Field sisters combine for 5 RBIs, help Rochester beat N. Miami

Rensberger strikes out 7 in relief, saves win for Hunter

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Jadyn Field Ali Field Adalyn Gonzalez

DENVER — Jadyn Field singled home two runs in the fifth inning to break a 3-3 tie, and Bria Rensberger pitched three hitless innings in relief to save the win for Brailyn Hunter as the Rochester softball team defeated host North Miami 10-3 Thursday.

Jadyn Field finished with three RBIs, and younger sister Ali Field added a two-run double as part of a five-run sixth.

Aubrey Miller and Adalyn Gonzalez, the top two hitters in the Lady Z lineup, combined to reach base seven times and score five runs. No. 3 hitter Aubrey Wilson tripled and singled and drove in a run and scored twice.

Ranked No. 10 in Class 2A, Rochester improved to 10-2. North Miami dropped to 3-6 with the loss.

“I felt like we were patient enough in the box and put a lot of good swings on the ball,” Rochester coach Jim Coleman said. “It was good for us to come in and make some contact and put pressure on their defense. North Miami made what I recall three nice catches on line drives. … But we’re seeing the ball. We’re in a stretch of four games (in four days), so there’s a good side to that. It allows our hitters to get more in rhythm. I think from last night (a 5-4 win over Manchester) to tonight, we definitely were more patient and more selective with our swings.”

Zoey Sparks had an RBI single, and freshman Khloe Hovermale had a two-run double in the third as North Miami erased a 3-0 deficit.

With the game tied, Miller led off the fifth with a bunt single off Sparks. Gonzalez was hit by a pitch. Wilson reached on an error to load the bases.

Jadyn Field then sent a sharp grounder through the hole on the left side to score Miller and Gonzalez.

Sparks retired the next three hitters to limit the damage.

In the bottom of the fifth, Freedom McHenry led off with the second of her two hits, and she moved to second when Hunter walked Sparks.

Both Rochester coach Jim Coleman and Rensberger emerged from the first base dugout.

Rensberger struck out Layla Hampton, got Hovermale to ground into a forceout and struck out Chloe Sparks.

“She definitely threw us off balance a little bit, and that’s going to happen,” North Miami coach Amanda Walters said of Rensberger coming in. “So there’s nothing we can do about that.”

In the top of the sixth, Gabby Medina hit a liner off Zoey Sparks that deflected to Delilah Weaver at second base. Weaver threw out Medina as teammates and a trainer ran to the circle to check on Zoey Sparks.

She stayed in, her glove perhaps deflecting some of the steam off Medina’s liner. But a Rochester rally began in earnest.

Emma Mathias was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a wild pitch. Miller flared a single to shallow left, and Mathias hustled home and beat the throw to make it 6-3. 

Gonzalez was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Wilson lined a single to center to score Miller and make it 7-3.

Field then hit the first pitch and sent a fly to deep center. The ball was dropped near the fence for an error to score Gonzalez from second.

A wild pitch moved runners to second and third. Ali Field then drilled a liner that ticked off the glove of Lindsey Pugh in left field to score Wilson and Jadyn Field and complete the five-run rally.

“They’re a strong team, and they capitalized on their opportunities,” Walters said. “We had a lot of good moments. We just need to do better at stringing them together.”

Rensberger struck out seven of the 10 batters she faced. The only baserunner she allowed came on an error. But that was Rochester’s only error.

“Defensively, when you’re playing a solid opponent like Roncalli, your defense has to be sound,” Coleman said. “And that’s something that we didn’t do to help Bria out against Roncalli. Since then, we’ve cleaned up and kind of settled down a little bit. We shuffled a few players in different positions just due to three games in a row coming up, and next week, we have four games in five days. … It’s one of those things (where) I feel defense is contagious.”

Rochester took a 3-0 lead in the first on Gonzalez’s RBI double, an RBI fielder’s choice grounder from Jadyn Field and an RBI single from Hunter.

McHenry doubled with one out in the first, and Zoey Sparks reached on a hit-by-pitch, but North Miami stranded two.

Hunter got three straight groundouts in the second, including a nifty play where Medina lost her glove but was still able to throw out Pugh for the third out.

But Rochester had their baserunning foibles.

Gonzalez was thrown out trying to stretch her double into a triple in the first. Miller was called out for an illegal leadoff in the second. Jadyn Field was thrown out trying to score from second on Ali Field’s fly ball to right field in the third.

In the bottom of the third, North Miami evened matters after Hunter walked Aeva Myers and McHenry. Zoey Sparks then blooped in an RBI hit, and Hovermale went to deep right-center to score McHenry and Zoey Sparks.

“They both can crush the ball,” Walters said when asked what makes McHenry and Hovermale different from typical freshmen. “Freedom has been so great for us in key moments defensively and offensively. Khloe Hovermale is one of those batters where if she comes up, you just know that something’s going to happen. She can lay down a bunt. She can hit a home run. She can hit those spots. She’s such a great player for us.”

Rochester 10, North Miami 3

Rochester 300 025 0 – 10 10 1

North Miami 003 000 0 – 3 5 4

WP – Brailyn Hunter (4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 0 K)

LP – Zoey Sparks (7 IP, 10 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 4 BB, 3 HBP, 0 K)

S – Bria Rensberger (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K)

2B – Adalyn Gonzalez (RHS), Ali Field (RHS), Freedom McHenry (NM), Khloe Hovermale (NM)

3B – Aubrey Wilson (RHS)