[Baltimore Sun] No. 8 Glenelg softball shows its fight, battles back for 6-4 win over No. 1 Reservoir
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Glenelg softball was down to its final out and trailing Reservoir by a run. Coach Anna Pallozzi encouraged her players to remain calm and seek contact.
A walk and a single set the table for Rylie Thomas. In that moment, the sophomore’s mind was blank. She was energized by the support of the Gladiators bench and solely focused on getting on base.
“It’s so key,” Thomas said of her teammate’s confidence in her. “I love that everybody is hype and saying, ‘Yes, yes, yes.’ That’s what really makes everyone so excited when you’re excited to hit the ball, get on base and score runs.”
She delivered with a blooper that went off the glove of the Gators right fielder and scored two runs. Thomas later came around to score on an Addie Pence triple as the No. 8 Gladiators took a two-run lead entering the bottom of the seventh.
The Gladiators fought off the Gators’ comeback attempt in the bottom half to preserve a 6-4 win. It ended the top-ranked Gators’ remarkable 51-game regular-season winning streak against county opponents.
“A game like Reservoir, this tight whether you win or lose, is the best game to ask for,” Pallozzi said. “It teaches us where our strengths and weaknesses are. It teaches our younger girls how to stay battling. Reese [Holden], Jamie Shaw, Bella Wisniewski, they’ve been around the block before. Addie, Rylie, some of these younger girls, mostly my sophomores, Matte Duignan, their resilience in a game where we’re going shot for shot just instilled why they’re here and why they’re on varsity.”
Rylie Thomas hits a blooper to right field and it hits off the glove of the right fielder scoring two to put the Gladiators up 5-4.
Addi Pence followed with an RBI triple to put the Gladiators up 6-4. pic.twitter.com/9kKbGTFBYF
— Jacob Steinberg (@jacobstein23) April 18, 2024
Reservoir loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh with one out. A pop out brought up Cambell Sagin, who already had three hits. However, Wisniewski won the final battle, popping her up to second to seal the win.
“I knew I had an advantage being up two runs and I had my defense behind me,” Wisniewski said. “With two outs and a two-strike count, I knew she was going to swing, so I knew I had the advantage. Just throw anything right off the plate to get her to swing and I knew my defense had my back behind me.”
Each pitcher silenced the opposing lineup early. Glenelg (7-1, 6-1 Howard County) broke through first in the top of the third on Holden’s rocket up the middle, scoring two runs. Reservoir answered right back in the bottom half on Sagin’s two-run home run to straight-away center.
The Gladiators reclaimed the lead in the fifth on Holden’s single to deep right. Once again, Reservoir (9-2, 8-1) answered to even the score in the bottom half on Michele Mason’s sacrifice fly. the Gators took their first lead in the top of the seventh on Abbie Frisvold’s double to right-center field.
But Glenelg landed the final blow in a back-and-forth battle.
“My message was, ‘We want to be in these situations, and it is OK when we don’t come through,’” Reservoir coach Julie Frisvold said. ‘It is OK when we don’t come through because now that we’ve been in this situation, it matters down the line. I want this team to go as far into playoffs as possible, so these county games are phenomenal practice. It’s OK to come out here and be tested and learn from that experience to get better the next time.’”
Glenelg’s marquee win came a day after a 2-0 loss to River Hill, the team’s first of the season. However, it proved to be a valuable learning experience.
“I think we were too confident to a point where that loss was really humbling,” said Holden, one of three team captains. “We needed that to bounce back because our confidence was a little too high, which can hurt teams. I think it did yesterday, but we came back.”
Glenelg — 00 010 3 — 6 11 1
Reservoir — 002 010 1 — 4 13 1
WP: Bella Wisniewski. LP: Abbie Frisvold
2B: Re- Abbie Frisvold, Cambell Sagin. 3B: G- Addie Pence. HR: Re- Cambell Sagin
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