Softball: Brenner shines, Nardelli sets record as Ketcham dominates doubleheader
Brenner... Kaelyn Brenner.
With her preferred No. 21 already owned by a travel softball teammate, Brenner needed only a short while to mull the options, soon settling on a seldom-worn jersey number. For a reason.
"Since I had to switch, I thought '00' was different and there probably aren't a lot of people who have it," the sophomore explained. "I've never seen anyone else with it and I wanted to be unique."
She embraced the idea so much that it carried over to her high school team, and it's especially fitting now as she transitions from middle infielder to starting pitcher. After all, it's only right that a Double-O agent develop a mastery of deception.
With her slow-motion changeup complementing a screwball, Brenner left a few batters shaken and the home crowd stirred on Saturday, leading Roy C. Ketcham in a 7-1 win over Section 2's Columbia in the annual Melissa Bisaccia Memorial Tournament.
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"She's never been a frontline pitcher before, but she's growing into the role," coach Scott Satterlee said. "She's our ace. We're not where we are now without her."
The right-hander allowed three hits and an unearned run and struck out four in a complete game, effectively stifling an Albany-area opponent that had won eight of its first nine games. Brenner also went 2 for 4, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
Talk about a license to thrill.
"She's a great person, always smiling and encouraging everyone, but she's also true competitor," said teammate Jenny Nardelli, who broke the program record for career hits during the second game of their doubleheader. "When someone who isn't primarily a pitcher shows they can do it well anyway, it says a lot about them."
The performance overall said quite a bit about Ketcham (8-3), which has done well against a competitive schedule and is hitting its stride mid-season.
Nardelli and Paige Hotle each went 3 for 4 with two RBI, helping the Storm build a 7-0 lead. The Blue Devils' run was aided by a seventh-inning error.
"I'm very proud of us for that," Brenner said of the performance Saturday, which included a lopsided win over Pine Plains hours later. "It's always such a good feeling to get (dominant) wins over good teams."
Pitching, she said, is "a nice break" for playing shortstop and second base, and she now spends time refining a five-pitch repertoire.
Her off-speed offerings mostly induced soft contact, resulting in several groundouts and routine fly balls. The changeup at times even got hitters to swing well before the ball arrived. That pitch, Brenner said with a grin, has become her signature.
"She controlled the zone and commanded all her pitches," Satterlee said. "She moved the ball around and kept them off balance."
She also made them play from behind early. Brenner got the Storm on the board in the first inning, following Nardelli's leadoff double with a single to right. She then stole second, setting up Kat Hotle's RBI single for a 2-0 lead.
Paige Hotle's two-run double drove in Brenner and Claire Moore to make it 6-0 in the fourth. Nardelli singled in Christiana Simou in the fifth inning.
"It's a quality win because that team is traditionally very good," Nardelli said. "To put up seven runs against them is great for our confidence. We know we've got a talented offense and we trust ourselves to get it done."
A record and a cause
The Albany-bound senior certainly has been trusted to get it done throughout her varsity career. The spotlight later shined on Nardelli when she notched two milestones during their 16-4 win over Pine Plains to close the tournament.
The shortstop went 3 for 4, including her 100th career hit and later her program-record 102nd. She surpassed the mark set last spring by former teammate Ava Gambichler. Nardelli also eclipsed 1,000 career points in February en route to helping the girls basketball team win a Section 1 championship.
"It's exciting," she said of getting the hits record. "It was a lot of work, but I've also had a lot of help. My bat broke last (Tuesday), so I've been using Claire's and it's given me some good mojo. She deserves some credit for this."
This tournament honors the memory of Melissa Bisaccia, a 1997 Ketcham grad who died of an epileptic seizure during her freshman year at Franklin Pierce University. The event also serves to raise money for a Ketcham scholarship fund in her name. Bisaccia's parents were in attendance for the four-game tournament that included John Jay-East Fishkill, Pine Plains and Columbia High School.
Paige Hotle was 3 for 4 with two homers to lead the Storm against Pine Plains. Kat Hotle went 2 for 3 with three RBI, and Simou, Brenner and Emma Kozlowski each drove in two. Caylee Overton got her first varsity hit and had two RBI.
"I'm proud of how tight-knit they are and their work ethic," Satterlee said of his team, which reached the Section 1 Class AA semifinals last season. "We've got people in new positions and roles, so there was an adjustment period and we've still got a lot to improve on. We got off to a slow start, but we're trending in the right direction."
Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Softball: Brenner, Nardelli star as Ketcham hosts Bisaccia tournament
