Rootstown rebounds, captures classic against Mogadore
ROOTSTOWN — The Rovers had Shelbie Krieger's back in the sixth.
The junior ace returned the favor in the seventh.
Just like that, Rootstown secured another instant classic 7-5 over Mogadore on Tuesday afternoon, taking sole possession of first place in the Portage Trail Conference.
The Wildcats made it a classic by erasing a five-run deficit against Krieger in the top of the sixth inning, after they were no-hit through five.
The Rovers responded with two runs to break the tie in the bottom of the inning. And then Krieger closed the door in the seventh.
"We've been preaching 'team' a whole lot," Rootstown coach Paige Byers said. "[Shelbie] can do her job on the mound, but we've got to back her up defensively. She's not going to strike everybody out. And then, offensively, we have to take one to nine to be able to produce and we preach line drive after line drive, and they executed today."
For most of Tuesday's game, it didn't seem like Krieger would need much help. After all, for most of it, the Rovers flame-thrower struck out virtually everybody she faced.
Of the 17 batters she faced in the first five innings, Krieger struck out 16. Just two reached base, one on a dropped third strike, and the other on a walk.
No one was able to put the ball in play for Mogadore.
After the Wildcats broke through for five runs to tie the score in the sixth, including home runs by junior catcher Olivia Kidd and freshman third baseman MJ Shellenbarger, the Rovers responded with perfect execution in the home half.
A leadoff single. A sacrifice bunt. A grounder to the right side.
A walk. A deep sacrifice fly. A double to the opposite field.
Six consecutive Rootstown hitters did their job perfectly to retake the lead and, given the lead once again, Krieger ensured it stuck.
And that was even though she had already thrown 106 pitches entering the seventh, after tossing 100 pitches in seven innings the previous afternoon against Lake Center Christian.
"My team fought for me up at the bat," Krieger said. "So I thought I have to fight for them, and that's what I did."
Natalie Hammerschmidt sparks Rootstown response
After their five-run lead faded away in the blink of an eye, the Rovers' response came immediately.
Somehow, after spending the 38-pitch top of the sixth crouching and surely wearing out her knees, Rootstown junior catcher Natalie Hammerschmidt responded with a rip up the middle to lead off the bottom of the inning.
"I was really just thinking about my team and that we needed to come back," Hammerschmidt said. "I was really just thinking about the team and just thinking about something up the middle and getting on base. That's really what was going through my head."
Then, it was the freshmen's turn to deliver, as Katie Sisley sent a strong sacrifice bunt down the third-base line and Reise Thomas reached on a grounder that eluded the Wildcats infield.
"[Mogadore] is a really tough team," Thomas said. "So I just felt like we had to get it going, especially at the bottom of the order."
After a walk to senior Jessica Hahn loaded the bases, junior Abby White hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly to the warning track.
Then, Krieger belted her third straight hit, this one a shot deep down the right-field line to the base of the wall to put the Rovers up by two (7-5).
"I'm just getting through the ball and not chopping it so much," said Krieger, who went 3-for-4 at the plate. "So I was keeping top hand, bottom hand and driving through the ball and not so much catching under it like I've been struggling with, so just the line drives really helped me out this game."
Still, Krieger felt like she owed her teammates a little bit more.
So, having already tossed 106 pitches, she returned to the mound and delivered a 1-2-3 seventh, including her 18th and 19th strikeouts of the afternoon.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Rootstown softball rebounds, captures classic against Mogadore
