Admittedly, St. Charles East freshman Brynn Maple rarely watches her home runs. This time? ‘I took a look.’

Sometimes, you just have to hit pause and then refresh.

It’s hard to imagine now, but St. Charles East freshman Brynn Maple will never forget how her first experience with playing softball didn’t go very well at all.

Really?

“I was just a little kid, trying out different sports and trying to find out what fit me best,” Maple said. “I remember my first year of playing, I hated it because I was so scared of getting hit by the ball.

“I didn’t do it the next year. After that, though, I came back to softball and just started to love it.”

That love continued Friday.

Maple, a left-handed outfielder/first baseman, hit a two-run homer to left-center that proved to be the difference as the Saints held off visiting Sycamore for a 5-4 nonconference victory.

South Carolina-bound senior catcher Hayden Sujack actually got things rolling for for St. Charles East (18-5) by lining a first-inning pitch over the left field fence for her 12th home run of the season and program-record 54th of her career.

It gave senior pitcher Hannah Wulf, a fellow South Carolina recruit, the early 1-0 lead. Freshman shortstop Kayla LaRose also contributed three hits. Maple’s home run built a 5-0 advantage.

Wulf struck out eight without a walk and limited Sycamore (16-4) to one hit in her three innings. Senior pitcher Makayla Van Dinther went the final four innings, giving up a one-out, two-run homer that narrowed the gap to the final score before escaping any more trouble.

Maple, meanwhile, is joined by utility player Emily Moline as one of three freshmen for the Saints.

“It helps, especially at the beginning of the year,” Maple said. “You’re nervous as one of the underclassmen, and having two others by my side helped to work through stuff.”

Maple, who started in left field Friday and moved to first base for the final inning, has also been helped by connecting with the veteran Sujack.