No. 1 Reservoir softball uses pitching and defense to get by Mt. Hebron, 9-0

Reservoir pitcher Abbie Frisvold struggled at times on Wednesday. Luckily for her, she had a first-class defense to help her out.

Frisvold struck out four but used her defense to turn two double plays and get her out of two bases-loaded jams, giving visiting and top-ranked Reservoir a 9-0 win over Mt. Hebron in a key Howard County game. She helped her own cause with two hits, one of which was a double, and two RBIs in the victory.

“That’s the best we’ve played defensively this year,” said Julie Frisvold, Reservoir’s coach and Abbie’s mother. “Everyone did their jobs today to help us get out of some jams. The defense came through, and our offense came to life.”

The win overshadowed a good effort by Mt. Hebron pitcher Abby Magdar. Although she gave up nine runs to the powerful Gator’s offense, Magdar struck out 10 in the loss for the Vikings (7-3, 7-3).

“I could not do this without my defense,” Abbie Frisvold said. “I have my full faith and confidence in them because I know they have my back.”

The Gators (9-1, 9-1) showed their defense in the bottom of the first. With Magdar on first via a walk, Kaelyn Cisna popped out to second base and Reservoir caught Magdar off the bag for a double play.

Reservoir took the lead in the second. Andaiye Smith singled, which was followed by Keira Walsh’s double and a walk by Catherine Yourishin to load the bases. Michele Mason then singled, scoring Smith and Walsh for a 2-0 lead. After a Magdar strikeout, Annie Daigle grounded into a fielder’s choice, scoring Yourishin. A single by Shelby Granzow scored the fourth run.

Mt. Hebron had a promising inning in the bottom of the fourth. The Vikings used hits by Katherine Williams and Alyssa Perez wrapped around a Danielle Green walk to load the bases with one out. Frisvold then struck out Sophia Ginty for the second out and pinch hitter Ciena Elam popped out to first to end the threat.

Reservoir widened its lead in the top of the fifth. After a Frisvold single, a Vikings fielding error allowed Cambell Sagan to score. Walsh then grounded out to first base, which allowed Frisvold to score from third for a 6-0 lead.

The Vikings again had two runners on base in the bottom of the fifth before Reservoir showed the leather again. A line drive was caught by Granzow, who quickly threw back to first for another double play.

In the bottom of the sixth, Mt. Hebron mounted another challenge. After two walks by Frisvold to Mackenzie Brooks and Perez, Ginty singled past the third baseman to load the bases with one out. Rain Worrel then reached on a fielder’s choice with Worrel out at the plate for the second out. Frisvold then got Becca Hutchinson to ground out to the pitcher to end the threat.

The Gators added three runs in the bottom of the sixth, with the big hit coming on a Frisvold double to account for the final margin.

For Mt. Hebron, the loss was one of missed opportunities.

“Abby [Magdar] pitched a great game. She was phenomenal for us,” Mt. Hebron coach Mark Graydon said. “We made some errors in the field which hurt us. Reservoir’s a great team, and they made some great plays today. We’ll be back though.”

Reservoir — 040 020 3 – 9 10 2

Mt. Hebron — 000 000 0 – 0 3 4

WP: A Frisvold; LP: A Magdar

2B: R – A Frisvold, C Sagin, K. Walsh.