Softball: St Charles North’s Shannon Caliri stops Batavia

Updated: April 24, 2012 8:38PM

St. Charles North softball coach Tom Poulin missed the game with the flu, but news of Shannon Caliri’s work in the circle Tuesday at Batavia should have lifted his spirits.

Clinging to a 2-1 lead with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and a runner at third, the senior pitcher retired pinch-hitter Katie Neubauer on a groundout to third baseman Sara Hausl.

It was the seventh runner stranded by the Bulldogs and it preserved the Upstate Eight River decision that left both teams at 11-11 overall. The North Stars are 7-3 in the league while the Bulldogs dropped to 3-6.

“She hit her spots very well today and kept the ball down in the zone,” assistant coach Thijs Dennison, said of Caliri (3-6). “She mixed up her changeup a lot and her curve. That was her go-to (pitch) today.”

She scattered six hits, struck out six, walked one and hit one to win a duel with Batavia senior Katie Coleman, who was equally effective, limiting the visitors to five hits with four strikeouts, two walks and one walk in falling to 3-6.

“(Coleman) pitched a great game today, I have no complaint,” said Batavia coach Ashley Szymski.

The Bulldogs took the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Paige Zochert hit her second double of the game to drive in Erin Costigan, who had singled and moved to second on an outfield error. Zochert had squared to bunt and was hit by a pitch, but got another chance to swing when the umps conferred and ruled she had offered at the pitch before being hit.

“I like her confidence when she goes to bat,” said Szymski. “She’s made a lot of good contact lately. She had the bunt sign but the ball hit her and they ruled she offered. I thought she’d be a little mad, so I let her swing and it worked out.”

Unfortunately, not all the Bulldogs made good contact.

“We had two other runners in the game who would have scored if we had gotten bunts down,” said Szymski. “You’ve gotta get them down. And they get their bunts down and get two runs because of it.”

North answered in the top of the fifth on RBI singles by Sabrina Rabin and Mickey Goetz after moving runners up.

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