Twin River celebrates with coach Renae Van Driel on her reaching the 450-win milestone. NCJ photo by Rick Holtz
ORD — It’s a milestone that has been looming all season.
On Tuesday, Twin River coach Renae Van Driel surpassed the 450-win plateau. She currently sits with a record of 450-231 in 22 seasons.
The Titans cruised to an 11-0 win over Ord.
“It makes me feel good that the girls buy in to what I teach,” she said. “And that they feel comfortable on the field and able to have that success of winning games for me.”
JLee VanDriel went 3-for-3 with a home run, a triple and a double. She scored 4 runs and had 3 RBI.
“It’s fun to share it with her because ever since she was a baby — I think three days young — she was in the gym with me working with pitchers,” Van Driel said of having her daughter on the team. “She’s been with me since the beginning so it’s nice to share the relationship with her through my success. It’s going to be fun to watch her journey too.”
Kielyn Dohmen went 2-for-3 with a home run, 3 runs scored and 2 RBI. Mya Ramaekers and Kaylee Vering each had 2 RBI. Twin River hammered 13 hits in the victory.
“It’s fun to see the girls make adjustments,” Van Driel said. “To see them be successful with their at-bats and to run hard. They were backing each other up and not leaving each other on the bases.”
Kaleigh Rickard and Laynie Allen combined for a 5-hit shutout. Both pitches saw 2 innings of work.
“It’s good to see my two pitchers on the mound, feeling comfortable in themselves,” Van Driel said. “They know what their job is out there on the mound.”
Twin River has one more tune-up before sub-district play opens on Monday. They travel to Wahoo on Thursday for a matchup with Class C No. 1 Bishop Neumann.
Sub-district C-10 opens on Monday in Malcom when Twin River takes on Bayard. The winner will advance to the championship round to take on the winner of Malcolm and Syracuse.