No matter what the situation was, St. Charles East pitcher Makayla Van Dinther had full trust in her defense behind her.

Whether there was no outs and nobody on, or when South Elgin loaded the bases with two outs in both the third and fourth innings, the junior knew she could put the trust in her team to help her out.

“In those stressful situations, me and my catcher talked and located my spots,” Van Dinther said. “And I just knew I had to trust my defense. We played good all-around, and they helped me out a lot.”

Van Dinther paved the way for a sectional title for the Saints, tossing a six-hit shutout to help them to a 5-0 victory for their first sectional title since 2019.

“She just never wavered all day long,” Saints coach Jarod Gutesha said. “It was a hitter’s zone, but she kept pe

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