Parks’ 3 hits, 3 RBIs help Rochester hold off Carroll

Val T.
May 3
3 min read

Zebras take advantage of 9 Cougar walks to improve to 13-1

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Zakk Parks had three hits and three RBIs, and Drew Bowers went 2 for 2 with a single, a triple and a walk as the Rochester baseball team held off Carroll at Bob Copeland Field Friday.

Callen Ferverda and Tanner Reinartz each had a hit and an RBI. Brant Beck and Conner Dunfee each had a hit.

Parker Casper walked three times and drove in a run.

Rochester hitters drew nine walks overall.

“We kind of had to have some things go our way a little bit,” Rochester coach Cory Good said. “In the second, we got five, and they helped us and gave us a couple there. I thought we had a good approach at the plate though. We got pitch count up pretty quickly on (Carroll pitcher Xavier) Williams and then we thought if we could get to their pen, we’d have some more success, but I was happy with the approach tonight.”

Casper also allowed one run over four innings to earn the win on the mound. He gave up five hits and walked two while striking out one.

Brady Coleman relieved and allowed four hits and two runs (both earned) over two innings and walked one and struck out one. Drew Bowers made his mound debut in the seventh and allowed four hits and three runs (all earned) while walking one and striking out one.

Carroll trailed 9-3 after six innings, but the first five batters reached base against Bowers in the seventh before Lincoln White grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Coy Lytle scored on the play, but Bowers followed with a strikeout to end the game.

“It was huge,” Good said of the double play. “I think we got three double plays today. Our defense has been rock solid from game one, and we’re still on that path right now. We’ve got more double plays than errors right now, and that’s awesome. Three huge double plays, and the one in the seventh was massive.”

Owen Zinn and Travis Tinsman both homered for Carroll.

Zinn led off the game with a homer off Casper, but Carroll would not score again until the sixth.

Rochester scored five in the second inning, all with two outs, to take the lead for good.

Casper had an RBI walk, Reinartz reached on an error that allowed two runs to score, and Parks had a two-run single.

Parks added an RBI single in the fourth, and Beck scored later in the inning on an error.

Reinartz added a sacrifice fly in the fifth to make it 8-1.

Tinsman’s two-run homer off Coleman in the sixth made it 8-3.

Ferverda had an RBI groundout in the bottom of the sixth to stretch the lead to six.

Zebra notes

Rochester junior Carson Paulik, who threw an eight-inning no-hitter against Manchester Wednesday, did not play due to illness. Good said Paulik has not been at school since his no-hitter.
The IHSAA draw is at 8 p.m. Sunday. Rochester will travel to Oak Hill for Class 2A, Sectional 38. Baseball sectionals will be held statewide from May 28-June 2. Oak Hill will also host the softball sectional from May 26-31.

Rochester 9, Carroll (Flora) 6

Carroll 100 002 3 – 6 13 2

Rochester 050 211 X – 9 9 0

WP – Parker Casper (4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K)

LP – Williams (4 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K)

2B – Lytle (CARR), Tanner Reinartz (RHS)

3B – Drew Bowers (RHS)

HR – Zinn (CARR), Tinsman (CARR)