By PAUL GOTHAM
Sydney Bolton may be in her first year as a varsity head coach, but she is already showing the mindset of a season veteran.
When asked about her team’s record and recent string of wins, she responded rather matter-of-factly.
“Oh, geez, I haven’t been counting.”
Nothing quite says “focused on the next game” better than that.
It’s no surprise, though, since Bolton played at Webster Schroeder and then St. John Fisher. She’s done a lot of winning in her career and knows what it takes.
And she’s rubbing off on the Rush-Henrietta Royal Comets who improved to 8-2 on the season with a 16-6 win over Hilton on Tuesday.
“Honestly, I have great kids,” Bolton said. “I give all the credit to the kids. They do a great job. You got great team chemistry. That’s going well. We’ve got strong leaders.”
To be fair, Bolton inherited a program that was coming off its second sectional title in three years. Gone, though, is the battery of Kadyn Hartel (playing at Utica University) and Elizabeth Gleghorn, who plays at LeMoyne and was recently named the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week. Starting shortstop Kaitlyn Militello and third base Kaylee Hartman also graduated from that team leaving plenty of holes in the R-H lineup.
One returner is Lizzie Rinella who drove in four runs with four hits on Tuesday. The senior catcher’s two-out bases-clearing double capped a 10-run second inning.
“She’s awesome,” Bolton said. “She’s been such a leader from day one when I started. She advocates for the girls. She’s a great, great leader.”
Kendall Buttles struck out 14 in a complete-game effort as R-H won its sixth straight and has scored 10 or more runs in three of the past four.
Buttles also connected on a two-run home run in the first. The ninth-grader drew three walks, scored three runs and had three RBI.
Delaney Buttles was 3-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored. Kyla Piedici doubled, walked three times, drove in three runs and and scored once. Elizabeth Brown doubled, walked and scored twice.
The Royal Comets led 13-0 after two innings, but could not take advantage of the 12-run mercy rule after five innings.
Hilton scored three times in third and twice more in the fifth to extend the game.
“We learned from every game, right?,” Bolton said. “We could have scored that one run how many times? Our bats are hot, though. We just got to learn how to turn them on at the right point in time. We’ve got strong pitching, strong defense. Just do the little things every day just keep chipping away.”
Jade Galaska went 2-5 with two RBI and two runs scored in the win. Etta Neubeck was 2-3 with two RBI. Alivia Colavecchio walked and scored twice along with driving in a run.
Jordan Brozak led Hilton going 3-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Julianna Saporito was 2-3 with a walk, an RbI and two runs scored. Maddie Murphy had two hits and scored once. Paige Batz also crossed home once for the Cadets. Grace Speer also had a hit.
Rush-Henrietta travels to play at Penfield on Thursday. A 5:00 PM first pitch is scheduled.
Hilton (6-7) travels to Victor for a 5:00 PM game on Friday.
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