started its comeback in the fourth with Alt's leadoff double. She scored on an error, and Butt added an RBI double to bring the Saxons within 4-2.

After Natalie Napier's RBI single in the fifth made it 4-3, the Saxons took the lead in the sixth.

Birkholz started the rally with a triple against Maddie Webb, who relieved Jillian Waslawski. Butt's line single tied the game, and after 2 errors by the North Stars kept the inning going, Alt and Candotti smacked back-to-back 2-run hits for an 8-4 lead.

"We made too many mistakes against a good team like Schaumburg and we made them late in the game," St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said. "I think we can be more confident, more vocal and more aggressive in the field. It's a good lesson for us early against a good team."

The Saxons also made their share of mistakes, especially on the basepaths where they had 4 runners thrown out.

"We want to fix those little things," said Saxons coach Ellen Abreu, who beefed up her schedule this year by adding St. Charles East and Oak Park. "We turned it up a notch with a good base hit and then chained them together."

North Stars catcher Sam Hausl picked off two runners at second base. Webb and Allison Hausl both had 2 hits for the North Stars.

"I knew going into this game they wanted it bad," Sam Hausl said. "We can work on things and come in with energy and we have the ability to go as far as we did last year if not further."