ALBANY - Amy Golz has brought hustle, grit and fire to Comets sports for four years. Tuesday night, everyone wanted to do their best impression of their senior captain.
Albany put the ball in play at will and ran Pecatonica's arms off in an 8-0 Six Rivers East game on the Comets' home diamond.
Golz set the tone by singling and taking second on a mishandle in the outfield. She then stole third, the first of two straight-up swipes on the evening, before Angie Masseur crushed a double to bring her home.
"I told Amy we needed her on and needed to push her around right away," Albany coach Connie Wunschel said.
Masseur scored and Pecatonica held off the Comets' attack until quick eruptions for two and three runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
In the fifth, Masseur, an all-Six Rivers senior outfielder, pressed her luck relentlessly as she took third base against the odds and had to retreat and slide for a second time in mere seconds on a comebacker.
"I just wanted to be like Amy," Masseur said to Wunschel at third between huffs. "I'm dramatic."
"Amy is the smoothest slider I've seen in a long time," Wunschel admitted.
Masseur eventually came across on the second Comets double-steal with runners at the corners.
A hometown scorer would have racked up Albany's stolen bases into the double-digits as the club ran wild and pulled off two double-steals, Wunschel gave her squad seven unofficial swipes.
And, while she appreciated the relentless hustle, the enigmatic skipper knew many decisions to take extra bases were made with ill judgment.
"We're stupid. Those might be outs when we run into better teams," Wunschel said. "We've been getting away with some sloppy running."
Golz finished 3-for-4 and Megan Schulz picked up two hits. Schulz was even busier at the hot corner as Pecatonica jumped on Tara Walz's pitches to pepper the Albany senior. The Vikings hit their first three balls hard right down the line and hit three consecutive shots at her again in the fifth.
Schulz was just one of several Comets who got in on showing why the club runs pickle drills every practice. She, along with the rest of the infield executed a textbook pickle between third base and home to get out of the fourth inning unscathed.
"That means so much to me, knowing that they're working just as hard a I am out there," Walz said.
Another upstart on the right side is sophomore Stephanie Peach, who made a slick sliding catch in left field.
"I didn't think she was going to catch it, I didn't realize she'd even get to it," Stephanie's kid sister Hayli praised.
The only player that had a better game defensively in Wunschel's mind was Peach behind the plate.
"She's been playing some awesome ball," Wunschel said. "And to be on three out of four times is just awesome. She is an athlete and I don't know quite how to explain her success. She and her sister have been around the game all their lives."
"This win just got us very fired up for Thursday," Peach said.
Albany resumes its suspended game with Argyle at 4 p.m. Thursday as Schulz will bat in the fourth inning with the bases loaded down 5-2. After the first game wraps up, the teams will complete their doubleheader.
Albany put the ball in play at will and ran Pecatonica's arms off in an 8-0 Six Rivers East game on the Comets' home diamond.
Golz set the tone by singling and taking second on a mishandle in the outfield. She then stole third, the first of two straight-up swipes on the evening, before Angie Masseur crushed a double to bring her home.
"I told Amy we needed her on and needed to push her around right away," Albany coach Connie Wunschel said.
Masseur scored and Pecatonica held off the Comets' attack until quick eruptions for two and three runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
In the fifth, Masseur, an all-Six Rivers senior outfielder, pressed her luck relentlessly as she took third base against the odds and had to retreat and slide for a second time in mere seconds on a comebacker.
"I just wanted to be like Amy," Masseur said to Wunschel at third between huffs. "I'm dramatic."
"Amy is the smoothest slider I've seen in a long time," Wunschel admitted.
Masseur eventually came across on the second Comets double-steal with runners at the corners.
A hometown scorer would have racked up Albany's stolen bases into the double-digits as the club ran wild and pulled off two double-steals, Wunschel gave her squad seven unofficial swipes.
And, while she appreciated the relentless hustle, the enigmatic skipper knew many decisions to take extra bases were made with ill judgment.
"We're stupid. Those might be outs when we run into better teams," Wunschel said. "We've been getting away with some sloppy running."
Golz finished 3-for-4 and Megan Schulz picked up two hits. Schulz was even busier at the hot corner as Pecatonica jumped on Tara Walz's pitches to pepper the Albany senior. The Vikings hit their first three balls hard right down the line and hit three consecutive shots at her again in the fifth.
Schulz was just one of several Comets who got in on showing why the club runs pickle drills every practice. She, along with the rest of the infield executed a textbook pickle between third base and home to get out of the fourth inning unscathed.
"That means so much to me, knowing that they're working just as hard a I am out there," Walz said.
Another upstart on the right side is sophomore Stephanie Peach, who made a slick sliding catch in left field.
"I didn't think she was going to catch it, I didn't realize she'd even get to it," Stephanie's kid sister Hayli praised.
The only player that had a better game defensively in Wunschel's mind was Peach behind the plate.
"She's been playing some awesome ball," Wunschel said. "And to be on three out of four times is just awesome. She is an athlete and I don't know quite how to explain her success. She and her sister have been around the game all their lives."
"This win just got us very fired up for Thursday," Peach said.
Albany resumes its suspended game with Argyle at 4 p.m. Thursday as Schulz will bat in the fourth inning with the bases loaded down 5-2. After the first game wraps up, the teams will complete their doubleheader.
