NEWARK ― It took them a little while to do it, but a seasoned Newark Catholic team made sure sophomore Aly Rothwiler's first varsity start in the circle was a successful one Friday on her home diamond.
But she also had a lot to do with that on her own.
Rothwiler quickly fell behind 1-0, then retired 13 consecutive batters against hard-hitting Heath. The Green Wave finally lowered the boom with a nine-run fourth inning and avenged an earlier heartbreaking loss to the Bulldogs with a resounding 11-1 win in five innings.
"She pitched a great (junior varsity) game at Watkins on Wednesday, and we decided to give her the nod," coach Logan Depriest said after Rothwiler pitched a two-hitter and NC (13-7, 8-4) maintained its hold on first place in the Licking County League-Cardinal Division. "She not only met, but exceeded expectations and pitched a phenomenal game. She has ice water in her veins. She didn't let the big stage mess with her at all."
Rothwiler struck out two, didn't walk a hitter and threw 40 of her 54 pitches for strikes.
"I kind of let my defense do the work," Rothwiler said. "I pitched like they would back me up and help me win the game. I felt like I was ready for it. I was a little nervous at first, but then I got into a rhythm."
Said senior first baseman Maris Knowlton: "She had pitched for us before (in relief last year), so I was not totally surprised. We had confidence in her."
Shelby Moore's three-run homer in the sixth inning gave Heath (11-9, 6-6) a 7-6 win on its home field, and on Friday she singled home Kyndall Spicer for a 1-0 first-inning edge after Savannah Lawson bunted her to second.
Slow-starting NC left seven on base in its first three at-bats but still led 2-1. Brooklyn Kurtz's single scored Addi Gerber in the second, after a throwing error on Rothwiler's bunt. Then Knowlton lined her first homer of the spring over the center field fence leading off the third, giving the Green Wave the lead for good.
"We have so many good hitters," she said. "So many who are capable of hitting home runs. They're amazing at it. I just had to wait for my time."
They left the bases loaded but made up for lost time in the fourth, sending 14 to the plate while bunching eight hits, two walks and two Heath errors.
Kami Diaz had two RBI singles in the inning, while Kylie Gibson, Emma Lohri and Knowlton also had run-scoring hits, Joanna Bailey got another run home with a safety squeeze and Gerber drew a bases-loaded walk.
"After losing to them last time, we were really focused on making sure we execute on things like safety squeezes and with runners in scoring position," Depriest said. "We have an identity board up in the dugout, and it includes things like having a big inning, scoring seven runs in an inning, getting seven freebies and walks, and having a 50% quality at bats ratio. On defense, it's not allowing the big inning and not giving up freebies. I think we checked all the boxes."
Seven batters in NC's lineup produced RBIs, with Gibson, Diaz, Lohri, Knowlton and Gerber collecting two hits apiece.
Meanwhile, Rothwiler nearly retired the final 14 batters of the game, until Kristal Keeran missed a home run by inches with two outs in the fifth, the ball bouncing off the top of the fence in right center for a long single.
"We were well prepared," Knowlton said. "We faced some good competition coming into this game, and we were ready. In the back of our minds, we want to win the league and it's always more intense being a league game. But really, we just take it day by day."
Depriest hopes a tough schedule has the defending Division IV district champions prepared for another long tournament run. The Green Wave faced two state-ranked Division I powerhouses this week, losing to Lancaster and taking Watkins Memorial down to the wire before the Warriors pulled away late. NC's seniors played in the state tournament as freshmen.
"Yes, we want to win the league, but we're shooting for success in the postseason," he said. "Everything we do is geared towards that."
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: NC softball checks all the boxes in revenge victory against Heath
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