No. 4 Glenelg softball knocks off No. 1 Reservoir, 4-2, on Rylie Thomas’ two-run double
Glenelg’s Rylie Thomas has seen what Reservoir pitcher Abbie Frisvold can do. She even complimented the opposing hurler after the game.
As good as Frisvold can be, Thomas was ready. Her two-RBI double in the bottom of the fifth broke up a tie game and powered Glenelg to a 4-2 Howard County win.
If the fourth-ranked Gladiators (12-1, 12-1) win at home Wednesday against Oakland Mills, they will wrap up the county title. Doing so will break top-ranked Reservoir’s three-year hold on the county crown.
“I knew she was going to give me nothing good to hit,” said Thomas, who doubled on a 2-2 pitch. “Any pitch she was going to give me that was good I was going to hit. I kept fouling pitches of until I got a good one. Abbie is a magnificent pitcher. We got a hold of her this time and we knew what to do.”
The Gladiators also got a great pitching effort from Bella Wisniewski. Wisniewski pitched a complete game while giving up six hits and two earned runs in the win.
“In the first game we played them, I had a lot of first-pitch strikes,” Wisniewski said. “I knew their manager would have them attacking the ball early in the count, and I tried make a good pitch and trust that my defense had my back. Today they did.”
“With a team like Reservoir you always know it’s going to be close,” Glenelg coach Anna Pallozzi said. “Being able to keep the momentum on our side today despite some of the mistakes we made was huge. We mentally stayed in the game today in ways I was so impressed with.”
The Gladiators took the lead in the bottom of the third. Frisvold walked the bases loaded — with a strikeout sandwiched in between. Reese Holden singled to left center field, plating both Wisniewski and Jamie Shaw to give the Gladiators a 2-0 lead. The damage could have been even worse, but Frisvold got Thomas to hit a line drive right to Reservoir first baseman Cambell Sagin, who then doubled up pinch-runner Abiola Owens to end the inning.
Then it was Reservoir’s turn. The Gators (11-2, 11-2) led off the fourth with back-to-back singles by Frisvold and Andaiye Smith. After a fielder’s choice put runners on second and third, Catherine Yourishin grounded out for the second out, but still scored pinch runner Jayden Stredman-Jones to cut the lead to 2-1. Another single by Michele Mason evened the score at 2.
The game stayed that way until the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, Glenelg’s Addison Pence singled to right-center field. After Holden reached on an error, the Gladiators had runners on second and third to set up Thomas’ heroics in the following at-bat.
“I think [they] had an incredible all-around effort,” Reservoir coach Julie Frisvold said of Glenelg. “I think they made the plays and Bella did a great job on the mound with the number of pitches she threw. That’s my take-away from today.”
Reservoir — 000 200 0 – 2 6 1
Glenelg — 002 020 x – 4 5 4
WP: Wisniewski; LP: Frisvold
2B: R – Sagan; G – Thomas.