Hirsch hurls North Stars past Lake Park

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Neither Lake Park’s bats nor rain could deter Zach Hirsch from pitching St. Charles North into the semifinals of the Class 4A Willowbrook Regional.

The North Stars left-handed ace threw a four-hit, 10-strikeout game against the Lancers on Tuesday and St. Charles North won 7-1 to earn a match up against the regional’s host school.

“He’s been there for his entire career and he was there again today for us, and he threw the ball great,” St. Charles North coach Todd Genke said of the senior, who improved to 6-2 on the season. “It was in some tough situations, too, with a rain delay and coming back out.”

Hirsch had a 3-0 lead and gave up the only run he allowed in the fourth when Brian Norwood hit a one-out double and then scored on Matt Kaiser’s two-out single to right.

Then came a brief downpour that stopped play with Artie Monaco batting. St. Charles North players and coaches came out and applied tarps over home plate and the mound. When the rain ceased and raking of the infield ended, Hirsch finally got to go out and pitch again.

“I just had to stay loose in the dugout,” he said. “It didn’t bother me too much.

“I was locating my pitches well and had my curve and fastball working. And the guys supported me real well with the bats and in the field.”

Genke said he might have taken Hirsch out if the rain had lasted longer in order to let him pitch Thursday against Willowbrook, which is the second-highest seed in the regional. The North Stars are third-highest seed.

“It’s his day, his game, he deserved (to stay in),” Genke said of his Nebraska-bound star. “Hopefully we’ll win again (Thursday) and he’ll get to pitch again Saturday (in the finals).”

Once the rain ended, Monaco flied out to right and the Lancers never threatened again. In fact, starting with Monaco, Hirsch retired the next nine batters and 10 of the last 11. He struck out seven of the last 13 he faced.

His sense of timing was perfect because as he retired the game’s last batter, the rain returned for good.

“We knew Hirsch would control it on the mound,” St. Charles North‘s Jordan Huxtable said. “When we got out to an early lead, 3-0, we knew Hirsch would keep that lead. So we felt pretty comfortable, but we still had to rack up some more runs.”

Huxtable had a big hand in staking Hirsch to the lead. He hit a two-run double in the first inning.

“It should have been triple, but I slipped and fell at second base — but it’s still two runs (batted in),” Huxtable said.

Matt Stevens added a first-inning RBI double off starter and losing pitcher Brian Konecke.

The Stars added two in the fourth and one each in the fifth and sixth. Ryan Richardson drove in two runs with two singles and Stevens drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth. Kevin Borst singled in a run in the seventh.

Mike Becker and Colin O’Carroll also had a pair of hits for the Stars (21-12).

“We don’t know what kind pitching we’re going to see (from Willowbrook),” Genke said. “I assume we’re going to see their best because they haven’t played yet in the tournament.

“So if we swing the bat like today, and hit the ball the other way and run a little bit, I think we’ve got a good chance. If we pick the ball up and throw it to the right places, I think we’ve got a chance.”