Cass Ends Squires' Softball Season
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
WABASH - Last year against Cass in sectional play, Manchester starting pitcher Jarra Renz struggled to find the plate.
Friday evening the junior fireballer looked poised and held No. 4 (2A) Cass in check.
The Kings' Ollmay Wilson, however, was just a little bit better.
Wilson went seven innings, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out 11 to lead Cass to the Wabash Sectional title with a 2-0 win over the Squires.
It was the first time the Squires were shut out this season.
"Two good pitchers went at it," said Manchester coach Jim Troyer. "(Cass') was just a little bit better tonight. I give Jarra a lot of credit, though. She was a battler tonight and showed a lot out there."
Cass drew first blood after Manchester right fielder Stephanie King misplayed a ball in the outfield in the bottom of the second inning.
With the Kings' Kayla Blinn on first base, teammate Alexandra Rouch flared a single to King. As King bobbled the ball, Blinn turned on the afterburners and scored from first. Rouch advanced to third on the throw home.
The Squires failed to mount any serious offensive threat until the seventh inning.
Manchester catcher Angel Hernandez earned her team's best hit of the night with a double to left field with one out in the third inning.
Hernandez was left stranded, though, as both Shanna Helvey and Samantha Budnik struck out.
No Manchester base runner advanced to third base during the contest.
Wilson struck out the side in the fifth inning, and at one point struck out six of seven batters.
Renz was less dominant but no less effective.
Renz gave the defense behind her some work as Cass hit into an assortment of groundouts and flyouts.
Renz worked herself out of a jam in the fifth inning after she hit Wilson with a pitch. Wilson then advanced to second on a fielder's choice and third on a wild pitch by Renz.
Cass sophomore Jennifer Berlet then popped out to Hernandez, who made a diving catch to earn the out.
The Kings added an insurance run in the sixth inning when shortstop Ashley Snider roped a double to the outfield.
Snider moved to third on a fielder's choice and scored when Blinn hit a sacrafice fly to center field that was deep enough to allow Snider to score without a slide.
In the top of the seventh, Manchester made the most of its last at-bats.
The Squires' Katie Bowers reached base with a single after Jade Kennedy popped out to second base.
Bowers moved into scoring position when Amber Hunter walked. With two runners on, King represented the go-ahead run at home plate.
King battled Wilson but hit a soft grounder to first base that allowed Haley Tolle to turn a 3-4 double play.
King, Hernandez, Kennedy and Casey Thomas graduate from this year's Squire squad.
"You couldn't ask for better leaders," Troyer said of his seniors. "Hopefully the kids on next year's team can learn from them."
And while Troyer and Co. would have liked to improve on an already outstanding season Friday, the future remains bright for Manchester.
"We'll be back. Jarra will be back. We have a lot of good underclassmen and a nice freshman crew coming in. Hopefully we can strengthen the schedule for next season so we can see pitching like we saw tonight and it can get us prepared to win a sectional," said Troyer.
Troyer also thanked the coaches of his summer league program for his success.
Both Manchester and Cass figure to be players in determining next year's sectional champion as both teams graduate just four seniors.
Manchester finished the season with a record of 23-2. With their 19th straight win, the Kings improved to 24-2.
The Squires ended the regular season ranked 12th in the final poll. It was the first time in school history the team was ranked. Manchester was ranked several times at different spots over the course of the year.
The Squires opened the season with 16 straight wins.
CASS 2, MANCHESTER 0
Manchester
AB R H RBI
Budnik cf 3 0 0 0
Thomas 2b 3 0 0 0
Kennedy 1b 3 0 1 0
Bowers ss 3 0 1 0
Hunter lf 2 0 1 0
King rf 3 0 0 0
Mussey dp 2 0 0 0
Hernandez c 2 0 1 0
Helvey 3b 2 0 0 0
Totals 23 0 3 0
Cass
AB R H RBI
Comoglio c 2 0 0 0
Berlet lf 2 0 0 0
Snider ss 3 1 2 0
Long cf 3 0 0 0
Blinn rf 2 1 0 1
LoCoco 3b 2 0 0 0
Torre 1b 2 0 0 0
Rouch dp 2 0 1 0
Wilson 1 0 0 0
Totals 19 2 3 1
Manchester (23-2) 000 000 0 - 0 3 1
Cass (24-2) 010 001 X - 2 3 0
2B - Hernandez (M), Snider (C)
IP H R ER BB SO
Manchester
Renz (L) 6.0 3 2 1 3 4
Cass
Wilson (W) 7.0 3 0 0 1 11 [[In-content Ad]]
WABASH - Last year against Cass in sectional play, Manchester starting pitcher Jarra Renz struggled to find the plate.
