April 27 - vs. Inferno

Coming to the fields on Monday night to play the earlier rained out game, temperature dropping and the clouds coming in, the Purple Lightning girls were ready to build on their renewed momentum. Would the cold weather prevent them from doing so? Or is it Lightning weather?

1st Inning
Tess in to pitch to start us off. Coming off her great pitching performance from the last game, Tess didn't disappoint as she struck out the first 2 Inferno batters that came to the plate. She walked the 3rd batter who managed to steal 2nd. The 5th batter (Jade, who played for asst. coach Taf last season) got up to a full count before Tess peeled off a strike to get the 3rd out.

On their first trips to the plate, the Inferno pitcher walked both Janessa and Gabby. Tess was up next and Janessa and Gabby advanced with a successful steal. Tess got a hit that bounced through the infield and got on base, and Janessa and Gabby came home. Kelsey hit a hard grounder through infield for a double, bringing Tess across the plate. On her turn, Alli hit a ball down the 1st base line, but the 1st baseman was able to collect the ball and beat Alli to the bag getting the out. After getting up to a full count, Yazmine walked and put Lightning runners on 1st and 2nd. Hylah was up next and connected sending a fast grounder down the 1st base line for a double, bringing Kelsey and Yazmine home. Sara came up to bat with 1 out and Hylah at 2nd. Sara hit the ball, and Hylah took off for 3rd. The 1st baseman was able to make the catch on the fly and raced across to 2nd to beat Hylah (who didn't tag up) to the bag for the double play and the 3rd out of the inning.

Inferno 0 - Purple Lightning 5

2nd Inning
Tess back in to pitch in the 2nd. The 1st batter was hit by a wild pitch for a walk. Tess walked the 2nd batter too, putting Inferno runners on 1st and 2nd. On the 3rd batter, a passed ball got the runners moving, but after building up to full count, Tess was able to strike the batter out. The 4th batter walked as well after getting up to full count, loading the bases. Tess got the 5th batter swinging and struck her out, but a walk on the next batter brought one of the Inferno girls home. Then, Tess settled in for the 7th batter and struck her out to move the game into the 2nd half of the inning.

Caitlin was up 1st to start up the 2nd. She hit the ball towards the 2nd baseman. The 2nd baseman attempted to catch it, but it tipped off of her glove and Caitlin got on base. Erin came up to bat and hit the ball to Jade at short stop, Jade made the throw to 1st getting Erin out. The pitcher walked Maia and after successful steals by Caitlin, Purple Lightning had runners on 1st and 3rd. Alexis came to the plate and hit the ball. Caitlin started for home, the ball bounced high, but the pitcher was able to catch it. She tried to get Caitlin out at home, but the catcher couldn't hold on to it and Caitlin scored. After getting up to full count on Janessa, the pitcher was able to get her to swing for the strike out. On her next turn, Gabby sent one into the outfield for a single, loading the bases. Then, Tess hit a grounder that went straight to the 2nd baseman who was able to field the ball and make the throw to 1st for the last out of the inning.

Inferno 1 - Purple Lightning 6

3rd Inning
Kelsey came in to pitch in the 3rd. The cold weather made it a little difficult for Kelsey to warm up and she walked the 1st 2 batters. With runners on 1st and 2nd, the 3rd batter hit one to the outfield for a single, but the runner on 2nd turned the corner and made it home. The 4th batter (Jade) came up to the plate and on a passed ball, the runners made their move. Hylah tried to make the throw, but the steal was successful. Runners on 2nd and 3rd and the count at 2 and 2, Jade made contact and sent it deep into the outfield for a home run, clearing the bases and scoring 3. The next batter was able to connect for a single. The next batter got up to full count and hit a grounder down the 1st base line, but Gabby was able to field the ball and touch 1st for the out. The Inferno runner was able to steal her way into scoring position, but Kelsey was able to strike out the next batter for the 2nd out. The next batter walked, putting runners on 1st and 3rd. But Kelsey found her groove again and was able to strike the 9th batter out, shutting down the Inferno rush in the 3rd.

