St. Charles North wins battle of Top 10 teams
Sharing a spot in the top 10 of the Daily Herald rankings is far from the only thing St. Charles North and Glenbard North have in common.
They are both young - just two of the 18 players who took the field for Thursday's matchup in St. Charles are seniors.
They both can win games by putting runs on the scoreboard or turn to their ace pitcher and win a low-scoring contest.
And they could meet again with even more at stake with both part of the loaded field in the Class 4A St. Charles North sectional.
St. Charles North, ranked sixth in the Top 20, used the power of Taylor Russell and the pitching of Amanda Ciran for a 2-0 victory over the eighth-ranked Panthers.
St. Charles North (14-2) scored both of its runs in the fourth inning, then watched Glenbard North (9-4) leave the bases loaded in both the sixth and seventh innings.
"They are a good team, we know that," said Russell, whose solo home run put the North Stars ahead. "It's nice to get that win under our belt and know we can beat them because in the sectional if we see them we'll have that momentum."
Glenbard North sophomore Lilly Fecho and Ciran were locked in a scoreless duel when Russell stepped to the plate with two outs in the fourth inning.
Fecho struck out Russell on a high outside fastball in the second inning. Russell, hitting a sizzling .659 this year, got the same pitch and drove it out over the fence in center.
"I just decided not to let the strikeout get me and I was just going to swing hard and try to make contact," Russell said. "And I did."
After managing just 2 hits in the first five innings, the Panthers put pressure on in the last two innings. Susan Lindstrom's double put runners at second and third in the sixth.
Jenny Nelson, who already has 6 home runs this season, just missed No. 7 on a long foul. She eventually walked to load the bases, but Ciran retired Alyssa Jasinski on a force at the plate and Alexis Simone on a grounder to second.
"When you are in a position like that with runners on it gets my heart pumping a little more," Ciran said.
Ciran's heart was certainly pumping again in the seventh. Jessica Norman walked and Natalie Shank and Kelsey Muller both singled to again load the bases before Ciran got Lindstrom to ground out to second to end the game.
"We talk about character all the time and it's a sign of the character of herself and the rest of the team that you don't give up with the bases loaded and one out," St. Charles North coach April Stary said. "You can still find a way to get some outs and get the game back in your control."
Ciran (7-0) allowed 6 hits and 1 walk and struck out just three.
"They had some really good bats," Ciran said. "Keeping them off balance was the key. Because I wasn't striking them out at all. It was the defense. It was just a game of the defense today."
Fecho (7-4) finished with 6 strikeouts. She also pitched out of a bases-loaded jam, this one with no outs in the fifth inning, retiring the North Stars' No. 2, 3 and 4 hitters.
"There's no reason to hang their heads over anything like this," Glenbard North coach Jason Sanew said. "It was a hard-fought game between two good teams. The difference was we've been hitting the ball, hitting the ball and we just didn't get that big hit with runners in scoring position."