Schuster, Bullets defeat Kutztown
Pitcher Meghan Schuster and a strong defense led Brandywine Heights to a 3-0 win over Kutztown in a Berks Softball League Division IV matchup Wednesday at Mertztown.
Schuster, who allowed six hits, threw two no-hit innings to open up the game before facing trouble in the third.
“It was definitely a nerve-racking game,” Schuster said. “When I came in after the fifth inning, I told my teammate Caitlin DeLong that it felt like I was having a heart attack. It was a good thing that my cardiac doctor of a grandfather was here, but it was definitely an exciting game and everybody did their part; we hit the ball well, ran the bases and did everything smart. I think that’s why we won this game.”
After Kutztown starting pitcher MaKayla Drey reached base on a bloop single to right, Sadie Berger doubled to left field to put runners on second and third.
Schuster then hit the next batter, Brianna Bauscher, to load the bases with one out. However, the Cougars could not capitalize as Schuster and the Bullets got out of the inning with two pop flys.
For third basemen Jadyn Richards, keeping composure in tight spots was one of the keys to success for Brandywine Heights (2-0, 5-0). Richards led the Bullets at the plate, going 2-3 with a double and an RBI.
“Our coach (Don Roach) tells us to use a kill switch if there’s a bad play or just like a bad rep,” Richards said. “And we have in the batter’s box, we just say kill switch, and then we move on to the next play. And we just breathe and let everything go and then keep going with the flow. You have to focus on the future and let go of your past.”
Drey had five strikeouts and allowed no hits over the first three innings.
In the bottom of the fourth, Aubrey Reinert singled to give the Bullets their first baserunner of the day. She then advanced to second after being caught by a pickoff move.
With one out and Reinert on third, Richards singled to right field to score Reinert and give Brandywine Heights a 1-0 lead. Katelyn Delong popped out to third base and Drey struck out A’Nayah Jones to retire the side.
Sadie Berger recorded her second hit of the night for Kutztown (1-1, 4-2) in the fifth, but the Cougars could not muster any other offense in the inning.
Christina Schuster hit an RBI single in the fifth inning to extend Brandywine’s lead.
In the top of the sixth, Kutztown went down 1-2-3 off of two groundouts and a fly to center field.
Brandywine Heights extended its lead again in the sixth when Sydney Arnold hit a sacrifice fly to knock in Richards, who had doubled.
In the seventh, Meghan Schuster got two quick outs before Marisa Berger and Caitlyn Lubak each hit a single to put pressure on Brandywine Heights.
“When they got that first hit, everybody worked together to keep each other calm,” Schuster said regarding the seventh inning. “It’s the calmness that keeps us in check. Last year in states we all worked very hard on learning how to keep our centers and keeping our heart rate down and we now use that in any game that we come close in.”
With two outs, Sadie Berger popped out to third base to end the game.
“I’m very happy,” Roach said. “We jumped leaps and bounds over our last game and we ran the bases a lot smarter, we made more heads-up plays on defense and were just into the game more.”