St. Charles North baseball bounces back from tough series, hands Libertyville first loss

ST. CHARLES – Following a rough series with DuKane Conference foe Wheaton North this past week, St. Charles North’s baseball team looked to hit the reset button against state-ranked Libertyville Saturday.

“We’ve been scuffling a little bit — we’ve had some heart-to-heart talks,” North Stars coach Todd Genke said. “We couldn’t practice on Thursday because of the rain so we sat in a room and talked about the things we need to do better.”

The players got the message.

Playing errorless defense behind strong pitching performances from Keaton Reinke and Emerson Miller, while executing some small-ball offense, the North Stars knocked the Wildcats from the ranks of the unbeaten during a 3-0 nonconference victory in St. Charles.

“Libertyville has a great team and program,” Genke said. “I’m proud of how we competed today and showed that we belonged on the field with them.”

The North Stars (5-6) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second, as Mason Netcel led off with a double and scored when Nolan Macholz’ bunt was fielded with the subsequent throw pulling Libertyville first baseman Chase Lockwood off the bag.

After squandering a two-on, no-out situation in the third, the North Stars added two insurance runs in the fourth.

Netcel led with a walk and advanced to second on Macholz’ sacrifice bunt. Matt Kelly’s single put runners on first and third before the Wildcats (16-1) misplayed Chase Ferguson’s ground ball — with the force-put throw pulling shortstop Cole Lockwood off the base at second, allowing Netcel to score.

Julian Harmon then laced an RBI double to make it 3-0.

“We left some runs out there,” said Genke, “but we put the pressure on them. That’s what we haven’t been doing. We did a great job with the small ball.”

That was more than enough run support for the North Stars, as Reinke pitched the first 1⅔ innings before giving way to reliever Miller — saving Reinke for this week’s conference series with Batavia.

Miller, a junior left-hander, did the rest, working the final 5 ⅓ innings of three-hit ball with three strikeouts.

“We used him in a similar role when we beat Providence Catholic,” Genke said. “He’s a good arm who moves the ball around. He works fast.

“We’ve been trying to extend him a little bit. I wasn’t planning on extending him today, but he was getting quick outs and kept his pitch count down.”

Miller, who retired nine batters in a row at one point, only allowed the leadoff hitter to reach once — when Ryan Wilberding singled to start the seventh.

“I came in with a 45-pitch limit, and as I kept going getting soft contact and ground balls, Coach (Genke) said I could keep going,” said Miller, who threw 53 of his 73 pitches for strikes.

“It worked out. I was thankful for my teammates — no errors. The win is a huge confidence booster for the entire team.”

Senior catcher Quinn Schambow, an Oklahoma State commit, went 1 for 2 with a double for the Wildcats, while junior Nico Harper suffered the loss on the mound.

“Their pitchers did well — threw strikes and changed speeds,” Wildcats coach Matt Thompson said. “It felt like we just didn’t get anything going. We usually put the pressure on teams early, and it just didn’t happen today.

“This is just a little bump. Hopefully, we reset and come back Monday ready to play.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250419/prep-baseball/baseball-st-charles-north-hands-libertyville-its-first-loss/