St. Charles East softball adapts, handles Burlington Central

ST. CHARLES – The St. Charles East softball team started its season off on the right foot Monday by defeating Burlington Central, 9-5.

The game originally was scheduled to be held at Burlington Central, but because of the weather, East hosted the game. However, East still was the “visiting” team.

This potential confusion didn’t faze East or coach Kelly Horan.

“My kids are so great at adapting on the fly,” Horan said. “I think it really helps my kids’ attitude. I think it really helps them when you get into tough situations on the field.”

As for the game, East was aided by numerous mistakes that plagued the Rockets (0-2). East (1-0) scored in the top of the first inning after back-to-back errors scored East freshman Madelyn Candre. Candre reached base after being hit by a pitch.

In the third, the East bats came alive. A triple by junior Katie Kolb gave the Saints a 2-0 lead before senior Alex Latoria crushed a home run to left-center field to put East up, 4-0.

Kolb finished the day 3 for 4, just a home run short of the cycle.

The Rockets wouldn’t go down without a fight, however. In the bottom of the fifth, BC found some offense of its own, as a double by sophomore Kristina Ahlers put the Rockets on the board. Fellow sophomore Gretchen Schrubbe added to the lead with a two-run single to put the Rockets within striking distance at 5-3.

East, however, exploded in the top of the sixth, adding four runs to put the game out of reach for good. The Rockets committed three errors, allowing the Saints to keep the inning alive. All nine East batters came to the plate in the sixth inning.

Central coach Kyle Molik lamented his team’s poor defense, which effectively put the game out of reach for the Rockets.

“You get out of there, and the whole inning is a little bit different,” Molik said. “We’re coming up to the plate down two instead of trailing six at that point. And it changes at-bats, and it changes the whole momentum. It really shifted right there.”

Latoria was solid for the Saints from the circle. She surrendered four earned runs on eight hits while striking out eight and walking five.

“[The team played] great defense all the way through; they always have my back,” Latoria said. “Offensively, we always are working hard to get hits, and they did a great job for me.”

Latoria helped her own cause by going 1 for 3 with two RBIs and a run scored. She also walked and reached on an error in the first.

Horan was happy to start the year off with a win, but doesn’t put much stock in it for the long-term, especially with the team scheduled for several more games this week.

“It means a lot today. It means absolutely nothing tomorrow,” Horan said.