The St. Charles East Fighting Saints will head out to square off against the St. Charles North North Stars at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
St. Charles East fought the good fight in their extra-innings match 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 nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
Joey Arend
| 04/29/25 vs Lake Park | 3 |
| 04/14/25 vs Glenbard North | 3 |
| 04/02/25 @ St. Xavier | 3 |
| 04/21/25 @ Wheaton North | 2 |
| 04/19/25 @ Plainfield South | 2 |
| + 6 more games |
On the hitting side, Joey Arend led a balanced group of hitters, getting 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.
Meanwhile, St. Charles North entered their tilt with Batavia on Thursday with three consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with four. They blew past the Bulldogs 13-6.
Keaton Reinke and Chase Ferguson did most of the damage at the plate: 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.
St. Charles North's victory bumped their record up to 8-6. As for St. Charles East, their loss 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 East has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like St. Charles North struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
St. Charles East might still be hurting after the 10-1 defeat they got from St. Charles North in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can the Fighting Saints avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
