Down to their final out, A. Field’s 3-run homer helps Lady Zs beat John Glenn, sweep 3-way doubleheader

Val T.
29 minutes ago
8 min read

Pioneer loses twice, but thankful to have team

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Brailyn Hunter Ali Field Madyson Shaffer

ROYAL CENTER — Rochester freshman Ali Field got perhaps the game’s biggest hit in a win over Pioneer Saturday.

Then she came up with an ever bigger hit against John Glenn to help keep the Lady Zs undefeated.

Rochester swept their three-way doubleheader at Herk Hoffman Field Saturday, beating Pioneer 5-2 and John Glenn 12-10 in eight innings.

John Glenn beat Pioneer 9-5 in the final game.

Rochester was the visiting team in both of their games.

Rochester 5, Pioneer 2

Ali Field’s two-run single in the top of the third gave Rochester a 4-2 lead they would not relinquish. Kyleigh Little added an RBI triple for insurance in the sixth.

Brailyn Hunter pitched the first four innings for the win. Bria Rensberger pitched three scoreless innings of relief for the save.

Rensberger gave up Ava Bell’s bunt single and Lois Layer’s infield single in the fifth, but she retired seven consecutive batters to end it, including Addison Kennell on a strikeout to strand two in the fifth.

“I really liked how Emma Mathias and Brailyn Hunter came in and threw for us today,” Coleman said. “Bria came in and closed the door and gave up a couple hard hits, but then her back started bugging her in the John Glenn game, so that has me a little concerned.”

Miller led off the game with a bloop double to shallow left-center. She advanced to third when the throw to try and get her was wild for an error, and she scored on a wild pitch.

Gonzalez followed with a double, and she stole third and scored on a throwing error.

Madyson Shaffer led off the bottom of the first with a bunt single, but Ali Field, making her first start at catcher, threw her out trying to steal. Ava Ott walked, but Layer flew out to center field, and Kennell flew out to right.

Pioneer would tie it in the second on back-to-back-to-back singles from Ava Beasy, Tori Bingaman and Hallie Lebo with Lebo’s hit driving in a run. Hunter fanned Liz Kennell and Bell, but Shaffer’s RBI single tied it.

Layer hit Wilson with a pitch to start the third, and Wilson went from first to third on Jadyn Field’s single. Jadyn Field advanced to second on the throw to third to try and get Wilson.

Layer then fanned Rensberger but walked Hunter to load the bases. Ali Field then skidded a hot grounder in the hole on the right side to score Wilson and Jadyn Field.

“I think it’s really different from middle school,” Ali Field said of being a freshman on the varsity along with Gonzalez and Little. “I’m just glad that we get playing time and not just sitting, so it’s been really good and different from middle school. … We’re just utility players, so we just go wherever he tells us to and play to the best of our ability at that spot.”

Layer retired seven straight batters between the third and fifth innings, receiving help from Liz Kennell to make a nice running catch on Jadyn Field to lead off the fifth.

Ali Field led off the sixth with a hit. She moved to second on Medina’s groundout to third and scored when Little tripled to deep right.

Rochester 12, John Glenn (8 innings)

Rochester trailed 9-6 going into the top of the seventh, and John Glenn pitcher Emma Thomas retired Jadyn Field on a grounder back to the circle and Bria Rensberger on a grounder to third.

Hunter, who homered in her previous at-bat, drew a walk. That brought up Gabby Medina, who had gone 0 for 3 against Pioneer but who had not batted in this game.

Thomas got ahead in the count but hit her in the foot with a pitch.

Ali Field got ahead in the count and then cranked a 1-0 pitch to deep right field. John Glenn right fielder Addy Smigielski tracked the ball to the fall, but it sailed over her head and over the fence for a game-tying three-run homer, the first of her varsity career.

Hunter, pitching in relief of Rensberger, survived a harrowing bottom half, walking No. 9 batter Smigielski to put two on but then fanning Addison Manering to retire the side.

The Lady Zs caught a break to start the eighth. Adalyn Gonzalez struck out but reached on a passed ball. She stole second and advanced to third on Aubrey Wilson’s infield single. With nobody paying attention to Wilson, she took second.

Jadyn Field grounded to Manering at shortstop. Manering elected to throw home, but her throw was late to try and get Gonzalez.

Wilson advanced to third on the play and later scored on a wild pitch. John Glenn coach Brian Laskowski replaced Thomas with Mia Wilton in the circle.

Wilton walked Emma Mathias.

Hunter reached on an error, scoring Jadyn Field.

A wild pitch and Medina’s bunt single loaded the bases with nobody out, but Wilton struck out Ali Field, got Kyleigh Little to ground into a force at the plate and got Aubrey Miller on a liner to short to limit the damage and keep the deficit at 12-9.

