St. Charles North rallies past Bartlett for big UEC win

Down and out? While St. Charles North got down Tuesday against Bartlett, the North Stars certainly weren't out - in large part because there's nobody in their lineup that's easy to get out.

Shortstop Nicole Beck's 3-run home run staked the Hawks to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. That turned out to be all Bartlett's offense, giving the North Stars time to rally for a 4-3 victory.

St. Charles North (9-1, 2-0) won its ninth straight while handing Bartlett (7-3, 4-1) its first Upstate Eight loss. The North Stars also avenged a 2-1 loss to the Hawks in last year's Class 4A Lake Park sectional championship.

St. Charles North's No. 8 hitter Julia Clare Plezbert started the comeback with a 2-run single in the second inning, then No. 6 hitter Annie Korth completed it with her RBI single in the third inning. Both came with two outs.

"Everyone was a little shaken of course," Korth said of falling behind so quickly. "It was only the first inning so I knew we had plenty of game in front of us. I knew we could get some hits and runs and we did."

Korth's RBI single scored Taylor Russell and gave the North Stars a 4-3 lead. Neither team scored over the final four innings.

Bartlett starter Callie Dennison (6-2) settled down, while Amanda Engel went the first four innings and Amanda Ciran the final three for the North Stars.

It was a shaky start for Engel (4-1) and her defense. An error and hit batter put two on in the first inning and Beck made the North Stars pay by driving a ball over the fence in left-center off her travel teammate Engel.

"I know her pitches," said Beck, who also turned a nifty 6-3 double play in the fifth inning. "It was a nice battle against her and I just waited for my pitch."

Engel didn't allow a hit or walk in the second through fourth innings. Ciran only allowed 1 single over the final three. The Hawks put two runners on with none out and the top of the order coming up in the fifth, then Ciran fanned the next two hitters and catcher Kristin Damm hustled to catch a foul pop.

Ciran ended the game getting the Hawks in order in the seventh, the final out on Dennison's drive to right that landed in Ashley Seering's glove about three steps in front of the warning track.

"With the mound at 43 feet I don't think anyone should feel safe getting ahead 3-0, 4-0, 5-0," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "We got up 3-0 and I thought our kids kept battling. I don't think we took a lot of good swings in the middle innings, but we got runners in scoring position and we couldn't get that key one-out or two-out knock. And they did."

Russell led off the second inning with a single. Korth also singled, and both scored on Plezbert's single to center.

Russell also was in the middle of the rally in the third inning with an RBI single that scored Loren Cihlar, who led off with a single and stole second base.

Russell, who hit .700 last week, continued her scorching streak going 3-for-3.

"We just hit the ball hard today and found the gaps," Russell said. "Lately we have been hitting the ball really good."

Russell's final hit came on a high pitch she tomahawk-chopped into the outfield - a sign that when things are going well, they are really going well.

"They say you have to raise your hands up to the ball and I guess that's what I was doing and I kind of just chopped at it," Russell said. "I'm trying not to think about it (her hot hitting) and make contact with the ball."

St. Charles North coach April Stary called the 3-0 deficit an "unexpected hiccup" and told her team they had time to come back against the same pitcher who shut them down in last year's sectional championship.

"They didn't shut down, they didn't stop hitting, they didn't stop coming after them offensively and defensively," Stary said.

"Bartlett has been a rivalry ever since my sister was playing four years ago," Russell said. "It feels really good especially because last season we lost to them to end our season. It was kind of revenge."

Megan Morales and Jacki Gulczynski had the only Bartlett hits besides Beck's home run.

The Hawks, who rallied from a 5-0 deficit in the seventh inning to beat Lake Park, know all about comebacks. This one went the other way.

"We're kind of disappointed but we still played a good game," Beck said. "We had some hits they were just right to the girls or we just got underneath. Our defense was there."