Trailing by 5 in the 3rd inning, the Inferno knew they needed to put up some defense to stay in this game. The pitcher started by giving Kelsey 1st base on a walk. She stole 2nd base when Alli came to the plate. Alli hit one past the 3rd baseman for a single. With Yazmine next up, Alli went for 2nd. The Inferno catcher tried to throw her down at 2nd but Alli made it, and Kelsey took off for home and scored. With Alli on the move, Yazmine popped one up and got on when the Inferno infield missed the catch. Purple Lightning runners now on 1st and 3rd. The pitcher walked Hylah on her next trip up, but on an earlier passed ball, Alli was able to come home. With Yazmine successful on her steal, Lightning now had runners on 1st and 3rd. Sara was up next and with a fast grounder that got past the 1st baseman, Yazmine was able to come home. The Inferno pitcher was able to gather herself for a strike out on Caitlin, but a walk on Erin loaded the bases. The pitcher got up to full count on Maia, but wound up giving her the walk, which brought Hylah in to score. Regaining the rhythm she had when Caitlin was up, the Inferno pitcher got the out on Alexis, but Janessa, after getting to full count, sent a high fly ball out to right field that brought Sara and Erin home. Gabby walked next to load the bases. Tess hit one through the infield that sent the Lightning girls running and Maia scored. But when Caitlin was held up at 3rd, Gabby was caught off base turning the corner at 2nd by the Inferno 2nd baseman who tagged Gabby for the 3rd out. The Inferno defense stopped our rush, but with 7 runs in the inning, the damage was done.

Inferno 5 - Purple Lightning 13

4th Inning
The Inferno offense had their work cut out for them in the 4th trailing by 8. Kelsey back in to pitch. Kelsey walked the 1st batter. The 2nd batter hit a grounder down 1st base line to Tess. Tess fielded the ball and tagged 1st for the out. The runner on base advanced to 2nd. The cold started to take it's toll on Kelsey as walks on the next 2 batters loaded the bases. Kelsey was able to find her pitch enough to strike out the next batter for the 2nd out of the inning. Jade - of the home run in the 3rd inning fame - was up next. A wild pitch by Kelsey, hit Jade for a walk, bringing 1 run in (I swear Jade, we didn't tell her to hit you :-) ). The 6th batter hit a grounder to Yazmine at 2nd base. She was able to field the ball and make the throw to Tess at 1st for the out, holding the Inferno to 1 run in the inning.

Leading us off in the 4th, Kelsey sent a fast grounder down the 3rd base line for a double. Alli was next and she was able to connect sending it on the bounce to the Inferno short stop. The short stop made the throw to 1st, for the 1st out. On her next trip to the plate, Yazmine also got a hit for a single, but the overthrow at 1st brought Kelsey home. Hylah connected as well for a single. Continuing the string of hits, Sara made contact, but this time it went high and the pitcher was able to make the catch for the 2nd out. Caitlin got up to full count, but the Inferno pitcher got her to swing for the strike out, ending the 4th inning.

Inferno 6 - Purple Lightning 14

5th Inning
With a commanding lead, all the Purple Lightning girls had to do was get the outs to close the show. Kelsey was back in to pitch. Still reeling from the weather, Kelsey walked the 1st batter. The 2nd batter hit a fast grounder through the infield to get on base. The 3rd batter hit a fast grounder to Gabby at short stop, but with the overthrow at 1st, the runner made it to first and the lead runner made it home. Kelsey gathered herself and struck out the 4th batter, but a walk on the 5th batter loaded the bases. A walk on the next batter brought another Inferno runner across the plate. Once again, Kelsey dug deep to get the strike out on the 7th batter. But the next batter got a piece of the ball. Luckily it went down the 1st base line to Sara who was able to tag the base for the 3rd out of the inning. With Purple Lightning in the lead, the game was called.

Final Score
Inferno 8 - Purple Lightning 14

Game Ball
It was a very cold night on the field that night. Despite the conditions, there was good action going on out there, but for her consistent hitting performance in the game, Hylah was awarded the game ball. Good job Purple Lightning!