Softball: Genoa-Kingston pulls out win in back-and-forth affair against Rock Falls

ROCK FALLS – In a softball season that has seemed disjointed at best and chaotic at worst, Rock Falls and Genoa-Kingston put on an entertaining show Thursday for the fans who braved the cold, windy, wet conditions at Rock Falls softball diamond.

There was one tie and three lead changes, the last of which sent the Cogs to a 6-5 victory with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the seventh inning.

“We hate to lose games, but we were just talking about it and that it doesn’t really feel like we lost because it was such a good game,” Rock Falls senior Karli Fischbach said. “It was probably the most ‘softball’ that a game has felt all season, if that makes sense. It was an exciting game to be a part of, especially one last good one on Senior Night.”

Trailing 5-4 and down to its last three outs, Genoa-Kingston didn’t waste any time in the seventh. Carly Kline led off with a one-hop rocket to third, which Fischbach bobbled only for an instant, but it was enough time for the speedy Kline to beat the throw to first. Emily Trzynka and Logan Neblock hit the first pitches they saw for singles, with Neblock’s driving in Kline from second to tie the score at 5.

Trzynka and Neblock then moved to second and third on a one-out groundout, before Trzynka came home with the go-ahead run when a low ball four to Sam Busse got past Rock Falls catcher Olivia Osborne.

“We were down by one, and that really just put a fire under everybody. It got us all going, and we just hit the ball and came through,” Neblock said. “As soon as the leadoff hitter got on base, we knew we had something going. We put our rally caps on, and we were just so pumped up and ready to go, and we thought we were going to win.”

Rock Falls (7-8), which had responded in the bottom of the inning the other two times the Cogs scored, couldn’t come up with an answer this time. Genoa-Kingston reliever Bryce Boylen got a strikeout, a fly out and a pop out to secure the victory.

“It was all about keeping the bases clear,” G-K coach Erica Swan said. “Bryce Boylen came in clutch with relief, she hit her spots, and we played solid D. That’s what it’s about, for sure.”

The Cogs grabbed a 3-0 lead in the top of the third, as Neblock ripped an RBI single to right and Christine Venditti followed with a two-run single up the middle.

The Rockets got two runs back in the bottom of the third, with two runs scoring on a two-out error on a ball hit by Jersey Thomas. But the Rockets made two outs at home plate in the inning, the first on a fielder’s choice on Brooke Thomas’ bunt, and the other when Thomas tried to score from first on Zoe Morgan’s single; the latter was erased by a perfect relay from G-K center fielder Violet Northrup to first baseman Neblock to catcher Venditti.

“We just had a couple of little things that were untimely for us that just didn’t work out that way we wanted them,” Rock Falls coach Kris Smith said. “But I thought that we kept composure, which is good to see from such a young team.”

Rock Falls tied it in the fourth on Nicolette Udell’s RBI double – her second of the game – before the Cogs got an RBI single from Trzynka in the fifth to take back the lead, 4-3.

The Rockets got two more unearned runs with two outs in the bottom of the fifth for a 5-4 lead, as Morgan and Fischbach scored on a bad throw after Claire Bickett’s hard grounder to shortstop.

“We didn’t come out with the end result we wanted, but I can’t walk away from that game upset either,” Smith said. “We just keep getting a little bit better and a little bit better, and that’s what we want to see. We’ve got some little kinks we can work out going into regionals, and hopefully we come out next week and play together and play like this.”

Boylen got the win in relief of starter Trzynka, as she gave up one unearned run and two hits, with two strikeouts and no walks in 2 2/3 innings for G-K. Trzynka allowed four runs – only one earned – and six hits in 4 1/3 innings, striking out three and walking two.

Kline scored three runs, Neblock had three hits and two RBIs, and Trzynka added two hits and an RBI for the Cogs, who were understandably excited to pick up a come-from-behind victory in their final at-bat.

“We’ve had this thing the last couple tight games like that where our assistant coach has come in and really just revved the girls up,” Swan said of the last-minute rally. “We just told them to stay within yourself, do what you know you can do. He got them pumped up, and they were just relaxed and ready to go. We just had to get some runners on and then be aggressive, and we did that.”

Fischbach had two hits and two runs, Udell had two doubles and the Rockets’ lone RBI, and Morgan had a single and a double and scored a run for Rock Falls. Udell went the distance in the circle, allowing four earned runs and nine hits, with five strikeouts and four walks.

Despite the loss, the Rockets showed their mettle as they took advantage of what G-K gave them and continued to adjust to players in some different spots to bolster their defense heading into the postseason.

“It was a good boost of confidence because we’re in the middle of switching positions, trying to figure out where everybody needs to be on the field for postseason,” said Fischbach, who has moved from catcher to third base. “Just the way that we looked tonight, and the way that it felt like out there, it’s really good for us to be going into postseason on that note.”

Ty Reynolds

Ty Reynolds

Ty is the Sports Editor at Sauk Valley Media, and has covered sports in the Sauk Valley for more than two decades.