By the time Altoona junior Breeley Gluch stepped to the plate in the third inning of the Railroaders Division 2 softball regional playoff matchup against the Ashland Oredockers, the game was already looking decided. Altoona had already built a commanding 7-0 lead but Gluch had a chance to add a couple more to the tally with Lindsey Hendricks and Rylee Spindler manning first and second.
The shortstop had already driven in the first run of the game in the first inning with a double and now was at the plate for the third time of the evening. Gluch got a pitch she could handle and crushed it to left center field. It was a no-doubter off the bat and found its way over the fence for a three-run home run.
“When I step up to the plate, I just always think with a clean mind,” Gluch said. “I don’t ever think before the pitch, it’s always just a ‘yes,’ ‘yes,’ ‘no.’ And if it’s a yes, you have to go.”
Altoona tacked on another four runs in the frame to make it a 14-0 rout. Starting pitcher Rylee Spindler never allowed more than one baserunner in an inning and the seventh-seeded Rails preserved their 14-run lead for a five-inning victory to open the postseason.
The Rails (13-10) lineup had jumped on Ashland (1-20) early, bringing five runs home in the first. Gluch and Nevaeh Roff had back-to-back RBI doubles with one out and Roff scored the third run on a botched pickoff throw that got into left field. A single and a sacrifice fly made up the rest of the damage for Altoona.
The offense has picked up big time for Altoona as of late. The Rails averaged just under 11 runs a game in their final six contests of the regular season.
“The confidence levels are really good right now,” Spindler said. “Even if we’re unable to execute [individually], we have a great team around us that’s able to pick us up too. We’re having really good at-bats right now. I think we can continue that as we keep going.”
The win was Altoona’s seventh in a row. The Rails are firing on all cylinders at the right time, something Rails head coach Jeff Heath attributed to playing cleaner games. Altoona will take on No. 2 seed Ellsworth on Tuesday.
Ellsworth and Altoona are Middle Border Conference foes and the Panthers even outright won the conference championship this season. Altoona was able to split the regular season series with Ellsworth, however, with the Panthers and Rails trading 3-1 victories. Altoona’s win was one of three losses Ellsworth had in conference play.
“I would say confidence and just trusting each other,” Spindler said of the win streak. “We’re doing really well with that right now and I think if we just continue the confidence we have in each other, we’ll do just fine.”
Spindler has allowed just three runs over the course of the winning streak. The senior is playing her last set of games before she moves on to play collegiately at Division I Belmont next year.
Pitching isn’t even Spindler’s normal position as the senior is naturally a middle infielder. Despite this, Spindler has stepped up to pitch the last two seasons because it’s what the Rails needed. Now the Belmont commit is hoping to cap off her high school career with a deep playoff run.
“It’d be great to make a state run,” Spindler said. “Playing for Altoona, it’s been an honor. It’s been a good ride and I’m really excited to see where we can continue to go.”
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