U-Hi Hopes End With Injury

State AAA softball

University ran into trouble before the first pitch of the State AAA fastpitch softball tournament Friday.

U-Hi ace pitcher Cheryl Andrizzi (23-1) injured her upper right arm - her pitching arm - prior to an opening-day 5-4 loss to Bothell. A teammate taking a full swing on a practice cut hit Andrizzi with the aluminum bat.

Andrizzi lasted four innings against Bothell, then, despite icing the injury between games, couldn’t pitch during a 7-1 loss to Marysville-Pilchuck that eliminated the Titans.

“Anytime you change the pitcher in that situation, you have to change the whole lineup,” Titans coach Ken VanSickle said after the second loss at Larson Park. “It’s tough on the kids when they’re used to playing one lineup all year.”

The Titans, who finished with a 25-3 record, started just one senior this year, shortstop Lisa Muroya.

“We have a young team and I hope this was a good learning experience for them,” VanSickle said. “They’ll have the motivation to get back here.”

Bothell 5, U-Hi 4

Alaina Brubaker of Bothell (17-8) hit the first-base bag with a one-out slap single in the bottom of the seventh, scoring Shannon Fritzke from third for the winner.

Fritzke, the Cougars’ pitcher through 6-2/3 innings, led off the seventh with a single down the third-base line. She was sacrificed to second, then took third when U-Hi third baseman Mandy Christensen fielded a grounder but threw high to first and pulled Andrizzi off the bag.

Christensen, the starting catcher, was at third because regular third baseman Nicki Meyer had to replace Andrizzi on the mound.

Andrizzi, who struck out five and walked none, trailed 3-1 when Meyer relieved. Bothell had scored twice in the fourth when Jamie Swenson tripled on a 1-2 pitch, Carrie Marsh singled on a 1-2 pitch and Meghan Jobes delivered the first of two RBI singles.

In the fourth, U-Hi had stranded Andrizzi at second after the homeplate umpire incorrectly ruled that Courtney Nollmeyer couldn’t reenter for Julie Yoke, her courtesy runner in the second. Yoke struck out.

The Titans pulled even in the sixth. Megan Mertens led off with a double, and later was awarded home when Fritzke pulled her foot off the rubber while attempting to intentionally walk Andrizzi. Katy Oglesbee and Meyer added back-to-back, two-out triples.

Bothell’s Marsh, 3 for 3 for the game, led off the sixth with a single. A passed ball and sacrifice later, she scored when Jobes singled on an 0-2 pitch.

Christensen singled to open U-Hi’s seventh. After two sacrifices, Mertens reached out and poked a single over third base for another tie.

Marysville-Pilchuck 7, University 1

Debbie Foxe pitched a five-hitter, retiring 16 of 17 batters at one point, as the Tomahawks (21-4) eliminated the Titans.

Foxe allowed consecutive singles to Muroya, Andrizzi and Oglesbee in the first, then settled down. Jen Madsen’s leadoff single in the third was all Foxe gave up until Oglesbee’s single to open the seventh. Just two of the 17 outs during her solid string reached the outfield.

Meyer and Foxe were locked in a 1-all battle through four. Marysville scored three in the fifth, as Airron Jones’ double to left, Chrysta Colebourn’s single to center and Tonya Jefferson’s triple to left-center all just eluded the defense.

Oglesbee went 2 for 3 and drove in the lone Titans run.

, DataTimes