Gianna Furlano records 300th career strikeout, walk-off single to help Lake Park take down St. Charles North

ROSELLE — Gianna Furlano has gotten used to being in high-stress situations for Lake Park in her young career.

Usually it’s as the team’s ace in the circle. But with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh of a tie game against St. Charles North, the sophomore was feeling the pressure from the batter’s box.

After getting a pep talk from the three seniors on base and coach Lynsey Gunnells, she knew she had to be brave and swing at the first pitch she thought she could hit.

And with a 2-0 count, she swatted a single past the shortstop and into left field.

“I started running to first base and about halfway there I was just ready to celebrate with my team,” Furlano said. “But then I remembered that I had to touch the base and my coach was yelling at me to go there.”

After successfully touching the base, Furlano secured the walk-off RBI single to give the Lancers a 2-1 victory over the North Stars.

“The last week or two, we’ve just been trending upwards as a team, and a lot of it is because of her confidence,” Gunnells said. “She’s just a bulldog out there and she’s done so well for us.”

The win moves Lake Park (20-6, 9-4 DuKane) into a tie with St. Charles North (19-9, 9-4) atop the DuKane Conference with just one conference game remaining. The Lancers will face Wheaton North while the North Stars will take on Geneva on Wednesday in the conference finale.

The sophomore also got the win in the circle for the Lancers, allowing just five hits and one run over seven innings while striking out five batters, which included recording her 300th career strikeout in the fourth inning.

“Last year I had 144 strikeouts, so this year I wanted to get some more and be better to keep working on my craft,” Furlano said. “Me and my pitching coach, Jill Waldron, had been working on my spots so I can play around with a batter, and I think it’s helped me out to accomplish that goal.”

Neither team cracked the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth inning when junior Alex Kiefer lined a single to centerfield to score pinch-runner Emma Gdowski to give the Lancers a 1-0 lead into the final frame.

“Whenever those zeros go up on the board, especially on a windy day, you never know what can happen,” Gunnells said. “That small ball we executed to get the runner around to set up Kiefer for that big hit, she really came through for us.”

But the North Stars persisted. Down to their final out in the top of the seventh inning, sophomore Faith Maleski tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI double that scored senior Abby Umlauf and extended the game.

“She’s coming back from being a little banged up and not only had the clutch RBI but a great diving catch that same inning,” North Stars coach Tom Poulin said. “If we can get her clicking and swinging like that, it’s going to make our lineup stronger come next week.”

Senior Mack Patterson led the team with two hits in the contest, making her a perfect 6 for 6 against the Lancers this season. It also marked the third time in five games that the matchup was decided in the final inning.

“It’s always a tough game in this conference, and this was just another one that came down to the end,” Poulin said. “They just made one more play than us. We could have had better at-bats during the game, but we just need to clean some things up and put the focus on playing our best softball by the end of this week before the playoffs.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/my-suburban-life/2025/05/20/gianna-furlano-records-300th-career-strikeout-walk-off-single-to-help-lake-park-take-down-st-charles-north/