Making a hit record: Bussard homers, earns milestone, strikes out 11 in win over Rochester

Gonzalez, Wilson homer for Lady Zs, but 11-game winning streak ends

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Dalynne Bussard Minda Shriver KC Shriver

AKRON — Dalynne Bussard already owns the Tippecanoe Valley softball record for strikeouts.

That is old news. A senior now, she broke that record when she was a sophomore.

In fact, she has more strikeouts than the pitchers who are Nos. 2 and 3 on Valley’s all-time list combined, and she got her 500th career strikeout against Bremen on April 23.

But the University of Indianapolis recruit is more than just an elite pitcher. She is one of the great hitters in Valley softball history as well, and she achieved a milestone against visiting Rochester Saturday to prove it.

Meanwhile, a motivated Malaynie Costello added a two-run single as the Lady Vikings won 5-3, ending Rochester’s 11-game winning streak.

Valley improved to 10-8. Rochester fell to 17-3.

Minda Shriver added a two-run double as part of Valley’s five-run third inning that gave the Lady Vikings a 5-0 lead.

Adalyn Gonzalez Aubrey WIlson

Adalyn Gonzalez hit her first career homer in the fourth for the Lady Zs to make it 5-1, and Aubrey Wilson blasted her own solo shot off the scoreboard in the sixth to make it 5-2. Mylee Heinzmann’s RBI double in the seventh made it 5-3, but Bussard got Aubrey Miller to foul out to third and Gonzalez on a grounder to second to end it.

Bussard pitched a six-hitter with one walk and 11 strikeouts.

Brailyn Hunter took the loss. She pitched 2 ⅓ innings and allowed four hits and five runs (all earned) with four walks and four strikeouts. Emma Mathias pitched 3 ⅔ innings of scoreless relief, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three. 

Bussard came into the day with 120 career hits. She went 5 for 5 in a 17-12 loss to Fairfield to begin the day to break Valley’s career hits record. Mariah Benzing held the previous career record with 122.

Against Rochester, she launched a solo homer to straightaway center for hit No. 126 to start the scoring.

Valley also played effective defense behind her. Against Fairfield earlier in the day, Valley committed five errors that led to 10 unearned runs. In this game, Valley committed only one error, which Bussard worked around in the fourth inning.

Wilson, who also had a double, finished 2 for 3. Makiah Harding and Gabby Medina also had hits.

Kahlyn Manns contributed a double for Valley, and Makenzey Morton had a single.

Rochester coach Jim Coleman complimented Bussard on her rise ball but also said Lady Z hitters need to adjust more quickly against tough pitching.

“Great pitcher,” Coleman said of Bussard. “Unfortunately, it just takes us too long to adjust in the box. I thought we did well defensively. I thought Brai and Emma Mathias threw well for us. We just couldn't string enough hits together against Bussard to really put a dent in that five-run third inning that they had. … Moving forward, after seeing (Stevie-Rae) Hedges from Northwestern (in a 4-1 Rochester win Wednesday) and Bussard today, we’re not going to see better pitching than those two moving forward. I thought it was a great opportunity for us.”

After Bussard’s homer, KC Shriver drew a walk, and Manns launched a double to deep left-center to move KC Shriver to third.

Coleman elected to intentionally walk Kaitlyn Threlkel with first base open to load the bases.

Costello’s hit made it 3-0. 

Costello said she started slowly with her hitting both last year and this year, but she said she improved her hitting more rapidly this year. She said she dealt with a bulging disk in her back last year.

With Threlkel walked in front of her and the bases now loaded, she was focused.

“I just had motivation to get a base hit,” Costello said.

Two batters later, Minda Shriver ripped a double to the right-center field fence to score courtesy runner Gaby Gonzalez and Costello.

Valley never got another baserunner in scoring position. The game was in Bussard’s hands.

Barger said that Costello, who is typically the No. 2 pitcher, was dealing with leg pain. Minda Shriver, who is the No. 3 pitcher, threw 75 pitches over three innings against Fairfield in her first pitching appearance of the season.

“Her arm started to hurt,” Barger said. “She hadn’t pitched all year. So it was kind of thrust upon Day. I got to have you suck it up for seven innings and try to get through this. If you keep us in the game, we’ll keep you out there, and she did. She worked her butt off, and she helped herself at the plate with the home run there. It’s all her today.”

Valley is a mix of veteran players like Bussard, KC Shriver and Manns; emerging juniors like Threlkel and Temperance Caudill; and newcomers like Gaby Gonzalez, Minda Shriver, Kylie Cunningham, Audrey Long, Annabelle Meier and Morton.

“I think that we’ve grown a lot as a team,” Costello said. “We have quite a few girls that haven’t played. I think Gaby (Gonzalez) has done a great job of adjusting and getting on it, and we don’t have very many pitchers, so Dalynne’s doing a great job just throwing strikes.”

Valley 5, Rochester 3

Rochester 000 101 1 – 3 6 1

Valley 005 000 X – 5 5 1

WP – Dalynne Bussard (7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 11 K)

LP – Brailyn Hunter (2 ⅓ IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 4 K)

2B – Aubrey Wilson (RHS), Kahlyn Manns (TV), Minda Shriver (TV)

HR – Adalyn Gonzalez (RHS), Aubrey Wilson (RHS), Dalynne Bussard (TV)