St. Charles North baseball, softball in a league of their own

Two weeks ago in this space, I wrote about the fast start that St. Charles East's baseball and softball teams enjoyed.

Now it's time to give some love to the other side of town - St. Charles North.

On the baseball diamond, North Stars coach Todd Genke fell short of using the word disrespected but he admitted that his team may not have received its just due prior to last week's 3-game sweep of crosstown rival St. Charles East - its first in a decade according to Genke.

"We've kind of been flying under the radar a little bit and that's fine," Genke said following the North Stars' 4-1 victory over St. Charles East in the opener of the 3-game series last Tuesday at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark in Geneva. "I think the kids showed here that we're going to be here to stay."

I agree.

With a starting lineup that included 6 juniors and sophomores, the North Stars (18-4, 11-3) definitely showed off some excellent pitching during a busy 5-game schedule last week.

They also displayed some resilience, bouncing back from a 3-2, 9-inning loss to Neuqua Valley with 3 straight victories over St. Charles East and capped the 4-1 week with a 4-3 win over Metea Valley on Saturday.

Led by southpaw pitchers Cory Wright, Tyler Mettetal, senior right-hander Sam Hubbe and junior reliever Christian Sidoti, the North Stars limited the Saints to just 3 runs in 3 games.

Mettetal (4-1), a sophomore, showed his metal during a complete-game performance against the host Saints. Struggling with nerves and some command issues early, Mettetal finished strong by retiring the final 8 batters - including a stretch of 5 straight strikeouts.

"I think he's starting to learn how to pitch," said Genke. "He was a thrower but he's starting to learn how to pitch. His velocity is quite high for a sophomore. He can throw in the low to mid 80s and can occasionally get it up to 87-88 (mph)."

Fellow sophomores Zach Mettetal and Sam Faith man the left side of the North Stars' infield while juniors Brendan Joyce, Kyle Novotney, John LeGare and Angel Torres have also cracked the starting lineup.

Starting that many underclassmen could be risky but the North Stars appear to have the perfect tonic with senior leaders Kyle Khoury, Tyler Madsen and Wright.

"We've got a lot of young guys - we have that youth exuberance - but we also have some senior leadership," said Genke. "Behind the plate, Kyle Khoury does a great job and obviously Cory Wright does a great job on the mound and at first (base)."

St. Charles North's sweep of St. Charles East could set up a showdown for the Upstate Eight Conference River Division title during its 3-game series with Batavia (11-10, 10-3) May 12-14.

By the way, Wright became the North Stars' career leader in victories with his 17th win last week against St. Charles East, eclipsing the mark previously held by fellow left-hander Zach Hirsch.

Hirsch, who played at Nebraska, is a starting pitcher for the Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in the Milwaukee Brewers' organization.

"Growing up, I idolized the guy," Wright said of Hirsch. "To even be mentioned in the same sentence with him is incredible."

Wright still wears a glove given to him by Hirsch a few years ago.

On the softball diamond, St. Charles North raised its record to 16-3 overall, 11-2 in the UEC River, with last Friday's 11-1, 5-inning victory over Batavia.

While benefiting from senior varsity veterans Abby Howlett, Amanda James, Alex Millett, Erin Nemetz and Kaitlyn Waslawski, the North Stars have also received excellent support from a group of younger players headed by freshman Jillian Waslawski.

The younger Waslawski (5-2) has displayed excellent control during her starts on the mound.

She has come up big in big-time games for coach Tom Poulin's squad against Waubonsie Valley and St. Charles East, sharing pitching duties with junior Allison Hausl, who improved her record to 7-0 with a 5-hit effort against Batavia.

"I thought that was one of Allison's best performances," said Poulin.

Allison's twin sister, Sam, and sophomores Jordyn Wolfe, Allison Moberg and Madeline Webb have also contributed for the North Stars, who began the week locked in a first-place tie with St. Charles East (18-3, 11-2) in the UEC River.

The North Stars possess a potent offense, spearheaded by Kaitlyn Waslawski and fellow speedster Wolfe at the top of the lineup. Howlett, who will play at NIU next season, bats in the 3-hole.

Against Batavia, the trio went 5-for-9 with 5 RBI and reached base 7 of 10 times.

Meanwhile, the North Stars' 7-8-9 hitters - Sam Hausl, Allison Hausl and James - went 5-for-8 collectively and reached base 7 of 9 times.

That type of balance can make it tough on opposing pitchers and defenses.

"We have a strong hitting team the entire lineup through," said James, who smacked her fifth home run of the season against the Bulldogs and capped a 13-pitch at-bat with a double that led to a 5-run second.

The North Stars, who edged St. Charles East 4-3 on April 22, play host to the Saints Friday in a game that figures to have UEC River title hope implications.

•Anyone who says baseball lacks its share of unusual plays sure wasn't with me the past few weeks.

Marmion had a run taken off the board in the second inning of its recent game against Aurora Central Catholic because of batting out of order.

While the players were following the I-Pad lineup held in the dugout, the official lineup was the one exchanged between the coaches and home-plate umpire prior to the contest.

Meanwhile, the final play of the game was a botched suicide squeeze bunt in the sixth. ACC catcher Michael Bieterman hurt his shoulder on the play after a collision with a Marmion baserunner, who was ejected for failing to slide.

Last Tuesday, St. Charles North scored a fourth-inning run on a rare obstruction call.

Umpires ruled that St. Charles East shortstop Jimmy Dale blocked third base and impeded the progress of North Stars baserunner Kyle Novotney on a tag play. After a brief conference, the umpires called obstruction and allowed Novotney to cross the plate.

You can reach Craig Brueske at csb4k@hotmail.com