Miranda Quigley wanted to make sure she wasn’t walking home with a golden sombrero.

After striking out in each of her first three at-bats, the St. Charles North senior came to the plate once again, this time with runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the eighth of a scoreless contest against St. Charles East.

And prior to her fourth time at the plate, she told herself she didn’t want to get behind in the count again.

“I did have a lot of nerves with it regarding my previous at-bats,” Quigley said. “I hate getting behind, and I knew I needed to switch something up and put a ball in play to get something going.”

And on the first pitch she saw, she ensured she would go home a hero, sending the ball into the gap in right field for a walk-off RBI single to help the North Stars secure a 1-0 victory in eight innings over the Saints.

“That was very special, the adrenaline rush was crazy,” Quigley said. “It’s big game, especially with it being crosstown and a conference game. We knew we had to come out on top, especially since they have a really good group of girls that have gotten better since last year.”

It’s not the first time the crosstown rivals have had a game decided by a single run. It’s the fourth straight season where the two teams have had a game decided by a singular score.

“That was just really good softball all around,” North Stars coach Tom Poulin said. “I would’ve loved to just sit back and watch instead of biting my nails all game. It was just two good teams.”

Before Quigley’s RBI base knock, the North Stars (7-0 overall, 2-0 DuKane) had struggled with runners in scoring position, leaving eight runners on either second or third in five of the full seven innings, including loading the bases in the seventh.

“We threatened in a 0-0 game and we put some pressure on two of the best pitchers in the state,” Poulin said. “You’ve got to make the most of those opportunities, so I’m proud of our girls for overcoming a day where we didn’t come through offensively until the very end and still pulling out a win.”

Abby Zawadzki helped the North Stars overcome the offensive woes as she held the Saints in check throughout the contest, throwing eight scoreless innings in her first pitching start in the crosstown rivalry.

“They have such a strong lineup, and I needed to settle down a little bit,” Zawadzki said. “But a win like this really helps our team. Our defense really locked down and made some great plays that helped keep the team right there.”

After letting up a hit and two walks in the first inning, Zawadzki only allowed two free passes, both walks to Hayden Sujack, and four hits and had nine strikeouts. She also scored the winning run on Quigley’s single.

“She was really amped up early and you could really tell,” Poulin said. “She’s very good and people will see that, she’s just been behind some great pitchers. She showed everyone what she could do and as she settled in, she just kept keeping them off base.”

The Saints (11-4, 1-1) put the pressure on Zawadzki out of the gate with runners getting into scoring position in three of the first four innings, but couldn’t turn them into runs.

“We had a few chances early on with runners in scoring position,” Saints coach Jarod Gutesha said. “But they got the big hit when they needed it. But we’ve got at least one more to go against them.”

Despite getting the loss in the circle, it was a more than valiant effort in the circle from Hannah Wulf, who allowed four hits and one run while adding nine strikeouts over her 4⅔ innings of work. Makayla Van Dinther got the start, striking out three and allowing four hits over her three innings

“Makayla gave us three good innings to start and then Hannah came in and she was rolling,” Gutesha said. “She was throwing hard and she was a tough one to hit. They had a few chances in multiple innings and she shut them down. It was just that last inning where they got the nice hit down the right field line.”