It didn’t matter where Abby Zawadzki was on the field Monday.

Whether it was at the plate or in the circle, the St. Charles North senior was locked in against Wheaton Warrenville South. So locked in, that she didn’t even realize that she was one out away from a no-hitter until after the game.

“I didn’t even know, that’s crazy,” Zawadzki said. “But it’s so easy to stay locked in when you got a bunch of girls behind you that you know you have your back and all so close. It makes everything easy.”

Zawadzki finished the game tossing a one-hit shutout, and also hit two home runs, including a grand slam, to help the North Stars run away with a 10-0 victory over the Tigers.

“She’s just doing something that a lot of pitcher’s can’t do, which is producing at the plate at an incredible rate and dominating good teams as a pitcher,” North Stars coach Tom Poulin said. “What she’s doing is unreal. She just keeps impressing at the plate and in the circle.”

Zawadzki gave the North Stars (9-0 overall, 3-0 DuKane) the lead for good in the bottom of the third inning. After the team loaded up the bases with two outs, the senior sent the first pitch she saw over the centerfield wall for a grand slam to give them a 4-0 lead.

“I just knew I was going to attack on the first pitch,” Zawadzki said. “In my first at-bat, I swung at a first-pitch rise ball and missed. I do like swinging at the first pitch, so I was looking for that, and it was there.”

She would add another long ball in the seventh inning, sending one over the right-field wall for a two-run shot. Her six RBIs on the day bought her up to 26 on the season, surpassing the team-lead in RBIs from last season in the span of nine games.

“Everyone in the lineup gets on base in front of me, and it makes it a lot easier to drive them in,” Zawadzki said. “It gives me a lot of confidence. Hitting is contagious, and that’s what’s been happening.”

Ella Heimbuch added some additional run support with a two-run double in the sixth inning and an additional RBI single to cap off a four-run seventh inning that was started by a solo home run from Julianna Kouba.

“What we have offensively is as good as anybody in the state,” Poulin said. “Our offense is the most productive that I think we’ve ever had. Through the first nine games of the season, we’ve done some pretty good work at the plate.

Zawadzki’s two home-run performance was only enhanced by her performance on the mound. In her seven innings of work, she struck out four and walked two, while also finishing a strike away from a no-hitter before giving up her lone hit of the game.

“I mean, she was good,” Tigers coach Jeff Paulak said. “We haven’t faced her before because they’ve had real good pitchers the past four years. But she throws well, and got ahead in almost every count. She did a nice job.”

Sophomore Faye Stanek provided the only hit in the game for the Tigers (9-4, 1-2) with a line-drive single to left field to finish a seven-pitch at-bat. It was one of many hard-hit balls the Tigers had in the contest, but the only one that resulted in a base runner.

“She’s been battling, and that’s something I’ve told the team about, going up and competing, and she does just that,” Paulak said. “It was good to see instead of having her go up and let stuff happen. Those are good things to be able to see. We just have to get better, and that’s part of the deal.”