The Fastpitch Chronicle

It had the makings of a classic fastpitch softball game. Two teams near the top of the statewide rankings. A battle between a team with no losses and a team with a loss in a game decided by the international tiebreaker. Two teams with excellent pitching and stellar defenders.

The question was, could anybody score?

When Poynette invaded Marshall’s domain today the scene was set for what would produce many a thrill.

Marshall’s Morgan Hendricks kept the door closed on Poynette through four innings. Twelve up and twelve down in order.

Meanwhile in the first inning Poynette’s all state pitcher found herself in a jam right away.  An 0-2 single by leadoff batter Samira Arvin followed by a base on balls to Alex Ritzema put runners on first and second. Blochwitz mustered a little mettle after the walk and struck out Dani Gumz. Allison Utz then lined the second pitch over the head of Jordyn Mackey at second and out into short rightfield. Marshall’s coach held the runner coming from second because that runner had to hold at second base to make sure Mackey would not snare the liner. That little leap and possible catch and double play made a huge difference in the game. Rightfielder Dani Treinen scooped up the one-bounce liner and rifled a throw to the plate but Arvin held tight at third. Blochwitz reached a bit deeper in a gallant attempt to get our of trouble. She fanned Hendricks on a 1-2 pitch and faced Amber Schoenicke with the sacks juiced and two dead. After a strike Schoenike hit a sharp ground ball to shortstop Shelby Wheeler and the senior shortstop made the routine play to retire her.

The Pumas’ faithful breathed a collective sigh of relief as they looked forward to the top of the second. In that half inning Hendricks, of course, put them down in order on a strikeout and two pop ups to Alex Ritzema at shortstop.

In the bottom of the second the Cardinals mounted another chance to score. Mikayla Bakken hit an 0-1 offering toward Mackey at second. The ball squirted off her glove and the batter was safe at first. Next, when Taylor Frey bunted the Pumas were caught sleepiing and and allowed Bakken to slide into third safely in front of the tag on the throw from first to third. Suddenly, without the aid of a hit, the Cardina;s were threatening again with a runner at three and one out. Blochwitz coaxed a foul pop to the first base side that was caught for the second out. Arvin, now back in the box for the second time in as many innings line a 1-1 pitch to leftfield. It appeared as though it would fall in but, sophomore leftfielder Mya Knuteson, aided by a very obvious down hill run toward shortstop made a running catch right in front of her face to end the inning.

That would be the last time Blochwitz would face serious trouble. She hit Utz in the elbow with a pitch in the third with two outs but got Hendricks to hit one to an again sprinting Knuteson in left. The sophomore made a brilliant play to end that inning. From that point on Blochwitz turned the table on Hendricks and the Cardinals. Only two batters reached base from the fourth through the seventh and one of those Hendricks who had singled to left. The courtesy runner for Hendricks was then doubled off at first when Schoenike tried to advance that runner with a bunt but Blochwitz snared it in the air and doubled off the courtesy runner.

In the Pumas’ fifth the first batter to reach base took place. Sophomore first sacker Riley Barnharst lined a 1-0 pitch in the gap in leftcenter and wound up standing at two. Catcher Emily Cibulka then hit a hard roller toward short that was booted allowing Cibulka to be safe at one and advance to second. A courtesy runner was then sent in for Cibulka, the catcher. With a three ball and two strike count on her, Treinen fouled off a pitch before lofting a high, arching shot toward the fence in leftfield. The Cardinal outfielder, having to run uphill in an attempt to get to that shot wound up short and the ball fell into a fold in the plastic fence. Barnharst had tagged but when the courtesy runner at second heard Head Coach Bob Tomlinson yell “Tag” to Barnharst at third, she went back and tagged. Schoenike reached into the fold of the fence and hit Ritzema with a perfect throw who made a spectacular throw to the plate where the courtesy runner was cut down. Instead of scoring two the Pumas had to settle for one.

“Inexperience, that’s the only explanation there is,”  said Tomlinson of the play at the plate. “We will all learn from that.”

In the Poynette sixth a zany play occurred that most in the crowd or bench areas had ever witnessed. Knuteson led off with a bouncer to short that was bobbled and the throw was late. Poynette’s all state leadoff batter, Jordyn Mackey noting the hard charging corner on the first pitch pushed a bunt past the first sacker on the next pitch and suddenly the Pumas had runners atop one and two with no outs. That brought the #2 batter to theplate wity three, four and five to follow of course. Shelby Wheeler missed on a bunt attempt on the first pitch but didn’t on pitch number two. The bunt was in the air and out in front of home plate. All Utz, the Marshall third sacker had charged hard and lunged for the ball. Appearing to think she’d missed the ball, she snared it and threw to first at about the exact same time the plate umpire yelled, “Out on the catch.” Utz’s throw to first to retire bunter now became out number two for Poynette and a subseqent throw to second retired Knuteson there. A triple play was the result.

To a person on the first base side of the field the ball clearly had hit the ground but a triple play it was.

“I didn’t see whether it was a catch or not and I’m sure that the umpire was probably shielded by the batter as she was digging her way out of the batter’s box,” said Tomlinson. Poynette asked the plate ump to confer with the base ump who said he did not see the ball hit the ground. “I don’t think he could have seen the the play from where he was standing. Those are two top notch umpires I’d take in a game anyday. Stuff happens sometimes that you’ve never seen before. We just had to go out and make pitches and make plays.”

Pitching they got and they made the routine plays from there on out and made the uphill climb for Marshall a bit tougher by getting another run in the top of the seventh when Brooke Dredske reached on an error, moved to third on a slow roller in front of Utz at third and then scored when Treinen laced a two ball count toward third. The ball richocheted off the leg of Utz and into foul ground allowing Dredske to score. Blochwitz then held off the Cardinals in the bottom of the inning when batters 7, 8 and 9 went down on a comebacker to her and two straight strikeouts.

“It was a big win for us,” stated Tomlinson. “Marshall is an excellent team and program. They have a rich tradition and our games with them have been good ones over the years. It’s one game and one game does not a season make. I know there is a great chance of us seeing them again. Until then we’ll have to keep on working and become more efficient in all aspects of the game.”

The Cardinals had six hits including two by Arvin. The runs were all unearned as the result of four errors. Poynette collected just three hits off Hendricks and committed two errors.

“We've been a bit shoddy on the defensive side of the ball,” said Tomlinson. “We allowed three unearned against Merrill on Saturday and got beat 4-3. The two errors today could have been really costly. It’s just simply about making the routine plays. We’ll keep on hitting balls to them and keep working on more efficient throwing technique.”

Poynette hosts Columbus in another big game in the Capitol North Division tomorrow. They then play at Lake Mills Thursday before playing on Friday and Saturday during the 29th Annual Poynette Fastpitch Jamboree.