Ciran pitches North Stars past Batavia 

Updated: May 11, 2011 8:15PM

With leadoff hitter Sydney Russell still out due to an ankle sprain and outfielder Lauren Cihlar out due to illness, St. Charles North took on a different look offensively Wednesday against Batavia and pitcher Brooke Nelson.

The North Stars leaned even more heavily on their speed game than usual. But one constant made possible a 5-2 victory in Upstate Eight Conference River Division play moreso than anything North did with the bats — pitcher Amanda Ciran.

“What we did was Amanda Ciran,” North coach Tom Poulin said. “She had another great game.”

Ciran struck out six, allowed five hits and walked none as the Stars (20-2, 14-1) won their second straight. They came within a win of clinching no worse than a tie for the division title, and two wins or a victory and a Geneva loss away from an outright championship. Geneva’s game Wednesday against Larkin was postponed by lightning.

“After our 17-game win streak (ended by Geneva last week), we had reached that point in the season where we got too comfortable with what we were doing,” Ciran said. “It made us step back. It benefited us as much as losing can benefit you.”

Ciran (14-1) cruised along until there was one out in the fifth inning. Then Batavia’s Katie Coleman singled, Erin Costigan doubled and Sami Johnson lined a two-run double to the fence to cut the Bulldogs’ deficit to 5-2.

Unfazed, Ciran got three of the next four outs on strikes and left Lindsay McEachern at third base in the sixth after she’d led off the inning with a double.

“A good hitting team is always going to start to see that ball,” Ciran said. “They started getting ahold of my changeup.

They started knowing what it was and I was starting not to sell it as much anymore.

“When that happens, I rely on my defense to help me by picking up those hit balls and they were behind me the whole way. That’s what kept them to only two runs because they were a really great hitting team.”

Ciran was happiest that she didn’t get any pitches up to Batavia’s home run threat, Katie Ryan. She struck Ryan out in the sixth after McEachern’s double.

“She has a great bat,” Ciran said. “I just didn’t want to give up another home run to her.”

Batavia coach Ashley Symski couldn’t fault pitcher Brooke Nelson after she held the Stars to only one run and scattered four hits over the final six innings. It was the four-run first that caused her first loss of the year after six wins.

“We had a little first-inning jitters,” Symski said. “We just let the pressure get to us at first. Once we got settled in, Brooke pitched a really good game for us.

“She was really tough on the mound and never let it get to her. And we had some great defense.”

First, though, shortstop Natalie Capone, batting for Russell, hit a bunt single leading off the game. Freshman Sabrina

Rabin followed with another bunt single. Then Taylor Russell lined a two-run double to the gap in right-center.

Russell caught the Bulldogs (16-6, 8-6) napping a bit and stole third after Ashley Seering’s single. That made it easy for Emily Watts to single in a run. Seering had stolen second, and move to third on Watts’ single. She she was able to tag on Ciran’s sacrifice fly to right.

An insurance run in the fifth also came thanks largely to the Stars’ speed. Seering singled, moved up on a wild pitch, stole third and then stole home when Annie Korth walked and intentionally got caught in a rundown.

“Really, the top of the order our last two games, Natalie — our 9, 1 and 2s — are getting on and that’s setting it up for Taylor and Ashley and Amanda and Annie and everyone,” Poulin said. “So Natalie has done a great job filling in at the leadoff spot and Sabrina Rabin had a couple hits yesterday and got on base today. So I’m proud of the way we moved some people around and didn’t miss a beat, if you ask me.”

Poulin expects Sydney Russell back to face rival St. Charles East on Tuesday in what could be a title-clinching game.

Symski also had a key injury to deal with, as infielder Katie Neubauer missed the game due to a foot injury. But she had Costigan back from an elbow injury for the first time in almost a week.

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