By Sean Duncan

ST. CHARLES ? Some of the most memorable pitching performances I?ve ever covered have been produced from this Neuqua Valley-St. Charles North matchup over the years.  From Ian Krol?s sophomore year masterpiece, to Danny Jimenez and Zach Hirsch, this Upstate 8 contest always seems to coax the best out of the teams.

While Tuesday?s game was far from a classic ? in fact, at times it had the pace of rush-hour traffic on the Dan Ryan Expressway ? St. Charles North left-hander Phil Warner delivered an impressive performance, one that led the North Stars to a 6-1 Upstate 8 crossover victory.

Warner (2-0), a 6-foot-5, 260-pound unsigned senior, carried a no-hitter through four innings before yielding his first hit with one out in the fifth. In all, Warner limited Neuqua Valley (6-3, 1-3) to three hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out six, walked three, hit one batter and picked two runners off to keep St. Charles North (8-2, 4-0) undefeated in conference play.  

?He?s obviously one of our horses on the mound,? said St. Charles North coach Todd Genke. ?He?s a big-game pitcher. I?m really happy for him; he?s worked very hard. To only allow three hits versus a good-hitting team like Neuqua Valley is impressive.?  

Warner hopscotched in and out of trouble thanks to two pickoffs in the first and second innings. Neuqua threatened in the fifth, too, when Warner hit junior Jack Amaro with the bases loaded, but dodged further trouble with a groundout.   ?Early in the game I thought everything was working,? said Warner.

?This is huge for us. With the new conference alignment, we only get these guys once. It gives us a lot of confidence to beat them and protect our house.?  

Leading 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth, the North Stars broke the game open with four runs behind four hits and three bunts, including a successful suicide-squeeze by Andrew Elliot. Senior Dirk Schmitt delivered a run-scoring single in the inning, and finished 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Junior shortstop John Brodner went 2-for-2 with a walk and RBI, and senior John Munyon had a run-scoring single in the third inning.  

 Senior right-hander Ryan Jones pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to secure the win. Jones struck out consecutive batters looking to get out of a first-and-second, one-out jam in the sixth.   

Neuqua Valley dropped its second game in as many days.