The St. Charles North North Stars will face off against the St. Charles East Fighting Saints at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. St. Charles North will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each match than the last.
Last Thursday, St. Charles North got the win against Batavia by a conclusive 13-6. The North Stars have beaten the Bulldogs the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Bulldogs has come to flipping the script.
St. Charles North let Keaton Reinke and Chase Ferguson run wild. Reinke got on base in four of his six plate appearances with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run, while Ferguson got on base in four of his five plate appearances with four runs and two stolen bases. Those three RBI gave Reinke a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Matt Ritchie, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three RBI and two runs.
Meanwhile, St. Charles East fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Lake Park on Tuesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Lancers by a score of 11-10. The Fighting Saints have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Nathan Beers was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he pitched six innings while giving up five earned runs off six hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Joey Arend stepped up to lead a balanced group of hitters: he got on base in all five of his plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one double. St. Charles East is 4-2 when Arend posts two or more runs, but 6-7 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Andrew Zolna, who went 3-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and one double.
St. Charles North's win bumped their record up to 8-6. As for St. Charles East, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. Charles North has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like St. Charles East struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
St. Charles North took their victory against St. Charles East in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 10-1 score. Will the North Stars repeat their success, or do the Fighting Saints have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
