Knights deliver knockout punch
SOUTH CENTRE TWP. — Like a boxer, Vo-Tech rolled with the punches. Showing it wasn’t going to be backed into a corner, it supplied some of its own.
The Rams chipped away at an early 10-run deficit, twice taking the lead in the middle innings. St. John Neumann, though, landed the last punch in the seventh to defeat the Rams, 15-14.
Vo-Tech (1-6), showing it will wait out Knights pitcher Lizzie Weller, began taking advantage of walks and hit by pitches. The Rams also took the extra base when the opportunity presented itself through fielding errors, numerous wild pitches and stolen bases.
They were also out to prove to coach Denise VanDine that they weren’t going to roll over.
“My message [at the end of the second inning], was asking if we wanted this game or if we wanted to give it to them,” she said. “They answered saying they wanted this game, and I told them to prove that. I could tell they wanted this game.”
They showed it by taking their first lead in the fifth inning, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring six. The Rams worked five walks and three hit batsmen in the frame, but it was hits by Paris Hewes and Haylee Fisher that did majority of the damage.
With the bases loaded, Hewes singled to left to drive in Macanzie Bogg and Dana Hons, who was pinch-running for Anna Barnes. Two batters later, and again with the bases loaded, Fisher went the other way to right for a bases-clearing single. She was rewarded third base as the ball went out of play.
“Both are good, experienced players,” VanDine said. “Paris is a senior while Haylee is only a sophomore. It’s exciting to still have her bat in the lineup for a few more years.”
Fisher accounted for the only RBI in a four-run third inning, driving in Hewes with a double to deep centerfield. Both of the Rams’ fourth inning runs came via an infield error.
Fisher’s fifth RBI, a single up the middle to score Mia Patnaude, knotted the game at 13 in the top of the sixth. Two at-bats later, Hewes scored the Rams’ final run by taking off for home from third on a wild pitch.
The second lead didn’t last long for Vo-Tech. Lizzie Weller seemingly had an answer for everything Anna Barnes was throwing, doubling to deep left to start the seventh.
Weller finished 4-for-5 with a triple and three doubles. She drove in three while scoring five runs.
Her last time scoring tied the game at 14 on an infield error. Gigi Parlante, who was hit by a pitch following the double, scored as the Rams took the sure out at first. It ended up being the game’s knockout punch.
The Knights took a 10-0 lead into the bottom of the third, batting around twice before the Rams’ lineup turned over once. They took a 13-12 lead in the sixth, scoring two runs on an infield error.
On the day, Vo-Tech had four hits to go with 11 walks and nine hit batsmen. They also stole four bases while being thrown out three times. They also struck out 11 times.
Growing pains
There was still some good to take away from Barnes’ performance. The Knights only worked two walks and had six hit batters — with the ball hitting the dirt first much of the time.
“She’s a first-year pitcher and it feels good that she made them work for those runs,” VanDine said. “It feels good because if we show the effort I saw today, we’ll get more wins this season and will back up the pitcher.”
The Knights put the ball in play all afternoon, picking up 14 hits and striking out three times.
The Rams, though, were their own worst enemy, maybe taking a Knights team that was winless coming in a little too lightly. Mental mistakes on both sides of the ball made all the difference for a young, unproven team.
“We have to pay more attention at the plate and on the bases — a swing on 3-0 count with the bases loaded shouldn’t happen,” VanDine said. “There’s a lot of first-year players and we have to work that out. It’s a growing year for us, especially defensively with us losing 10 or 11 seniors last year.”
The Rams committed five errors while the Knights had four.
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