Comets keep rolling, top rival

Midview traveled to Amherst as both teams braved the steady winds and strong gusts in order to complete a Southwestern Conference makeup game between two of the conference’s best on April 4 at Slimans Diamond.

The conference clash didn’t disappoint as both teams were neck and neck through the first couple of innings. Every time Amherst grabbed momentum with a big hit, Midview responded with a timely hit of its own. The Comets (3-0, 3-0 SWC) broke things open in the sixth inning with six runs, including a home run as they left the Middies (2-1, 2-1 SWC) in the dust, 9-2.

But this matchup was closer than it appears.

“Midview, they’re well-coached and they can hit the ball obviously. I thought we played really good defense,” Comets coach Lacey Reichert said. “To hold a team that hits like that to only two, that’s pretty good.”

Comets sophomore pitcher Madison O’Berg (2-0) had her hands full with a powerful Midview lineup that has proved they can hang with the best of them. O’Berg went the distance with six strikeouts and two walks, while allowing only two runs off seven hits.

Reichert thought her sophomore performed well in her second start of the season.

“I thought Madison O’Berg pitched really well. She didn’t allow them to string many hits together.”

The Comets have prided themselves on scoring first and they followed through yet again as they threatened in the bottom of the first inning. Amherst’s Amanda Crisler reached base on a walk, followed by a single from Sarah Miller. Those two plays set up O’Berg’s RBI single, scoring Crisler from second.

The Middies answered with a run of their own as Lauren Landers knocked an RBI single, scor-

“Again, that is what two good teams do. Midview gave us one and we gave them one back.”

— Lacey Reichert, Amherst coach

ing Sara Liszeski, evening the score at 1-1.

That would be the story for most of the game, as the Comets found their hits but Midview was always right on their heels.

“Again, that is what two good teams do. Midview gave us one and we gave them one back,” Reichert said.

The Middies’ ace, Lauren Landers, tried her best to slow down the Comets’ bats as she went the distance, striking out five with three walks and allowed nine runs off 12 hits. Landers held Amherst to three one-run innings heading into the sixth. The strong effort from his senior pitcher is something that Midview coach Mike Ives expects.

“That doesn’t surprise me. She has been doing this for four years and she showed up her freshman year and pitched every inning of every game that year and there has been no looking back since then. She likes to come in and compete so yeah, Lauren is Lauren,” Ives said.

Like O’Berg, Landers ran into a few jams, but also allowed two home runs, including a solo shot from Lauren Kachure into right. The blast, her third of the season, put Amherst back on top, 2-1.

Kachure wasn’t sure, even with the wind blowing out toward the outfield, if her hit had what it takes to make it over the fence.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know it was going out because I saw it was really high and I didn’t know if it was going to land in between the shortstop and outfield.

“But then I saw it and I was like ‘Oh, well that’s good.’ It gave us the lead and that motivated us to just keep going,” Kachure said.

Kachure finished 2-for-3 with a home run and a single.

Amherst added to its

lead in the bottom of the fourth as Adrianna Marcano knocked in an RBI single, scoring Kachure.

Midview broke through in the top of the fifth with Hannah Taulbee’s leadoff home run, cutting the Comets’ lead to 3-2. Taulbee finished 3-for-4 with a home run, double and a walk.

O’Berg found herself in another jam as the Middies were threatening with runners on first and second later in the inning. She kept her composure and forced Midview’s Sara Liszewski into a groundout, ending the inning as the Comets bench erupted in cheers.

O’Berg talked about keeping her composure against the tough lineup.

“I feel like if I don’t stay calm then things obviously can go bad because then you don’t focus on what you need to be doing while you’re pitching. Staying calm is the best thing you can do in those situations,” O’Berg said.

Landers responded by striking out two Comets in the bottom of the fifth, as she seemed to be picking up steam heading into the final couple of innings.

Reichert sensed the urgency of needing to stretch their lead as she called her team over for a group huddle and said, “Let’s just get one! Put some pressure on them!”

The Comets answered their coach’s plea with a six-run bottom of the sixth barrage.

Grabbing runs from all areas, including a Sarah Miller home run, scoring off a wild pitch, an Ashley Seitz RBI double and Crisler’s two-RBI double.

The Comets had broken the game open, 9-2.

“We were just hoping it was a matter of time until we had a big inning and, fortunately, we got it. That takes a lot of pressure off your defense and your pitcher entering the last inning,” Reichert said.

Midview and Amherst have become quite the rivals over the years and will match up again later this season.