Zierke’s hit pushes Bartlett past Elgin

The Bartlett softball team showed its resilience in its first Upstate Eight Conference game of the season Tuesday.

The Hawks (6-2, 1-0) defeated Elgin 5-4 at Bartlett thanks to a walk-off single to right field by catcher Kaylyn Zierke with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning.

“(Elgin pitcher Hannah Perryman) was throwing me the same pitches she had been throwing me the whole game,” said Zierke. “I just kept thinking base hit, base hit. That’s all I kept saying in my head.”

With the Hawks down 4-3, designated player Steph Tomazin knocked in the tying run after first baseman Amanda Montbriand led off with a single and second baseman Andreana Taormina reached on a fielder’s choice on a bunt when Elgin second baseman Anna Eckholm attempted to throw Montbriand out at second base. Third baseman Sydney Johnson followed with a walk to load the bases for Zierke.

Perryman was lights out for most of the game, as she recorded 14 strikeouts in her 7 innings pitched, but her pitch count neared 125 in the seventh.

“She may have been a little tired,” said Elgin coach Chad Dahlman. “We just didn’t make the plays behind her in the last inning. It definitely was a game that we should have won.”

“(Perryman) was doing really well with the corners,” said Zierke. “She was hitting her spots, so we had to adjust, and it took a while to catch on to that.”

Zierke was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and was a home run shy of the cycle, while Tomazin had 2 RBI for Bartlett. For Elgin (6-3, 1-1), Hannah Perryman had a double and 2 RBI and Jennah Perryman drove in a run.

Bartlett pitcher Tori Burke got the complete game victory while giving up 4 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits, striking out 5 and not allowing a walk.

The Hawks began their half of the fifth inning down 4-0, but a 3-run rally fueled by 2-out RBI single from Tomazin followed by an RBI triple from Zierke got Bartlett back in the game.

“I think that first run got us pumped up,” Zierke said. “We were kind of dead before that, but once that inning started rolling we started picking it up and getting more hyped up.”