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BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
The five seniors on the Rochester softball team included, from left, Kylie Coleman, Kallie Watson, Emma Howdeshell, Sydney Haughs and Maddi Heinzmann.
Emma Howdeshell doubled and tripled and drove in two runs, but the Rochester softball team lost to South Bend Clay 8-4 on senior night at Fansler Field on May 18.
Mylee Heinzmann had a double for the Lady Zs, and Aubrey Miller and Maddi Heinzmann each had a single.
Desiree Boone singled and doubled and drove in two runs, and Faith Hyduk also had two hits and two RBIs for the victorious Lady Colonials. Haylee Hyduk contributed a single and two RBIs.
South Bend Clay scored four runs in the top of the fourth to take a 6-2 lead, and they stayed ahead from there.
Faith Hyduk pitched a five-hitter with one walk and seven strikeouts. Two of the runs she allowed were unearned.
Hyduk was the third pitcher to test the Lady Zs in the last four days, following Peru’s Jaylah Harlan and North Miami’s Lauren Duncan. Rochester came into the week hitting over .420 as a team but scored only nine runs in three games and went 1-2.
“She threw well,” Rochester coach Jim Coleman said. “Our approach at the plate tonight was much better from last night. And again from Monday, I thought our approach was better. We didn’t see the speed we saw last night, but she definitely was a quality pitcher, mixing her speeds really well, but another good arm to help prepare us for next Monday (against Winamac in the sectional).”
Kylie Coleman, Mia Howdeshell and Emma Howdeshell pitched for Rochester. Mia Howdeshell took the loss after allowing five runs in four innings of relief while fanning three. Emma Howdeshell followed Mia Howdeshell to the circle and allowed one hit and one run in 2 ⅔ innings while striking out two. Coleman started and got the first out, but not before allowing a hit and a walk and two runs.
Rochester pitchers combined to walk eight. Defensively, Rochester committed two errors that led to four unearned runs for South Bend Clay.
“Ugly,” coach Coleman said in assessing the defense. “We gave up four in that fourth inning, and all four were unearned. We had two errors in the inning, two walks and a hit batsman. Defensively, we don’t have the pitching to commit those types of mistakes and be able to get away with it. We lose by four, and we gave up four in that inning. So that was a big inning that we could have got out of without giving up anything if we would have made the plays.”
Rochester held senior night ceremonies before South Bend Clay arrived. Kylie Coleman, Sydney Haughs, Maddi Heinzmann, Emma Howdeshell and Kallie Watson were honored. The game did not begin until well after 6 p.m. Coach Coleman said having the ceremonies early worked in the team’s favor and did not affect the way they played.
Coach Coleman described the night as “emotional” for seniors and non-seniors alike.
“We’re definitely a tight-knit group,” coach Coleman said. “All the way down to the freshmen. There’s a lot of respect there for those seniors. You know, I would say it’s right up there as emotional for them as what it was for the seniors.”
Rochester finished the regular season with home wins over Culver Academy (5-4) and Northwestern (12-2 in five innings) on May 20. The season ended with a 9-5 loss to Winamac in a Class 2A, Sectional 37 quarterfinal on May 22.
The Lady Zs finished 15-7.
South Bend Clay 8, Rochester 4
SB Clay 200 411 0 – 8 6 2
Rochester 101 020 0 – 4 5 2
WP – Faith Hyduk (7 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K)
LP – Mia Howdeshell (4 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 3 K)
2B – Desiree Boone (SBC), Emma Howdeshell (RHS), Mylee Heinzmann (RHS)
3B – Emma Howdeshell (RHS)
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