Rensberger: 9 up, 9 down with 7 Ks to earn save
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Keyton Doran Aubrey Miller
Aubrey Miller went 4 for 4, Aubrey Wilson had three hits, and Bria Rensberger pitched three perfect innings of relief for the Rochester softball team as they earned their fifth straight win by topping Culver Academy 8-6 at Fansler Field Saturday.
Gabby Medina drove in an insurance run with a pinch-hit RBI single in the sixth, scoring Mia Howdeshell.
Rensberger then struck out Margaret Cordes, got Carlee Schwartze on a fly to left and struck out Lilian Ploetz looking to end the game. Rensberger struck out seven batters overall.
“Bria came in and did a really nice job establishing her fastball,” Rochester coach Jim Coleman said. “She really caught them a little off-guard after seeing Hunter and Mia Howdeshell. But the big thing is she came in and threw strikes for us. I can probably say that’s one of maybe two times this season that she came in outside of a starting role. So for her to come in and throw strikes… was what we needed.”
Rensberger also had a double, an RBI and a run scored at the plate. Howdeshell singled, was hit by a pitch twice and drove in a run. Keyton Doran, the team’s lone senior, started in right field on senior day and had a walk and an RBI single. Brailyn Hunter had a single and two RBIs. Jadyn Field drove in the run that put Rochester ahead for good in the fourth inning.
With Rochester trailing 5-4, Wilson started the bottom of the fourth with a double. Miller’s infield single moved her to third. Hunter then singled to right-center to score Wilson and move Miller to third. Field’s RBI groundout to third scored Miller to make it 6-5. Rensberger struck out on a dropped third strike. The throw to first was in time to complete the strikeout and retire Rensberger, but Hunter slid home safely to make it 7-5.
In addition to her hit in the fourth, Miller had an infield hit and a run scored as part of Rochester’s three-run first and a bunt single in the second. She also singled in the fifth.
“I would say a lot of it is moving from the one to the two-hole (in the batting order),” Coleman said of Miller’s recent hot streak. “She also switched bats. Whatever the combination is that has changed, she has been hot. And credit her. She’s one of those that when she’s not hitting well – or even when she is hitting well – she comes in and takes extra BP (batting practice), works off a tee. Last night, she went and saw her hitting coach down in Lafayette, something that she normally does on a Sunday. But for her and for Wilson – 1-2 at the top of our order – is just so big and really has keyed, along with Bria’s pitching, this winning stretch that we’ve been on.”
Schwartze’s RBI triple in the fifth made it 7-6, and Ploetz was hit with a pitch. Rochester coach Jim Coleman summoned Rensberger to relieve Howdeshell in the circle, and she struck out Parker Beyer and Ava Borlan and got Eliza Loehr on a grounder to Wilson at shortstop to escape the jam.
Howdeshell was hit by a pitch with one out in the sixth and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Medina, pinch-hitting for Doran, lined an RBI single to left to give Rochester and Rensberger a two-run cushion.
Rochester 8, Culver Academy 6
Culver Academy 210 210 0 – 6 6 1
Rochester 301 301 X – 8 12 1
WP – Mia Howdeshell (1 ⅓ IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 2 K)
LP – Ava Borland (4 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 HBP, 4 K)
2B – Carlee Schwartze (CGA), Bria Rensberger (RHS), Aubrey Wilson (RHS)
3B – Carlee Schwartze (CGA)
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