MUSKEGON TWP. – The victories are starting to pile up for successful Reeths-Puffer head softball coach Sarah Bayle.
On Wednesday she marked her 100th career win when her Rockets beat Mona Shores 10-0 at home in an O-K Green conference matchup.
"It's pretty amazing to be part of a program with the buy-in and desire to continue to work hard and get better every day,," said Bayle, who is in her fifth season as head coach. "One hundred wins does not happen without that. I am grateful for all of the players and coaches who have been with me and helped me reach this achievement!"
Bayle's victory total is likely to accelerate quickly this year, because her Rockets are playing some very good softball.
R-P pitcher Lainey McDaniel. Photo/Jeremy Clark
That continued on Wednesday, when R-P beat the Sailors for the third time in two days, following a doubleheader sweep on Tuesday.
It was the seventh victory in a row for the Rockets, who improved to 11-1 on the season and 6-0 in O-K Green conference play.
The Rockets will now turn their attention to Saturday's Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tournament, where they hope to repeat as champions. They will open the tournament against - guess who - Mona Shores, marking the fourth game between the archrivals in five days.
“It’s hard,” Bayle said.. “I think it kind of worked out that (Wednesday's game, originally scheduled for Thursday) got moved up, so we now have a two-day break before seeing them again. It’s a rivalry and those games are always a little harder.”
R-P's Makenzie Jacobs makes a play. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Winning the GMAA tournament again is important to the Rockets, even though their realistic list of goals includes a conference title and a potentially long run in the state tournament.
“It’s one of the main goals,” Bayle said. “I think we’re always looking for the state tournament. But (the GMAA) is definitely like a milestone on the way there.”
The Rockets will be counting on their offense to continue to produce, just like it did on Wednesday.
Mady Snyder ripped an RBI double down the left field line in the bottom of the first, scoring Lainey McDaniel and giving Reeths-Puffer a 1-0 lead.
Madison Reichert scored on a Mona Shores error in the second inning ,increasing the Rocket lead to 2-0.
R-P's Mady Snyder gets her bat on the ball. Photo/Jeremy Clark
That score stood until the bottom of the fourth, when Reeths-Puffer blew the game open.
Ava Gibbs had an RBI single while Abbie Critchett and Kyleigh Bilek each knocked in two runs to make the score 7-0.
After two quick outs in the bottom of the fifth, McDaniel, Tessa Ross and Snyder all had RBI hits, making the score 10-0 and invoking the 10-run mercy rule that ended the game.
Snyder led the Rocket offense with four hits while Critchett and McDaniel each had three.
R-P's Abbie Critchett rounds third base. Photo/Jeremy Clark
“I’m happy with it,” Critchett said about her big day at the plate. “I actually used Kylie’s bat because mine is broken. So, I love her for that. I hit the ball hard and I’m happy with it.”
McDaniel picked up the win on the mound, tossing five innings while allowing just one hit and one walk and striking out six.
Bayle believes her team has come together nicely since a win at Fruitport last week, and is counting on that continuing into the weekend and beyond.
“I feel like we’re flowing really well together," the coach said. "We’ve kind of just exploded since that win at Fruitport. It feels really good to kind of show everybody what we’ve got, but we just have to keep it going from here."