St. Charles North overcomes sluggish start to secure series sweep over Batavia

BATAVIA — It wasn’t the prettiest of victories, but it’s one that St. Charles North coach Todd Genke will take any day of the week.

After being held scoreless in the first three innings, the North Stars went on to put up runs in each of the final four innings to walk away with a 13-6 victory over Batavia to secure the three-game DuKane Conference series sweep.

“That was crazy,” Genke said. “We had opportunities early in the game but couldn’t convert. But we didn’t panic. We knew it was going to be one of those solid games against a tough conference opponent, but I like how we responded.”

After entering the fourth inning trailing 1-0, the North Stars (10-8, 4-2 DuKane) scored multiple runs in each of the final four frames, including six runs in the fifth inning.

Genke said after struggling to convert on offense in multiple games heading into the series against the Tri-Cities rival, it was a good feeling to see the young team making the most of those situations throughout the entire series.

“We wanted to set the tone and make teams realize that even though we’re young and sometimes make young mistakes, we’re starting to figure it out,” Genke said. “It starts with a quality start on the mound though. But we’re starting to put it together at the plate and having better at-bats and continuing to add on runs when we need to. I like where we’re at right now.”

Leading the charge on offense was junior Keaton Reinke, who went 2 for 3 with a double and three RBIs in six plate appearances. He ended up reaching base five times in the game.

“We’ve been harping all year that we need to get the bats going because once we get the bats going, we can finish strong,” Reinke said. “We’ve been able to start strong, but we’ve struggled to finish in the past. I liked that we scored late because it showed us that we stayed in the game.”

Reinke’s lone time he didn’t get on base came in the fourth inning when the junior gave the North Stars the lead with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-1. And after North secured the lead, it never looked back.

“When we got that lead, we just got that momentum and carried it over into the next inning,” Reinke said. “(Junior) Emerson (Miller) did a great job pitching, and he just kept that going after we took the lead. And I was able to complement our offense and keep the offense going.”

Sophomore Mason Nectel followed a similar statline to Reinke, also finishing with two hits and driving in three runs. Fellow sophomore Chase Ferguson accounted for four of the North Stars’ runs. The team also drew 15 free passes in the game off eight walks and seven hit-by-pitches.

The Bulldogs (5-12-1, 2-4) attempted a comeback of their own late in the contest, scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth and sending the go-ahead run to the plate, but could not get the hit to tie the contest up again.

Keegan Harp got the Bulldogs on the board first with a solo home run in the second inning and added another RBI in the fifth inning. Nolan Zimberoff added a game-high three hits and had two RBIs, with Liam Darre also driving in a pair on offense.

https://www.shawlocal.com/kane-county-chronicle/2025/04/25/st-charles-north-overcomes-sluggish-start-to-secure-series-sweep-over-batavia/