St. Charles North smooth in win over Larkin

With each passing game, St. Charles North's softball team refines its offense a little more.

The North Stars had all the components working Wednesday when they smacked out 18 hits in a 15-1 Upstate Eight Conference win at Larkin.

"Hitting hasn't been our problem," smiled North Stars coach April Stary. "We've done pretty well. We've done well at not hitting the ball up and getting on the top half of the ball. They're smart enough to know what they have to do."

And the North Stars (13-2, 6-1) did it all well again Wednesday. They sprayed the ball to all fields, used their speed on the basepaths and had some power to boot as they knocked out 5 doubles, two of them from winning pitcher Emily Watts.

Junior Juliaclare Plezbert had the big blast, a 3-run homer well beyond the left-field fence in the North Stars' 6-run sixth inning. She also had a bases-loaded double that gave North a 6-0 lead after three innings.

"I haven't been hitting real well lately," said Plezbert, who hit her second home run of the season. "But I think I found my swing and it's working. Every part of our lineup from top to bottom has power and speed. There are no weak spots."

Natalie Capone had 2 hits including a double, Loren Cihlar was 2-for-4, Sydney Russell had a double and an RBI, Annie Korth drove in a run, Caitlin Khoury was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Watts was 4-for-4 with an RBI.

"They're very good," said Larkin coach Larry Hight of the North Stars. "They've got a lot of Division I athletes on that team and they're still young. You have to play your best and hope they play their worst for it to be a game. They're ready and they come to play the game. We're not at that point yet.

"I credit the Wasco Diamonds for their success. They have a fantastic feeder program there."

Watts (2-0) struggled a bit with her control but allowed Larkin (5-11, 2-4) just 6 hits, three of them coming in the fifth inning when the Royals scored their only run. The junior struck out six and walked five and the North Stars played errorless defense behind her.

"That's not normal for her," said Stary of Watts' 5 walks. "That was mound related I think. There was a hole there that she had a tough time adjusting to."

Junior leadoff hitter Corinne Wimmer had 2 hits for Larkin, including a double, and scored the Royals' only run on a wild pitch.