Wilson’s walk-off double lifts Rochester to senior night win, outright TRC title

Rensberger strikes out 13, Field adds 2 hits

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Lillee Conley Mia Howdeshell Darah Strasser

Rochester softball coach Jim Coleman gave his players a weekend off to rest and get healthy before bringing them back for a brief practice prior to Monday’s home game against Whitko.

Then Whitko senior pitcher Addie Garr put the Zebra offense to rest for seven innings before a Whitko error woke up the Rochester offense and led to a celebration.

In the end, Aubrey Wilson and Bria Rensberger were the sophomore heroes on senior day as Rochester beat Whitko 2-1 in eight innings to wrap up the outright Three Rivers Conference title.

Rochester is 18-4 overall and 8-0 in the TRC. Rochester had already clinched a share of the TRC prior to Monday, but this win ended Whitko, Peru and Southwood’s chances of potentially getting their own share. The Lady Zs will go for the perfect TRC season when they travel to Lewis Cass Wednesday.

Whitko fell to 15-6, 5-3.

Wilson ended the game with a walk-off RBI double with two strikes and two outs. It scored Brailyn Hunter from second base. Hunter reached on an error on a ground ball to shortstop that kept the inning alive for Wilson. Hunter then stole second, successfully testing the arm of Whitko catcher Sophie Keener, who had thrown out two Rochester runners earlier.

On the next pitch, Wilson drove a fly to deep center over Izzie Harman’s head for her team-leading 34th RBI.

The on-field celebration was subdued. After the postgame handshake, the team then celebrated in front of the center field fence with t-shirts to mark the occasion of their conference title.

Wilson’s game-ending double was just Rochester’s third hit. Jadyn Field had the other two hits on singles in the second and seventh innings. Garr struck out 10.

“Credit Garr,” Rochester coach Jim Coleman said. “She threw a fantastic game – great competitor, great kid. But Wilson, she had some difficult at-bats early in the game, but yet, she still put the bat on the ball after her first one. With her, she learns from each and every at-bat, and she’s such a competitor. For her to put a quality swing in that situation shows just what kind of a kid and what kind of a player she is. No one better to have up in that situation than her.”

Rensberger, who dealt with both a hand injury and an illness last week, pitched a six-hitter with 13 strikeouts. She allowed three straight hits to start the sixth – the third of those hits was Kaylee Adkins’ game-tying RBI single – but responded by retiring eight of the final nine batters she faced.

Adkins walked twice and singled her first three times up, but Rensberger struck her out with a runner on base to end the eighth.

Rochester also played errorless defense. The defensive effort included catcher Field’s running catch on Hannah Long’s foul pop in the second, second baseman Mylee Heinzmann’s backtracking, lunging catch on Taylor Long’s liner to shallow right in the third, Aubrey Miller’s basket catch on Garr’s scorched liner to left in the fourth and perhaps most importantly, Wilson throwing out courtesy runner Meredith Hindbaugh at third after she overran the bag on Adkins’ RBI single in the sixth.

Adkins advanced to second on the play, but Rensberger recovered to strike out Hannah Long and get Harman on a grounder to second.

The error on Whitko’s shortstop in the bottom of the eighth was the only error for either team.

“Our defense from top to bottom … eight conference games, and we’ve had three errors,” Coleman said. “Like I told them out in center field after the game, you know, defense is what got us here. Defense and good pitching has got us here. Wilson came up big. … We knew it was going to be low-scoring.”

Garr came in having walked just 17 batters in 64 innings, but Rochester made her pay for a leadoff walk of Rensberger in the second. Field followed with a ground single up the middle that hit the second base bag before hopping into center field.

Heinzmann’s sacrifice bunt moved runners to second and third. Mia Howdeshell followed with an RBI squeeze bunt. Third baseman Cassidy Skinner threw Howdeshell out at first, and as soon as the throw went to first, courtesy runner Emma Mathias raced home and beat the throw back to the plate from Adkins at first base.

Howdeshell said she bunted on her own.

“Bunting from everyone was huge tonight,” Howdeshell said. “When we’re not really hitting the ball far… she was a super good pitcher. Bunting is super important. Honestly, Jim didn’t call that bunt, but I knew that was best for the team in the moment.”

Howdeshell, Lillee Conley and Darah Strasser were the three seniors honored in pregame ceremonies. Rochester is 22-4 in TRC games over the last three years.

“It’s bittersweet,” Howdeshell said. “I love this team, and it’s really just bittersweet – taking in all the good… Hopefully, we can drag out the season as long as possible.”

Skinner led off the sixth with a double inside the right field line. She went to third when Garr singled to right-center.

Rochester 2, Whitko 1 (8 innings)

Whitko 000 001 00 – 1 6 1

Rochester 010 000 01 – 2 3 0

WP – Bria Rensberger (8 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 13 K)

LP – Addie Garr (7 ⅔ IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 10 K)

2B – Cassidy Skinner (WHI), Aubrey Wilson (RHS)