KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Kelsi Redding (Tucson, Ariz.) pitched a complete game and recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts, and Jocelin Whitmore (La Habra, Calif.) singled home the game's only run in the bottom of the 10th inning, as the Manhattan College softball team (7-11) notched a 1-0 victory over Green Bay (5-12) at the Rebel Spring Games on Thursday. The Phoenix won the first game of the twinbill at the Osceola County Softball Complex by a 5-0 margin.
Redding set the tone early, striking out Shannon Butts looking to end the inning after Green Bay loaded the bases in the top of the first. The Phoenix put runners on first and second with one down in the fourth before Redding got both Miranda Reinke and Jessica Hrncar on strikes to get out of the jam. That started a string of four consecutive strikeouts for the right-hander.
The Manhattan offense, meanwhile, was also being held in check by Green Bay starter Allison Goecks. After Jen Keller (Woodridge, N.J.) was thrown out trying to score on Sydney Weedon's (Santa Ana, Calif.) single in the second, Goecks retired 11 straight Jaspers before Kate Bowen (Newtown, Conn.) drew a one-out walk in the sixth. However, she was caught stealing, and the contest moved into the seventh still scoreless.
Reinke led off the inning with a single and later stole second. Marissa Michalkiewicz worked a two-out walk, giving the Phoenix runners on first and second, but they would stay there, as Redding fanned Paige Newtols to end the frame. Amanda Babcock (Haverstraw, N.Y.) singled in the bottom of the seventh (just the third Manhattan hit of the contest), but Goecks sent the contest into extra innings by inducing a pair of groundouts.
The international tiebreaker was applied in extra innings, meaning each half-inning would start with a runner on second base. After retiring the side in order in the eighth, Redding faced a bases-loaded situation in the ninth, as Kelli Hutchinson singled and Hrncar walked with one out. However, Redding struck out the next two Green Bay hitters to get out of the inning. Goecks walked Elena Bowman (San Mateo, Calif.) with one down in the bottom of the ninth before striking out Amanda Paxson (Cedar Grove, N.J.) and Babcock to keep the game going.
Once the contest reached the 10th still scoreless, the international tiebreaker rule was applied, meaning each team would start the half-inning with a runner on second. It looked like the Phoenix might break through when Newtols and Hailey Mohrfeld singled to load the bases with nobody out. However, after retiring Michalkiewicz at home for the first out, Redding struck out Miranda Spangberg before Hutchinson grounded to third, keeping it knotted at 0-0.
Keller grounded back to the circle leading off the bottom of the 10th, allowing Babcock to move to third with the winning run. Whitmore then ended it with an RBI single, giving the Jaspers a 1-0 win.
The Jaspers were held to four hits, all singles, in the contest. Redding (1-2) scattered eight hits and walked five for the second complete-game shutout of her Manhattan career.
Reinke went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Phoenix, who left 17 runners on base in the game. Goecks allowed just four hits in 9.1 innings of work. She struck out six, walked three and was charged with an unearned run in the tough-luck loss.
Game two was a stark contrast to the opener, when the Phoenix jumped on the board right away with a two-spot in the bottom of the first. After Hrncar reached on an error and Stacey Butts walked, Michalkiewicz ripped an RBI double. Newtols then drove in a run on a groundout.
Still trailing 2-0 in the top of the fourth, the Jaspers put runners on first and second with one out. However, Manhattan failed to score, as Green Bay starter Lauren Danner induced a fielder's choice and a popup to get out of the jam. The Phoenix then doubled their lead on Alyssa Johnson's two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning. Michalkiewicz added a solo shot in the fifth to put Green Bay up 5-0. Manhattan put at least one runner on in each of the final three frames, but couldn't string a rally together against Danner and fell by a 5-0 count.
Bowman collected three of Manhattan's six hits in game one. Paxson, Weedon and Keller each added a single. Amy Bright (Manlius, N.Y.) (2-5) took the loss in the circle. She yielded five runs (four earned) and five hits while striking out two and walking three in five innings of work. Erin Hamm (Collegeville, Pa.) pitched the sixth, retiring all three batters she faced and recording a strikeout.
Michalkiewicz had a pair of extra-base hits for Green Bay, going 2-for-2 with a double, a home run and two RBIs. Johnson went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, while Hrncar and Hutchinson each contributed a hit and a run scored. Danner scattered six hits, struck out 11 and walked one in the complete-game shutout.
Manhattan has two games remaining before returning north. After taking Friday off, the Jaspers will play Cornell (8-12) in a doubleheader at 5 p.m. on Saturday. That twinbill, which is not a part of the Rebel Spring Games, will take place in Clermont, Fla.