With so much power throughout St. Charles East’s lineup, it’s sometimes difficult for a leadoff hitter to get any attention.
Junior center fielder Maddie Candre found a way Monday in the Class 4A Lake Park Regional championship game.
Candre went 5-for-5 with three RBIs and also homered in a 16-hit attack as the Saints defeated Lake Park 15-5 in six innings.
“I like to stick to the consistent singles and doubles, but it’s pretty good if it goes over (the fence),” Candre said.
The Saints (29-7) hit four home runs to boost their season total to 56. They eliminated the Lancers (17-17) to advance to a 4:30 p.m. Tuesday semifinal in the St. Charles East Sectional against Elk Grove.
“We have an awesome hitting team,” Candre said. “It’s perfect timing whenever someone just hits one. Everything just flows well.”
The Saints needed no help against Lake Park, but the wind at their back didn’t hurt.
“Of course, we see the wind we always think to us it’s to our advantage,” Candre said. “If it’s high, it might carry.”
Maddy Stout hit her eighth home run of the season in the bottom of the third to break a 5-5 tie. Candre homered leading off the fourth to make it 7-5.
Stout’s sister Rylee has a team-high 20 home runs after hitting a two-run homer in a four-run sixth. Winning pitcher Delaney Devor also hit a two-run homer for a 5-2 lead in the second.
“Going into this game we were seventh in most home runs in Illinois history, and after (Monday) I think it will get moved up, which is good news,” Candre said.
According to records on IHSA.org, East’s total now ranks sixth, four homers behind Trinity (2013) and Carmel (2015). Schaumburg has the record with 66 in 2015.
“That’s what we’ve been doing is hitting the ball this year and hitting the ball hard,” Saints coach Jarod Gutesha said. “Obviously early there was a little bit of tension, a little bit of nerves. And defensively we had a few little miscues.
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“But offensively that helped us kind of exhale and then we settled into a groove.”
The Saints committed two errors in the first inning and fell behind 2-0. Lake Park took advantage of two more errors and forced a 5-5 tie in the thir.
Devor, however, took control after the homers by Maddy Stout and Candre. Devor retired 12 of the last 14 batters she faced while the Saints’ offense continued to erupt.
“I guess I focused a little bit more,” Devor said. “Our team relaxed a little bit. We kept getting runs and that reassured us and it let us settle down.”
Hannah Cozzi added two hits and three RBIs for the Saints, while Devor went 3-for-4.
“Our team is a fighting team, so of course we pulled through,” Devor said. “I just love pitching for this team. We hit it hard and I love it.”
Twitter @genechamberlai2