Hannah Wulf, Wheaton North blank St. Charles North in DuKane Conference opener

ST. CHARLES — It’s no secret that Wheaton North pitcher Hannah Wulf has proven herself as the team’s newest ace.

Through nine appearances heading into the Falcons’ DuKane Conference opener Tuesday, the South Carolina commit had only allowed runs in two of those games, and boasted a 1.20 ERA.

And even though she was going up against St. Charles North, the reigning Class 4A state champions, Wulf knew what she had to do.

“Obviously they’re a great team with great players, but we really came out and played our game,” Wulf said. “We didn’t let anything else affect us.”

Wulf fired a complete-game, two-hit shutout while striking out six batters to help the Falcons to a 3-0 victory over the North Stars to kick off DuKane Conference play.

“She has really stepped up and is proving herself to pitch and be her own person on the field and as a leader,” Falcons coach Allie Ravanesi said. “But it’s always good to beat St. Charles North, because they’re always a great team.”

The Falcons (10-2, 1-0 DuKane) gave Wulf some early run support in the contest, with Moriah Herr drawing first blood in the second inning with an RBI single to score Hana Stoner.

Two batters later, Makayla Grams recorded her second of three hits on the day to score courtesy runner Marilyn Alexander to give them an early 2-0 lead.

“We just needed to put the ball in play,” Ravanesi said. “That’s been our struggle a little bit this year. But as we’re getting to these better pitchers, we’re finding better pitches and knowing the zone. Once we get batters on, our goal is to get them in one way or another, and we did that in this game.”

Abby Del Petro added another insurance run in the fifth inning with a solo home run over the left-field wall. And after St. Charles North intentionally walked Reagan Crosthwaite to get to her in her first two at-bats, Ravanesi felt like the shot was a message to the North Stars.

“It was like ‘OK, you’re not going to give her a chance, so I’ll take it,’ ” Ravanesi said. “And she proved it.”

It was more than enough for Wulf. The junior only allowed three North Stars players to get into scoring position in the game, and managed to strand all three of them.

“After we scored first, I just knew that we got it,” Wulf said. “I knew I had to keep playing my game though. It didn’t matter how high up we are or how far behind, I don’t let it effect my pitching. I just wanted to stay steady and stay consistent.”

North Stars coach Tom Poulin said that it was that consistent pitching from Wulf, along with the heavy crosswind blowing from first to third, that kept the North Stars (4-2, 0-1) consistently on their toes throughout the contest.

“She’s already an outstanding pitcher, but I think the wind just made it even more difficult for our hitters to read the pitches,” Poulin said. “Flat out, we just got beat. They played better softball than we did. But this is good for us, and is going to make us better as we go forward.”

Ginger Ritter was the only North Stars batter to record a hit in the game with a single in the second inning and a double in the fifth. And while the batters also drew four walks in the game, they couldn’t get the timely hits to get a run across.

“We just have to do something with that, and we didn’t,” Poulin said. “But then again, you have to tip your cap to Wheaton North defensively and to their pitcher because they didn’t allow us to do anything with it. But when we go out to face Wheaton North again, we’ll be a different team, and I’m sure they will too. So it’ll be fun to face them again.”