Softball: St. Charles East downs Schaumburg for regional title
A little boy was entertaining the fans along the St. Charles East sidelines by playing a game of catch at Saturday's Class 4A Hoffman Estates regional softball final.
He caught more than his fair share of the balls thrown to him with his oversized glove - sign him up for Saints baseball in about 14 years - but being such a tiny tyke, he of course missed a few as well.
The St. Charles East team on the field, however, had no such problems.
Backed up by solid and at times spectacular defense, senior Saints pitcher Jordan Hall got the win as East defeated Schaumburg 4-2 to win the regional crown.
The regional title is the third in the last four years for the Saints (31-4). They will play Conant on Wednesday in the Schaumburg sectional semifinals.
Hall gave up only 6 singles - 3 of them by Saxons pitcher Paige Alt - but Schaumburg was getting the bat on the ball all day, striking out only 3 times.
The Saints' fielders, however, were up to the task.
"It was important for us to stay calm," said Saints center fielder Katie Kolb. "Our defense was getting to everything today. This was a big win, and hopefully there are many more yet to come."
Alt allowed only 5 singles while striking out 4, and the Saxons had their chances at the plate but couldn't get the big hit when they needed it.
"Both teams played well," said Schaumburg coach Ellen Abreu. "They were putting the ball in play and we were putting the ball in play, and both teams got great pitching."
"One team had to win and one team had to lose, and unfortunately today we were on the losing end."
St. Charles East scored 3 times in the first inning as their first 3 batters - Kolb, Kelly Rinker and Delaney Devor - singled.
Devor and Jordan Heiber had RBI, with the third run scoring on a wild pitch.
The Saints scored again in the third on a sacrifice fly by Devor, while Schaumburg plated its first run in the top of the sixth on a fielders choice RBI by Christina Candotti.
The tension mounted in the top of the seventh when the first two Schaumburg batters reached base - then Kolb made the play of the game.
With nobody out, Saxons right fielder Micaela Encarnacion lined what looked to be a sure hit to center. Kolb almost made the diving catch, but had the presence of mind to pounce on the loose ball and fire to second for a force out.
"That was a heads-up play," said St. Charles East coach Jarod Gutesha. "She popped right up and got the ball back in. That was huge."
Schaumburg scored its second run on the play when Natalie Napier raced home on the force, but Hall got the next batter to ground out and then induced a slow roller to second baseman Heiber, who tossed it to first for the final putout and the Saints' celebration was on.
"This is wonderful," said Gutesha. "Everybody on this team has worked very hard to get to this point, and when you get a win like this, you really enjoy it."
Schaumburg saw the career of three stellar players come to an end as seniors Alt, Candotti and Sarah Schwind, along with senior team manager Caitlyn Schmaus, an integral member of the staff, will be lost to graduation.
"Sarah found a home as our ninth-place hitter this year and did a great job," said Abreu. " Paige is a standout kid both on the mound and at the plate, and Christina is a kid who can play anywhere but she found a home this year at short.
"We're really going to miss them."