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Reinartz, McGlothin combine on 1-hitter as Rochester improves to 2-2 in TRC
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Kyle Reinartz and Tarick McGlothin combined on a one-hitter, and Reinartz also drove in a run with an RBI single in the first inning as the Rochester baseball team edged Tippecanoe Valley 3-2 at Bob Copeland Field Monday.
Rochester improved to 9-8 overall and 2-2 in the Three Rivers Conference. Valley fell to 5-7, 1-2.
Rochester scored all of their runs in the first inning.
Owen Kirchenstien took the loss for Valley. He allowed four hits and no earned runs over five innings. He also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
D.J. Estep pitched a scoreless sixth in relief.
Braxton Davis’ second-inning single was Valley’s only hit.
Valley trailed 3-0 after three innings but broke through in the fourth. Payton Mills walked, stone second and third and scored on Kirchenstien’s fly to right field.
Estep led off the sixth with a walk and went to second on a Reinartz wild pitch. Mills laid down a sacrifice bunt, and when the throw to try and get Estep at third was late, Valley had runners on the corners with nobody out.
Noah Prater’s RBI grounder to Kane Lutz at second made it 3-2, but Reinartz struck out Davis looking and got Kirchenstien on a grounder to short to end the inning.
McGlothin pitched a perfect seventh for the save. He fanned Damion Kohler, got Hunter Craft on a pop to Grant McCarter at first and retired Rex Kirchenstien on a grounder to first to end it.
Rochester managed back-to-back hits just once, but it just happened to be the first two batters of the game when both McGlothin and Ethan Medina singled. The runners moved to second and third on Evan Elliott’s grounder.
McGlothin scored, and Medina moved up to third on a wild pitch. Reinartz’s RBI single delivered Medina to make it 2-0.
Reinartz stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on the third wild pitch of the inning.
It was enough of a lead for Reinartz, who struck out at least two batters in each of the first five innings and finished with 12 strikeouts.
Rochester got the leadoff man on in the third, fifth and sixth innings, but Kirchenstien or Estep retired the next three batters all three times.
McGlothin and Medina had two hits each.
Neither team had an extra-base hit.
Rochester topped Valley 5-1 in a JV game that followed the varsity game.
Rochester 3, Tippecanoe Valley 2
Valley 000 101 0 – 2 1 0
Rochester 300 000 X – 3 7 0
WP – Kyle Reinartz (6 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 1 HBP, 12 K)
LP – Owen Kirchenstien (5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K)
XBH – (none)
Rochester’s Evan Elliott leads off second base while Tippecanoe Valley shortstop Damion Kohler (15) plays behind him during Monday’s game at Bob Copeland Field. Rochester won 3-2 to improve to 2-2 in the Three Rivers Conference. Valley fell to 1-2. (photo provided by Paula Beehler)
Watch full game Here:
