North Stars clinch share of UEC crown
Power, speed key North's big win
ST. CHARLES – The wind howling out and the St. Charles North softball team’s ample speed was going to make this a nasty assignment for St. Charles East’s pitchers.
Throw in some spotty East defense, and the North Stars were not to be stopped.
North clinched a share of the Upstate Eight Conference championship Wednesday, sweeping the season series with rival St. Charles East in a 12-8 slugfest.
A North team that regularly plays eight sophomores is about to be crowned conference champions.
“Everyone on our team is just very, very excited,” North first baseman Juliaclare Plezbert said.
North (22-9, 15-2 UEC) triumphed with a combination of power – witness home runs from Kristin Damm and Annie Korth – and blazing speed. Back-to-back-to-back infield singles by Natalie Capone, Loren Cihlar and Sydney Russell played a key role in a seven-run top of the sixth that put North ahead, 12-7.
“As you can see, the speed game is a big impact [in softball],” said Capone, who had three singles.
The Saints (20-9-1, 13-5) committed five errors on the day, and the degree of difficulty in the outfield created by the high winds did little to soften East coach Kelly Barnett.
“They’re varsity girls, and they should have made every single play that they missed,” said Barnett, whose team led the conference race much of the season. “I cut them no slack.”
Like North, East belted a pair of home runs in the game – a three-run homer from Kayla Brooks that tied the score at 3 in the second inning, and a solo shot to right-center by catcher Rae Anne Payleitner to give the hosts a 7-5 edge in the fourth.
But East’s inability to keep North’s speed demons off the bases proved vexing to both starting pitcher Katie Stengler and reliever Gaby Moe.
“There are some kids on the team that can run like the wind, and it’s not just my top couple,” North coach April Stary said. “I’ve got them all the way throughout the lineup.”
North reliever Amanda Ciran (8-5) solved the conditions better than the other three pitchers who saw action, pitching three innings of one-run ball to earn the win.
Stary was especially proud to close in on the UEC title with 11 former players on hand for the crosstown showdown.
“Those were phenomenal kids and phenomenal teams, and not one of them got to where these kids are,” Stary said. “They were playing with the Lake Parks, Bartlett the last couple years, and Lake Park and Bartlett always took it because they were such powerhouses.
“They’ve dialed down a little bit in the last couple years and now we’ve got all these young kids coming up, and it bodes well.”
North has three conference games remaining – Waubonsie Valley, Streamwood and Neuqua Valley – while East closes conference play at home against Elgin and Larkin.