By PAUL GOTHAM
BRIGHTON, N.Y. — Amanda Linnenbrink set the tone early, and Nicole Allen thrived in a new spot in the batting order as Fairport defeated host Brighton, 11-2 in Monroe County Division I action on Thursday.
Linnenbrink improved to 4-2 on the season with a complete-game effort.
“She’s a veteran,” Fairport head coach Curt Johnson said of the four-year varsity performer. “She knows what needs to be done. That’s to get ahead in the count, painting corners and get off the plate when we’re ahead, so they don’t hit it hard.”
The right-hander retired the first nine batters she faced and by the time Brighton connected for its first hit, the Red Raiders had all the runs needed for a win.
Linnenbrink struck out 11 without surrendering a walk. The Monroe Community College commit allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits.
Nora Smith tripled in her previous at bat. Amanda Linnenbrink wins this battle to start the bottom of the sixth. pic.twitter.com/HoPpNhnwf7
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 20, 2023
“Today she had a couple pitches on. There were some pitches we didn’t go to, but everything was working today. That’s a goal every single time out.”
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM RON ANDREWS.
Allen finished 3-for-5 at the plate with a double, two RBI and a run scored. She reached base four times on the afternoon. The hitting line was not an unfamiliar one for the SUNY Stony Brook commit. Where she appeared in the order, though, was.
“She was moved up to the one-hole,” Johnson said. “She can jump start our offense. We’ve been stagnant. We’ve been struggling scoring runs in the first three innings. Today, she jump-started our offense.”
Allen singled and scored Fairport’s first run in the third. She capped a three-run fourth with a one-out RBI double that scored Alaina Crespo.
“We needed that,” Johnson said. “Hitting is contagious, and she hits. Now she’s a leadoff hitter, but she’s obviously a person that can drive in runs.”
Nicole Allen one-hops the fence in right and brings in a run. Fairport 4-0 with one out in the fourth. pic.twitter.com/Q9grpJ6fv8
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 20, 2023
Fairport led 4-0. The Red Raiders added three more runs in the fifth and also in the sixth.
“Obviously, I’m hunting my pitch, and I just saw it coming in my zone,” Allen said of the pitch that she sent to right center. “I thought it was going over. I was a little disappointed that I was that close. Happy to get the runs in.
“For this win, our team strung together a bunch of hits. It was a team effort. Hitting is contagious. We just kept going.”
The 11 runs represented a season-high. This after falling the previous day by a 4-2 count to Victor and managing just five runs in a win over Penfield earlier in the week.
“We’ve had poor starts all year hitting,” Johnson said. “Sometimes it’s just too late to start scoring in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth innings.
“She’s always been in that three-hole. She gets us going. I love seeing her come up more often, too.”
Linnenbrink went 3-for-4 with three RBI. Hannah Radomski was 2-for-5 with a double, a walk and two runs scored. Lauryn Smith had two hits in four at-bats with an RBI and two runs scored. Lana Wood doubled, singled and scored a run. Makayla Strack singled, walked, drove in a run and scored two runs. Magdalena Brei was 2-for-5. Millie Reed singled, walked and drove in a run.
Three-O hacking, Lauryn Smith inside-outs a quail that falls fair in right. Hannah Radomski scores on the play. Fairport 8-1. pic.twitter.com/STswqmiElK
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 20, 2023
Nora Smith tripled and scored the first Brighton (3-4) run in the fourth inning. Maria Minemier was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and a run scored. Emma Toombs brought in a run with an RBI groundout. Vanessa Ng had a single in the game.
Nora Smith leads the fourth with Brighton’s first hit, a triple, and scores on this Emma Toombs RBI groundout. Play at short made by Lauryn Smith (no relation). Fairport 4-1. pic.twitter.com/e3gxY89WT9
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 20, 2023
Fairport will host Liverpool (III) and Lancaster (VI) for a three-game event this Saturday to honor the memory of Anthony Mazurkiewicz, the Rochester Police officer who was killed in the line of duty. All proceeds from the day will go to the Rochester Locust Club in the name of Mazurkiewicz, who was a Fairport resident.
Fairport will host Liverpool at 10 am. Liverpool will face Lancaster in Game 2 with a Fairport and Lancaster matchup to follow.
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