St. Charles North edges Leyden in 10

Natalie Capone was ready her final at-bat in Thursday’s Class 4A sectional semifinal on the Connie Rahn softball diamond at Schaumburg High School.

“A lot of games come down to that last-second, do-or-die situation,” said the North Stars shortstop, who came to the plate in a 2-2 tie with runners on first and third and one out in the bottom of the tenth inning against Leyden.

“Slap hitting is pretty complicated,” she added. “Coach (Tom Poulin) just told me to do whatever felt comfortable. I told him I wanted to bunt and he had faith I could do it.”

Poulin’s faith paid off as Capone tapped a nifty bunt down the left side of the infield.

Leyden pitcher Morgan Maize hustled to field it and threw home, but the speedy Loren Cihlar beat the throw and slid safely for the winning run in St. Charles North’s 3-2 triumph.

The No. 2-seeded North Stars (29-3) advance to Saturday’s championship game against top-seeded Elk Grove (32-4) at 11 a.m.

“Natalie is one of our best bunters,” Poulin said. “Loren has a ton of speed at third base. They executed it.”

North Stars ace and Loyola-bound Amanda Ciran (21-1) also executed quite well on the mound, as did Maize (24-5) for No. 6 Leyden (27-8).

Ciran tossed a 5-hitter with 8 strikeouts while Maize struck out 11 and worked through some lower back issues in the latter innings.

“Morgan had 11 strikeouts against one of the top offensive lineups (five batters at better than .390) around,” said Eagles coach Kurt Schuett. “Unfortunately, her lower back was giving her some problems in the final 3 or 4 innings.

“I even started warming up my second pitcher (Hannah Seymore). But Morgan is such a warrior. I’d have to pull her out myself for her not to play.”

Schuett was also impressed by Ciran, whose ERA is under 1.00.

“Normally, we do a better job of small-ball hitting,” Schuett said. “But Amanda Ciran has a really good change-up and that makes playing small ball hard against her.”

St. Charles North got on the board first with some small ball of its own in the third inning.

After Maize struck out the first two batters, Sydney Russell put down a bunt single and went to second on Cihlar’s infield hit.

Taylor Russell (3-for-5, double) then drove in her sister with an RBI single to center.

Capone led off the fourth with a bunt single, took second on passed ball and came home on catcher Annie Korth’s single to center for a 2-0 lead.

The Eagles tied the game in the top of the fifth when Kelly Nessling led off with an infield hit.

She went to second on Amanda’s Moran’s sacrifice, took third on an illegal pitch and scored on Brigid Mackey’s RBI single.

The Eagles scored their second run later in the inning on a throwing error.

Ciran and Maize controlled things the rest of the way, giving up only 2 hits apiece until the North Stars got the game-winner in the bottom of tenth.

“Both pitchers threw gems,” said Poulin, whose team had 10 hits. ““You’ve got to give them both credit. This is a game to remember as far as I’m concerned.”

St. Charles North will surely remember its tenth inning when Cihlar (3-for-5) led off with a single to right-center.

Maize struck out the next batter before Ashley Seering reached on a fielder’s choice. An error on that play allowed Cihlar to take third base, setting up Capone’s winning bunt.

“I really didn’t want this season to be over,” said Ciran, after Cihlar crossed the plate for her 28th run of the season and 235th of the season for the North Stars. “I love these girls to death. This game brought us together so much. I can’t put it into words.”

Now the North Stars just want to put all they’ve got into Saturday’s game with Elk Grove.

Eventually, Ciran and Korth will be both be teammates with Elk Grove second baseman Jessica Balzano at Loyola.

“It’s going to be exciting to play her and it will be a good game,” Ciran said. “We’re really excited. We haven’t played them since sophomore year. We have to bring out the bats and everything else we have. It will be tough. They’re a great team.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen anyone better than Elk Grove this season,” Poulin said. “We are looking forward to the challenge they present. To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.”

Schuett thinks his team can be one of the best again next season.

“We’ve got a lot of athleticism and young talent coming back,” he said. “Morgan (Maize) is only a junior and for as much credit as she gets for her hitting (18 home runs, 77 RBI), I think her pitching doesn’t get enough credit.

“St. Charles North is a very athletic team and I felt they still had a lot of energy left at the end of this game. We knew that bunt was coming at the end. In retrospect, it was no surprise. She just dropped it in the right spot.”