Sophia Lizzi reached on an error on a dropped throw to start the John Glenn half of the eighth. Two batters later, Kiara Meadway singled. Back-to-back walks to Wilton and Taylor Jackson forced in a run and put the potential winning run on base.

That brought up Rory Winchell with the potential winning run on base, but Winchell hit a liner right at Medina at third, and she turned around and took one step and touched the bag for a game-ending double play.

“That was big for us,” Coleman said. “I think we had at least five errors that game, so we didn’t help our pitchers out at all, but for us, and honestly, Ali Field having two errors at third base early in the game, and for her to come back and hit that big game-tying home run there in the seventh inning was really big. And credit to her for keeping her head up and staying positive and really putting a good swing on it.”

Wilson also homered as part of a three-hit, three RBI day. Miller also had three hits. Jadyn Field finished with two RBIs.

Hunter said winning the Three Rivers Conference last year in addition to two straight sectionals has bolstered the team’s confidence.

“It feels really good, and I’m really excited,” Hunter said. “I’m glad that we all came together and pushed through to win that. … I thought they were good. I thought everyone in their lineup could hit well. I thought their pitcher wasn’t too bad, and their defense was really strong, so I thought they were a pretty good team.”

Rochester led 6-4 going into the bottom of the fifth after Wilson’s solo shot to deep right, but Payton Thomas crushed a no-doubt two-run homer to left-center to tie it. Three batters later, Taylor Jackson’s RBI double gave the Lady Falcons a 7-6 lead.

Emma Mathias replaced Rensberger.

Lizzi’s RBI triple and Payton Thomas’ RBI double in the sixth gave John Glenn a three-run lead.

John Glenn 9, Pioneer 5

Pioneer scored five runs on three hits over the first two innings and no runs on three hits over the final five innings.

Ott singled to lead off the fourth, and Bingaman walked to lead off the fifth, but Thomas, who entered in relief to start the fourth, retired the final nine batters.

Pioneer scored twice in the second to take a 5-3 lead. Bell, a freshman, led off with a bunt single. Shaffer’s single moved her to second, and Ott walked to load the bases.

Layer’s RBI grounder to short gave the Lady Panthers the lead, and Shaffer would score on a wild pitch.

Bingaman, a sophomore southpaw, walked five in the first two innings but harnessed her control after that, walking only one in the final five innings.

But John Glenn got to her in the fifth, sending 10 to the plate and scoring five. Lizzi and Meadway each had RBI singles, and Wilton capped the rally with a three-run homer to give John Glenn an 8-5 lead.

Lizzi led off the sixth with a triple, and she later scored on a wild pitch.

In addition to Rensberger and Thomas, Pioneer also saw Logansport’s Texas bound Brooklynn Haggerty this week.

“We’ve seen some good pitching obviously,” coach Bingaman said. “I’d like to say we need to make some better adjustments. I think that last game, maybe of our last nine outs, seven or eight were pop-ups, not very demanding defensive plays, right?

“I think both games, you saw that. I think you could tell with Rochester, we were on it. Maybe we should have capitalized more than we did. And the same thing with John Glenn, and then they brought in their other pitchers, we had a hard time adjusting. So the pitching’s been good, but that’s what we want to see, and we want to see if we can be able to handle that to get us ready for sectional.”

Coach Bingaman said he has tinkered with his lineups to find one that “clicks.” With Averi Layer at a volleyball tournament in Kentucky Saturday, coach Bingaman hit Shaffer leadoff and Ott second in front of Lois Layer.

Liz Kennell, Bell and Alivia Brovont are newcomers to softball, and coach Bingaman said the returning veterans have greatly appreciated their contributions.

“Without Liz and Ava and Liv, we would not have a softball team,” coach Bingaman said. “When we had our callout (meeting), we had eight kids. So we hit the hallways, and Addison Kennell’s a sister with both of them, so she basically forced them to come play. They both said, ‘Are you kidding me?’

“And I told them you guys are our most valuable kids. Because without you, we couldn’t play. So they haven’t played since rec ball in youth league. So they haven’t. Everything’s new. Everything from baserunning, fielding, outs, I can’t bunt with two strikes … I mean, these are all things as a coach and a player, you assume people know that. … So you can imagine the game being fast for most normal players, then it’s 10 times as fast for those two.”

Rochester 4, Pioneer 2

Rochester 202 001 0 – 5 9 0

Pioneer 020 000 0 – 2 7 3

WP – Brailyn Hunter (4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K)

LP – Lois Layer (7 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K)

2B – Aubrey Miller (RHS), Adalyn Gonzalez (RHS)

3B – Kyleigh Little (RHS)

Rochester 12, John Glenn 10 (8 innings)

Rochester 201 210 33 – 12 13 5

John Glenn 310 032 01 – 10 9 4

WP – Brailyn Hunter (2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 2 K)

LP – Emma Thomas (6 IP, 12 H, 12 R, 11 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)