by RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – St. Charles hasn’t been engaged in many “Sulphur-like” games this season, nip and tuck battles that mirror the games that routinely occur at the city’s state softball tournament.

But Hannan provided that kind of challenge for the Comets on Thursday.

The Hawks (18-6) led for most of the day and into the seventh inning. But down to their last chance, the Comets tied the game and then Meg Gustafson doubled home pinch-runner Karli Terrio to provide the winning run in a 4-3 non-district win.

The Class 1A Hawks are off to a strong start and SCC coach Ty Monica said he knew his team would have its hands full.

“I had seen them play at the Lutcher tournament, and I knew their record going in,” he said. “They’re a feisty group. It’s the kind of game that’ll help anyone at this time of year. We didn’t play that well, so to be in the game and have the opportunity to win, it really showed a lot.”

Courtney Western earned the win, striking out eight. She was also 2-for-4 at the plate with two doubles. Dominique DiCarlo went 3-for-3.

The teams were tied 1-1 after an inning, but Hannan took a 3-1 lead into the fifth, where SCC answered with a run.

But the Hawks led entering the seventh, where Western led off with a double. DiCarlo bunted her over to third, and Megan Louque would hit a grounder to first to score Western, who beat the throw. That tied the game.

Terrio came on as a runner for Louque as Gustafson stepped up to the plate. Gustafson hit a shot to right field for a double, and a misplay of the ball in the outfield allowed Terrio to score from first.

ST. CHARLES 11, E.D. WHITE 0 – Western’s grand slam home run in the fifth inning sealed a 10-run rule non-district win over the Cardinals (13-10) for the Comets, who improved to 16-3.

It capped a huge day at the plate for Western, who was 3-for-4 with six RBIs. Candace McGaff was 2-for-2 with two doubles. Kadie Levatino went 2-for-3.

“We swung the bats really well,” said Monica. “Even our outs were loud outs. Their shortstop made some really nice plays to keep them around. It was one of our best hitting performances of the year.”

Louque picked up the win on the mound, earning a complete game shutout. She struck out eight and walked one.