A 5-foot-2 junior, St. Charles North’s Maddie Hernandez struggles to picture herself as the prototypical cleanup hitter, but she just might have to get used to it.
Hernandez, who’s filling the role of designated player this spring in the North Stars’ lineup, earned her stripes as a hitter last season in the team’s run to a Class 4A state title.
She had the winning hits in both the sectional final and state championship game.
Recently, St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin moved her up in the batting order.
“She’s like, ‘Coach P, what are you doing? I’m not a cleanup hitter,'” Poulin said. “She’s done just fine. She’s having great at-bats. She’s improved, and she was solid last year.”
A better Hernandez was the difference maker Monday in the batter’s box.
Her two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning stood up for the host North Stars in a 2-0 victory over crosstown rival St. Charles East in a DuKane Conference showdown.
“I’ve never been this high in the lineup before,” Hernandez said. “It really surprised me and kind of shocked everyone because it came out of nowhere.”
St. Charles North (9-1, 2-0) had just two singles the rest of the way Monday against the Saints (8-7-1, 1-1) and senior pitcher Grace Hautzinger.
There wasn’t much scoring in a pitchers’ duel that featured senior starter Ava Goettel and sophomore reliever Paige Murray matching Hautzinger with a combined four-hitter.
But there was plenty of drama.
An apparent game-tying triple to right field with two outs in the top of the seventh by Nikki Johnston, the Saints’ slapper, went for naught when the home plate umpire ruled she stepped out of the box to hit the ball.
The same call ended Johnston’s at-bat to lead off the game.
“It’s not the game,” St. Charles East coach Jarod Gutesha said of the final play. “It is the first times she’s been called for that.”
Poulin had never seen a game end that way.
“That’s hard for an ump to see, but he called it already, so you know he’s looking for it,” Poulin said. “That’s a tough way to go.”
Senior catcher Sophia Olman understood what it meant for the North Stars.
“The umpire is right in my ear, and the first thing I hear is, ‘Dead ball,'” Olman said. “There’s two outs. The game is over. It’s done. No runs are scoring.
“I don’t know how he called that twice in one day, but he did. Thank you, blue, for seeing that.”
Murray relieved Goettel in the fifth, getting out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam with a strikeout.
“I thought Grace was dealing for them,” Poulin said. “Maddie got all of one, and that’s all it took because I thought Ava and Paige handled a pretty potent offense.”
While she still considers herself a singles and doubles hitter, Hernandez confirmed she has gotten stronger.
She credited work with her father, especially a drill she calls “those wrist things,” featuring a weight tied by a string to what she said looks like a bicycle handle.
“You twist it to roll it up, working slow, and then roll it down,” Hernandez said. “It works your forearms. I’ve gotten a lot more pop off the ball.”
Olman is a believer.
“That thing is crazy,” Olman said. “It takes a lot of wrist power.
“Maddie has also been working with a new swing, standing up straight and using her legs more. She’s seeing the ball better and swinging at better pitches, too. That always helps.”
Perfect timing: Twenty one batters up, 21 down.
Senior pitcher Madi Reeves threw a perfect game for Yorkville in Monday’s 8-0 win over Plainfield East in a Southwest Prairie Conference crossover.
The Miami of Ohio recruit struck out each batter in the lineup for the Bengals at least once.
Fence toppers: Amelia Lohrey hit two home runs and Madalyn Torrance added one for Aurora Central Catholic (8-6) in a 14-8 win over Montini that capped a 5-0 week.
Olivia Liguori’s walk-off home run in Bartlett’s 5-4 win over Glenbard South was her 11th of the season. Teammate Addison Koth hit her 10th in the game.
