St. Charles North escapes Geneva's late comeback

We've still get a few months to wait for Geneva and Batavia to join St. Charles East and St. Charles North in the Upstate Eight Conference, but Saturday offered another example of how good the competition between Tri-Cities rivals should be.

Matt Stevens stroked a 2-run home run to give the North Stars an early lead, then Austin Schuetz pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh inning to give St. Charles North a 3-2 win in a well-played and well-pitched game by both sides.

"They are going to come to the Upstate Eight, they are going to fit in nicely and there are going to be some tough games and some border wars," St. Charles North coach Todd Genke said.

St. Charles North (11-2) completed a six-game week with a 5-1 record while Geneva (9-5) played right with a team ranked among the best in the suburbs.

"They are a very good team," Geneva coach Matt Hahn said of the North Stars. "This is one of those games you hate to see either team lose. Kind of reminds you of a game in May. I thought our kids played real well."

A pair of junior pitchers, St. Charles North left-hander Phil Warner (2-0) and Geneva righty Marcus Stierwalt (1-1), turned in strong performances.

Warner fell behind Jim Martin 3-0 to start the game and came back to strike him out. He also went to a 3-2 count on the next batter Michael Monaghan and struck him out, then got Chris Hipchen swinging to end the inning.

"Early on I couldn't find my groove," said Warner, who defeated Vernon Hills in his only other start. "My coaches had me scoot over on the mound and it helped me get the ball in more."

Warner kept the strikeouts coming after the first and finished with 10 in just 5 innings. He didn't allow a hit until Eric Renner's single up the middle in the fifth inning. He allowed 2 walks, 3 hits and 1 run.

"Before the game I felt really confident in my stuff," Warner said. "I was throwing really hard today and wish I could have kept it up through the sixth inning. Just got a little tired."

Stevens, his catcher, said all of Warner's pitches were working well.

"He did get behind but he came back and fought," Stevens said. "His fastball was moving a lot today. Slider was really key. He threw a really good game. I was proud of him."

Stierwalt pitched a complete game, throwing 68 of his 107 pitches for strikes. He scattered 9 hits and 2 walks and struck out three.

"I was real happy with the way Marcus threw and the way the defense played behind him," Hahn said. "(Center fielder) Matt Williams saved a couple runs. He's (Stierwalt) not overpowering but he can challenge hitters and knows the ball is not going to leave the ballpark. I thought he trusted his defense."

Stevens broke a 0-0 tie in the fourth inning with a 2-run home run to the opposite field just over the fence and right fielder Hipchen's glove.

Stevens drove the ball out on a day when the wind was blowing in, knocking down long fly balls from St. Charles North's Mike Budka and Jake Bergren and Geneva's Williams that probably would have been home runs on other days.

"I wasn't sure (if it was gone)," Stevens said. "Because of the wind I thought it was going to stay in. When it was out I was pretty relieved.

"I didn't expect it to happen, I was just trying to take something the other way. That's what coaches want us to do. If you get a fastball away, if you get a curve ball away, just sit back on it and take it to right field. We've been trying to do that all season. That's all I was trying to do."

St. Charles North extended its lead to 3-0 in the sixth. John Brodner tripled to start the inning. After Stierwalt nearly pitched out of the inning, Kevin Borst's two-out single scored Brodner.

That turned out to be a key insurance run when Geneva scored once in the sixth and seventh.

Geneva loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth but scored just 1 run thanks to two stellar plays by Borst at third base, including one when he threw out a runner at first base while lying on the ground.

In the seventh, Williams reached on an infield single. Jason Adams also singled, then both Martin and Monaghan dropped flares into shallow right just fair and just in front of right fielder Chase Williams.

Monaghan's single scored Williams and made it 3-2, leaving the bases loaded with Geneva's No. 3 and 4 hitters coming up.

Schuetz escaped, getting Hipchen on a called third strike and Alex Sroka on a well-hit ball to deep right.

"The reason I didn't send Adams (on Monaghan's hit) was with three and four (coming) up with one out," Hahn said. "Their kid threw some good pitches to get the middle of our order out."

Eight of St. Charles North's nine starters had at least 1 hit. Shortstop Ryan Richardson had 2 while Martin's 2 hits led Geneva.

"I was pretty happy with how we played defensively in a tough outfield in those conditions. Any time you see Old Glory blowing in like it is in the spring you are going to have tight games," said Genke, whose team rebounded after giving up 22 runs to Waubonsie Valley on Thursday with wins the next two days.

"We got hit around Thursday and we came back. I'm pretty happy."