Come the spring of 2013, Kate Miller will be crushing home runs for the Princeton Tigers. But on Wednesday, her barrage of long balls paired with dominant pitching was all Fieldston needed to avenge an early season loss to Poly Prep last month.
“I just try to see the ball and hit the ball and hit line drives, that’s all,” she said with a sheepish grin on her face. “Luckily, I was able to hit some in good spots today.”
There are few better feelings for a pitcher than being able to help your own cause with the bat, and Miller, who didn’t play in the first meeting, was able to attain such a feeling twice. She smacked two home runs and drove in four runs at the plate while surrendering six runs, but only four through the first six innings, and a mere five hits on the mound, propelling the Eagles to an 11-6 win over Poly Prep in the Ivy Prep League matchup at Fieldston. Coach Stefanie Gozdziewski was far from surprised by the senior’s solid performance.
“Our bats are on fire right now, hers’ especially,” the coach said. “Even her fielding is spectacular as you saw today. When she’s on the mound, it gives everyone else behind her confidence.”
“Pitching wise, I just trying to throw strikes out there,” Miller added. “That’s all I really can do because I haven’t pitched really since I was a freshman. As a pitcher, there’s nothing better than watching your team kill the ball like they did today.”
Teammate Carolyn Susman, who also hit a home run and drove in three runs of her own, acknowledges Miller as a leader on the field and views her presence mentally as a key cog to her and the team’s success.
“Kate did an excellent job on the mound and her two homers are no surprise at all. She just whacks the ball every game,” the sophomore leadoff hitter said. “Knowing I have her and all of the other great hitters behind me is really comforting for me at the top of the order.”
The Eagles must have gotten pretty comfortable despite the chilly mist by the third inning, though. Miller drilled the first pitch of the frame down the left field line for a home run, answering the home run by Poly Prep catcher Jacquie Kennedy in the top of the inning, tying the game at 3.
After an Amelia Nierenberg sacrifice fly with the bases loaded brought in another run, Susman crushed an offering from Poly Prep pitcher Ciara Schirripa into the center field gap for a three-run home run. The blast broke the game open and gave Fieldston a four run lead they would never relinquish.
“It was my second home run ever, I was just so happy that it went out even though there was no fence,” Susman said. “We all wanted this win really badly. When I crossed home plate, I thought ‘we can win, we can do this’ and I’m just happy I could help the team get a win.”
With the victory, Fieldston (7-1) gave Poly Prep (6-2) their second loss of the season and broke the tie for first place in the Ivy Prep League. With momentum squarely on its side, Fieldston is looking to ride its wave of success through the rest of the season and into the postseason beyond.
“We’ve seen some great competition so far and winning against Poly is huge for us going forward,” Gozdziewski said. “We’ve settled into our confidence and how good we possibly can be.”