Softball: Kylee Jensen’s home run helps Marengo sink Richmond-Burton

MARENGO – Marengo’s Kylee Jensen swung through the first pitch against Richmond-Burton’s Hailey Holtz and was caught looking for a strike on the second.

Quickly down 0-2 in the count, the Indians sophomore simplified her approach.

Jensen took two consecutive balls before finding something more to her liking and didn’t miss, sending the pitch from Holtz sailing far over the center-field fence and driving in teammates Marissa Young and Gabby Christopher.

Jensen’s three-run blast with one out in the bottom of the first inning staked the Indians to a lead they would not give up. Marengo went on to defeat Richmond-Burton 10-4 in their Kishwaukee River Conference game.

The early-season victory gives the Indians (9-1, 2-0 KRC) a one-game cushion over the Rockets (6-2, 1-1), who have won the past three KRC championships.

“I knew once I got down in the count, I had to stay in my zone and not chase,” said Jensen, who went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. “I was just looking for a base hit, and something big came out of it. It was a good way to fire us up.”

Jensen’s home run was her second of the season, and it came against a familiar opponent. Jensen and Holtz play on the same travel team. They took a photo together after the game.

“We’re really close, we text all the time,” Jensen said. “She’ll probably text me later tonight about it. It felt super good.”

Junior Lilly Kunzer pitched all seven innings for the Indians, giving up four runs on eight hits with a strikeout and a walk. She allowed two runs in the second on a two-run base hit from Emerson Herrick and a run in the fourth on a solo home run by Mia Spohr.

Marengo broke the game open with five runs on five hits in the fifth for a 10-3 lead.

I knew once I got down in the count, I had to stay in my zone and not chase. I was just looking for a base hit, and something big came out of it. It was a good way to fire us up.

—  Kylee Jensen, Marengo sophomore

Kunzer ran into some trouble in the sixth as the Rockets opened with two straight hits and a walk. She got R-B’s Madison Kunzer to ground out, bringing in a run. The next batter, Herrick, then hit a hard shot to Marengo third baseman Emily White, who stepped on third for a force out and fired across to first for an inning-ending double play.

Lilly Kunzer said she still is getting into the swing of things after recently returning from a concussion. Kunzer tossed seven innings Saturday in a 2-1 victory over Beecher and also started in a 13-5 win against Sterling on Monday.

“Since I’ve come back, honestly I haven’t been feeling too good,” Kunzer said. “But [Jensen] came out and helped me relax [in the sixth]. That felt good. My changeup really worked there.”

Marissa Young had a hit and four RBIs for the Indians, and Lilly Kunzer was 2 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Emily White had a double and scored two runs, and Gabby Gieseke added an RBI.

For R-B, Spohr was 2 for 2 with two runs scored. Herrick tallied two RBIs, and Madison Kunzer had two hits, including a double, and drove in a run.

Holtz took the loss, allowing eight runs (six earned) on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. She struck out three and walked three.

The Rockets dropped their first game against Marengo last year, too, and still won the KRC title. R-B coach Tylar Stanton isn’t panicking.

“We haven’t been down three runs in a very long time,” Stanton said. “I thought we responded well in the top of the second, but we needed to keep going all the way through. Confidence is a big focus of ours. Sometimes we lack that a little bit, and sometimes it’s there from start to finish.

“But we’ve been here before. There’s no reason we can’t do it again.”

Marengo coach Rob Jasinski is proud of the way his team has come out early in games.

“Everyone is hitting one through nine,” Jasinski said. “They can all hit the ball. Even the slappers can swing away when we need them to. There’s so much athleticism, and it’s fun to watch them play. They’re all in.”