HAMILTON — She’s the type of player every softball team wants to have, but not very many do.
In a game that did not exactly go by script, it was junior Ellie Miller to the rescue for Steinert as it rebounded from its first loss of the season to beat Paul VI, 9-3 , on Tuesday.
Although her team would have probably found a way to win anyway, Miller came up big for the Spartans with a strong relief effort to get the pitching win.
To set the stage, after top-ranked Steinert took a 3-0 lead in the third inning and appeared to be in he cruise control, for one the few times in her outstanding career Katie Simonka struggled with her mechanics and gave three runs in the fourth on just one hit.
Four walks, a hit batsmen and a wild pitch in which a run scored proved to be Simonka’s undoing as Miler was summoned into the circle from left field with the bases loaded and no outs.
Miller was more than up for the challenge as she retired three straight batters to end the threat and went on to give up just two hits while striking out three in four innings of work.
And she did it without throwing a single warm-up pitch prior to replacing Simonka.
“I just wanted to throw strikes,” said Miller. “I knew if I just did that I could rely on our defense to back me up.”
When asked if her considers herself to more of a position player or a pitcher, Miller replied: “Well, I have pitched my whole life, but I would say I’m a utility player.”
Steinert coach Jenn Melker certainly appreciates having Miller on board.
“Ellie is really valuable for us,” said Melker. “She can play the outfield, she can play the infield, she can catch and she can pitch. And she’s a good hitter, too.”
That about covers it as Miller got her team started in the third with a hard single to left field and finished with two hits.
It wasn’t long before many of her teammates joined her in the hit parade.
Batting lead off, Mia Pope went 3-for-4 and knocked in four runs. Bianca Walsh had just one hit, but it was a big one with a two-run single in Steinert’s four-run fourth. No. 9 batter Gia DiMeglio also had a productive day with two hits to help set up Pope’s big day.
Paul VI dropped to 6-2 as Camryn Strother took the loss. She was replaced in the fifth by Ava Nieves, who has received a scholarship to pitch for the University of Maryland
All in all it was a solif bounce back by Steinert, which lost to Mt. St. Dominic the day before by the score of 2-1 in a game it could easily have won.
“That loss didn’t bother me at all,” said Melker, whose team is shooting for a third straight state championship. “We want to play as many tough teams as we can to get ready for what we hope will be a state tournament run.”
Paul VI (6-2) 000 300 0 – 3 4 2
Steinert (7-1) 003 420 x- 9 12 3
WP-Miller. LP-Strother. 2B-Audet (P), Jackson (P)
