Softball: Defense the difference for St. Charles North against Batavia
While fundamentals might not always be glamorous, they certainly go a long way to winning a softball game.
Ask St. Charles North. The North Stars played an error-free game Wednesday in an Upstate Eight Conference River matchup with Batavia.
Sure, the Bulldogs outhit St. Charles North 8-6. But the North Stars walked away with another victory, 10-6, aided in large part by 6 Batavia errors.
"We have a very strong defense and work together really well," North Stars senior Amanda James said. "We like to get better each day."
So does Batavia (11-9, 7-5), who was coming off a win over Geneva last week and a solid defensive game Tuesday against St. Charles East with 1 error.
The Bulldogs got off to a good start against St. Charles North (13-2, 9-0), scoring 3 runs in the first thanks to 3 walks by winning pitcher Jillian Waslawski (6-1).
Toni Galas started the inning with a bunt single, Jena Bendoraitis and Olivia Bumbar both stroked run-scoring singles to right, and Brieann Cruz drew a bases-loaded walk.
After that the Batavia mistakes started coming in bunches. Alyssa Eby, who reached on errors her first 3 at-bats, brought in the first run when the Bulldogs overthrew her ground ball to short.
James delivered an RBI single in a 4-run second that put the North Stars ahead to stay 5-3. The inning got a lot worse for Batavia because of 2 more errors.
After Samantha Hausl smashed her second home run of the season in the third for 1 of just 2 earned runs hard-luck Batavia pitcher Rachael Lovestrand (1-4) allowed, James singled and scored in the fourth on a wild pitch - another inning Batavia committed 2 errors.
All those mistakes put Batavia in a 9-3 hole after 5 innings. Alyssa Klemm, who relieved Lovestrand and pitched the final 2 innings, delivered a run-scoring single in a 3-run sixth inning that pulled the Bulldogs within 9-6. Madeline Webb got a run back for the North Stars with a double to drive in Eby in the sixth.
"We got off to a great start, putting pressure on them," Batavia coach Lupe Castellanos said. "We have a lot of little things we need to clean up. That's what hurts us right now. If we can cut that stuff down we are right in there with most teams."
Hausl and James both had 2 hits to lead the North Stars, who head into a challenging stretch of conference play against Geneva on Thursday, St. Charles East on Friday and West Aurora on Monday.
"It's fun," North Stars coach Tom Poulin said. "That's why you play to have a week like this. The kids are ready.
"Defensively we showed we are solid. If we throw strikes and force people to put the ball in play we'll make plays behind them. Our aggressiveness on the bases was a difference-maker."