Softball: Pazurek powers Packers past Tigers
Published 9:08 pm Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Austin junior Brooke Pazurek gave the Packers four solid innings in the circle and she delivered the biggest hit of the day as the Austin softball team beat Albert Lea 6-4 in Todd Park Tuesday.
Austin’s Brooke Pazurek pitchs against Albert Lea Tuesday at Todd Park. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Tigers (2-7 overall, 0-6 Big Nine) held a 3-1 lead after scoring a pair of early unearned runs, but Pazurek put the Packers (3-7 overall, 2-5 Big Nine) back in control when she blasted a two-out, two-run homer to tie the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth. Austin took the lead for good when Brandi Myers delivered a two-out RBI single after Pazurek’s homer.
“I think Brooke’s home run got us going and that was a good motivation thing for us,” Myers said. “Getting another win should put our hopes up for the next game. It did a lot for us.”
The homer was the first of Pazurek’s varsity career. She was able to give the Packers momentum by launching a pitch over the left field fence after Halie Retterath had reached base on an AL error.
“I pulled that inside pitch and it felt good when I hit it. I initially didn’t know if was over or not, but I was happy about it,” Pazurek said. “We came into this game knowing that [AL] had gotten a lot better and they’re a good team. We were a little uneasy about it, but I think shows a lot about our team that we came out and got the win.”
Austin pushed its lead to 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth when Shayley Vesel and Kelsey Sederquest knocked in runs. The Tigers had the first two hitters reach base in the seventh, but Austin sophomore Hannah Rasmussen picked up the three inning save when she retired three straight hitters to get out of the jam.
Austin’s Jordan Huntley leans in to throw against Albert Lea Tuesday at Todd Park. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
“We’ve just got to keep playing better and cut down on our mistakes,” Austin head coach Al Eckmann said. “I thought Hannah really came in and threw the ball pretty hard to get us out of there. We had our bats going too and we could’ve had a couple of more runs too. We’re happy to get a win.”
AL 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 — 4 8 1
Austin 1 0 0 3 0 2 X — 6 10 2
Austin pitching: Brooke Pazurek (W) 4 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 R, 1 ER, 5 K, 2 HBP; Hannah Rasmussen (S) 3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 K
Austin hitting: Pazurek, 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBIs, R; Addison Medgarden, 0-for-1, 2 R, 2 BBs; Shayley Vesel, 2-for-3, RBI, R, BB; Brandi Myers, 2-for-4, RBI; Kelsey Sederquest, 2-for-4, RBI; Bailee Brooks, 0-for-4; Rasmussen, 0-for-1, 2 BBs; Halie Retterath, 0-for-3, R; Tori Gardner, SB
