By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

St. Charles softball Coach Ty Monica has been looking for his team to raise its confidence level, particularly as it entered district play on Thursday.

But ironically, the challenge he now faces is to keep that confidence tempered.

The Lady Comets thumped host and District 9-3A rival Lutcher 18-4 on Thursday, after their bats generated almost as many runs as they had scored in their last eight games combined (19).  

“Never in a million years,” Monica said of the margin of victory. “We wanted to build some confidence, but the funny thing now is, we’ve gotta bring them back down to earth.”

The game ended after five innings due to the 10-run rule.

 The Comets (9-5, 1-0) led 7-0 after a monstrous second inning effort, where they had seven extra base hits that generated seven runs.

Megan Musacchia and Jessie Braud led the way, each going 3-for-4 with five RBIs.

Courtney Western was 4-for-4 with three RBIs. Brooke Becker was 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Katie Reine, Ashley Trosclair and Stephanie Caporella all were 3-for-4 on a day where St. Charles had 23 hits.

“We work our butts off in practice,” said Musacchia. “It happened for us today. It came from hard work and good coaching.”

The St. Charles hit parade made things easier for starting pitcher Ashley Trosclair (6-1). Aside from the second inning, where Lutcher (8-7-1) scored two unearned runs, she allowed big innings to the Bulldogs, making their hopes of a comeback slim.

“The team really backed me up, and that always helps a lot,” she said.

That the damage came off of Lutcher’s top pitcher, Sara  Schexnayder, made the result even more shocking.

“Sara’s a really good pitcher. She’ll be getting people out for a long time here,” said Monica.

Reine led off the second inning with a double. Trosclair singled, then reached second on an error. After Caporella grounded out, Musacchia doubled to bring home both runners, giving St. Charles its first lead, 2-0.

Braud then had an RBI double of her own, as did Western, making it 4-0. Katie Tregre flew out, but advanced Western to third. Coniglio then doubled, as did Becker for another RBI.

Reine ended the scoring with a triple deep into the outfield, which brought home a runner. She was thrown out trying to score at the plate, but the damage was done.

Schexnayder and Megan Waguespack each had RBIs for the Bulldogs.

While Monica may have to work to keep his team grounded in the coming days, his message already seems to have gotten across to some.

“It’s big, but it doesn’t mean anything unless we beat them again,” Musacchia said. “But it’s good to be 1-0 in district.”