Friday evening the junior fireballer looked poised and held No. 4 (2A) Cass in check.
The Kings' Ollmay Wilson, however, was just a little bit better.
Wilson went seven innings, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out 11 to lead Cass to the Wabash Sectional title with a 2-0 win over the Squires.
It was the first time the Squires were shut out this season.
"Two good pitchers went at it," said Manchester coach Jim Troyer. "(Cass') was just a little bit better tonight. I give Jarra a lot of credit, though. She was a battler tonight and showed a lot out there."
Cass drew first blood after Manchester right fielder Stephanie King misplayed a ball in the outfield in the bottom of the second inning.
With the Kings' Kayla Blinn on first base, teammate Alexandra Rouch flared a single to King. As King bobbled the ball, Blinn turned on the afterburners and scored from first. Rouch advanced to third on the throw home.
The Squires failed to mount any serious offensive threat until the seventh inning.
Manchester catcher Angel Hernandez earned her team's best hit of the night with a double to left field with one out in the third inning.
Hernandez was left stranded, though, as both Shanna Helvey and Samantha Budnik struck out.
No Manchester base runner advanced to third base during the contest.
Wilson struck out the side in the fifth inning, and at one point struck out six of seven batters.
Renz was less dominant but no less effective.
Renz gave the defense behind her some work as Cass hit into an assortment of groundouts and flyouts.
Renz worked herself out of a jam in the fifth inning after she hit Wilson with a pitch. Wilson then advanced to second on a fielder's choice and third on a wild pitch by Renz.
Cass sophomore Jennifer Berlet then popped out to Hernandez, who made a diving catch to earn the out.
The Kings added an insurance run in the sixth inning when shortstop Ashley Snider roped a double to the outfield.
Snider moved to third on a fielder's choice and scored when Blinn hit a sacrafice fly to center field that was deep enough to allow Snider to score without a slide.
In the top of the seventh, Manchester made the most of its last at-bats.
The Squires' Katie Bowers reached base with a single after Jade Kennedy popped out to second base.
Bowers moved into scoring position when Amber Hunter walked. With two runners on, King represented the go-ahead run at home plate.
King battled Wilson but hit a soft grounder to first base that allowed Haley Tolle to turn a 3-4 double play.
King, Hernandez, Kennedy and Casey Thomas graduate from this year's Squire squad.
"You couldn't ask for better leaders," Troyer said of his seniors. "Hopefully the kids on next year's team can learn from them."
And while Troyer and Co. would have liked to improve on an already outstanding season Friday, the future remains bright for Manchester.
"We'll be back. Jarra will be back. We have a lot of good underclassmen and a nice freshman crew coming in. Hopefully we can strengthen the schedule for next season so we can see pitching like we saw tonight and it can get us prepared to win a sectional," said Troyer.
Troyer also thanked the coaches of his summer league program for his success.
Both Manchester and Cass figure to be players in determining next year's sectional champion as both teams graduate just four seniors.
Manchester finished the season with a record of 23-2. With their 19th straight win, the Kings improved to 24-2.
The Squires ended the regular season ranked 12th in the final poll. It was the first time in school history the team was ranked. Manchester was ranked several times at different spots over the course of the year.
The Squires opened the season with 16 straight wins.
CASS 2, MANCHESTER 0
Manchester
AB R H RBI
Budnik cf 3 0 0 0
Thomas 2b 3 0 0 0
Kennedy 1b 3 0 1 0
Bowers ss 3 0 1 0
Hunter lf 2 0 1 0
King rf 3 0 0 0
Mussey dp 2 0 0 0
Hernandez c 2 0 1 0
Helvey 3b 2 0 0 0
Totals 23 0 3 0
Cass
AB R H RBI
Comoglio c 2 0 0 0
Berlet lf 2 0 0 0
Snider ss 3 1 2 0
Long cf 3 0 0 0
Blinn rf 2 1 0 1
LoCoco 3b 2 0 0 0
Torre 1b 2 0 0 0
Rouch dp 2 0 1 0
Wilson 1 0 0 0
Totals 19 2 3 1
Manchester (23-2) 000 000 0 - 0 3 1
Cass (24-2) 010 001 X - 2 3 0
2B - Hernandez (M), Snider (C)
IP H R ER BB SO
Manchester
Renz (L) 6.0 3 2 1 3 4
Cass
Wilson (W) 7.0 3 0 0 1 11 [[In-content Ad]]