St. Charles East pitcher Izzy Howe got a grip, and it soon became her game.
The junior right-hander pitched in a steady drizzle through most of a DuKane Conference showdown Tuesday at crosstown rival St. Charles North.
Howe navigated some choppy waters early, and then late, and held off the North Stars for a 4-3 victory.
“My hands get really sweaty as is when I pitch,” Howe said. “With the rain, it’s even worse. Thank God for dirt.”
Howe, who scattered four hits and four walks but struck out 13, said adapting to the home plate umpire’s strike zone early in the game was key.
“I usually throw inside sometimes, but I wasn’t getting inside calls that I wanted,” Howe said. “So I had to adjust.”
The North Stars (6-4, 4-2) are playing 10 games in 10 days after having a two-week layoff due to COVID-19 protocols. They appeared to have Howe and the Saints (19-3, 9-1) on the ropes in the first inning.
Leigh Vande Hei led off with a blast over the right fielder’s head for a triple and came home on a passed ball to give pitcher Anastasia Pappas an early lead.
Ashlee Chantos followed with a bad hop infield single, stole second and then third when Julia Larson took ball four.
After a pop-up for the first out, Meghan Bauwens squared to bunt but missed and Chantos was caught off the bag and tagged out in a rundown. Howe then recorded her first strikeout.
“It could have been a bigger inning in the first,” said St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin, adding Bauwens is hitting .533 in nine games. “I might have shut us down giving a bunt sign. I thought it was building on the momentum there. We’ve done it in the past and sometimes you catch them off guard.
“That’s one of our hottest hitters. If I could go back in time, she’s swinging the bat there. But I liked the start.”
St. Chares East coach Jarod Gutesha was pleased to escape with just one run allowed.
“This game brings elevated energy and excitement, and when that happens, goofy things can happen,” Gutesha said. “Them leading off with a triple and taking a couple bases on us was big. To limit them to one run was huge.”
The Saints got on the board in the third following Mel Stathopoulos’ double, Kati Gheorghe’s walk and three straight singles up the middle for three runs.
Two runs scored on a hit by Kayla Richardson, who lined into a double play in the first inning that allowed Pappas to escape trouble.
“I just trusted my hands because I have fast hands,” Richardson said. “I took it the way she threw it. The rain wasn’t too bad for hitting.”
Leadoff hitter Nikki Johnston’s second hit, an RBI single in the fourth inning, gave Howe the insurance run she needed.
The North Stars pulled close in the sixth. Julia Larson’s triple to left scored a run, and she came home on a wild pitch.
Howe, though, retired five straight for the win, including four on strikeouts as the rain picked up in intensity.
“We all have bad starts,” Howe said. “I didn’t let it affect me. My teammates helped me out and got us some runs after that first inning.”
Poulin is seeing progress.
“I’ve only coached three of these girls and we’re still doing some early season things like missing signs because of the layoff,” he said. “It’s a good group, though. Our kids expect to win and they’re disappointed when they don’t.
“We’ve played Huntley and East now, two of the best teams in the state. By the time we get to the playoffs, I think these kids are going to be very good and poised to make a run.”
