Miller has 2 hits, but Knox snaps Lady Zs’ winning streak

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Aubrey Miller

Bria Rensberger got the day off in the circle, but it was the Rochester softball team’s hitters that needed to be better, according to coach Jim Coleman, in a 6-3 loss to Knox at Fansler Field Friday.

Aubrey Miller had two hits, three stolen bases and two runs scored, but the loss snapped a seven-game winning streak.

Knox improved to 6-9. Rochester fell to 11-4. Three of their losses have been at home. This was their first loss since a 9-5 loss to North Miami April 17.

Cheryl Barnes’ two-run double off Rochester starter Mia Howdeshell gave Knox a 4-2 lead and highlighted a three-run fifth. Barnes advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Elise Wolff’s RBI single.

Karleigh Friedrich’s RBI double off reliever Brailyn Hunter made it 6-2 in the sixth.

Miller led off the bottom of the sixth by chopping a single to right-center field. She stole second and third and later scored on Rensberger’s sacrifice fly to deep center to cut the lead to three.

After Hunter pitched a scoreless top of the seventh, Emma Mathias led off the bottom of the seventh with a pinch-hit single, but Knox pitched Bethany Barnes retired the next three batters to end it.

Bethany Barnes pitched a four-hitter with two walks and five strikeouts. Both walks occurred in the sixth, but she got Mylee Heinzmann on a pop-up to Cheryl Barnes with runners on second and third to end the inning.

“We didn’t make her work near as much as what we needed to,” Rochester coach Jim Coleman said of Bethany Barnes. “In the box, we were swinging at a lot of her pitches. I think we had one ball that was hit decent, and that was with Bria. We just have to be better in the box, and that’s what we stressed tonight after the game. I felt that our pitchers pitched well enough for us to win. We just didn’t hit well enough to win. We have to be better in the box. We have to be better with our small ball. We missed probably five or six bunts, and that’s putting pressure on our defense.”

After pitching 24 ⅓ innings over the last week, Rensberger started this game at first base. Howdeshell started in the circle, and Knox got to her in the second inning.

Howdeshell walked Adrianna Shellhart, and Joie Montague’s bunt single moved her to second. Bethany Barnes’ sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third. Madalee Hinshaw lined to second with Heinzmann making a lunging catch just before it hit the ground.

But Addison Sponaugle roped a two-run double to left to give Knox a 2-0 lead.

Howdeshell retired seven of the next eight batters and got defensive help from Miller in left field, who made a running catch to her left on Montague to lead off the fourth and a running catch in foul territory on Bethany Barnes one batter later.

Meanwhile, Bethany Barnes retired the first nine batters she faced, five of them on strikes.

Miller sprayed an opposite-field single to left for Rochester’s first baserunner in the fourth and then stole second. Brailyn Hunter sacrificed, and when the ball was bobbled for an error, she reached first with Miller moving to third.

Hunter then stole second.

Aubrey Wilson’s sacrifice fly to Sponaugle in deep left-center scored Miller to make it 2-1. Rensberger then grounded to first. Hunter advanced to third, and when the throw to try and get her at third was wild for an error, Hunter came in to score and tie the game.

Knox answered right back.

“They did hit well,” Coleman said. “We definitely helped them out with the walks. They did a great job advancing runners and had timely hitting that we didn’t have. Their one through five hit the ball hard. That’s a very good hitting team.”

Game notes

• Trailing 5-2 with runners at second and third and one out in the fifth, Rochester turned a bizarre double play. Montague grounded to Wilson at shortstop. Wilson fielded the ball just as Adrianna Shellhart, the runner at second, was running towards third. Shellhart was called for interference, and then Wilson threw to first to retire Montague. After the two umpires conversed, it was determined that the interference did not mean that the ball was dead and that Wilson could continue with the play at first. Therefore, it was an inning-ending double play.

• The IHSAA draw is at 7 p.m. Sunday. Rochester will travel to Oak Hill for Class 2A, Sectional 38. Sectionals will be held statewide from May 26-31.

Knox 6, Rochester 3

Knox 020 031 0 – 6 7 2

Rochester 000 201 0 – 3 4 3

WP – Bethany Barnes (7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K)

LP – Mia Howdeshell (5 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1 K)

2B – Addison Sponaugle (KNOX), Cheryl Barnes (KNOX), Karleigh Friedrich (KNOX)