1st Inning
Tess was in to pitch to start the game off. Quickly, Tess got the 1st batter to swing, striking her out for the 1st out of the game. After strike 2, the 2nd batter hit a bouncing ball toward 2nd base. Yazmine moved herself into position, but the ball bounced off of her glove and the runner made it on base. The 3rd batter was up next. On a pass ball, the runner stole 2nd. After getting ahead in the count, the batter was caught swinging for another strike out. The next CV Giants batter came out aggressively in the 1st to try to put her team on the board. She swung hard on the pitch and made contact, but sent the ball high and it eventually landed in foul territory. On the next pitch, she swung hard and made contact again, this time sending a grounder toward Alli at short stop. Alli charged the ball and easily scooped it up as the Giants' runner passed her on the way to 3rd and was just out of reach for Alli to make the tag. Keeping her head, Alli still had time to get the out at 1st. Quickly transitioning for the throw, she gunned the ball to Kelsey at 1st for the 3rd out of the inning.
Leading off in the 1st, Janessa got up to 2 strikes before getting hit with a pitch for a walk. Alli was up next and on a pass ball, Janessa stole 2nd. The pitcher, still finding her pitch, walked Alli to put Lightning runners on 1st and 2nd. Tess came to the plate and on the pitch, hit a grounder through the infield sending Alli and Janessa running. The 2nd baseman made the stop and the throw to 1 for the out as Janessa turned the corner at 3rd to try for home. Quickly, the Giants' 1st baseman made the throw home and the catcher forced Janessa to rethink her move. With runners on 2nd and 3rd, Kelsey was up next. On the pitch, Kelsey crushed one out to left field getting it past the Giants' outfielder for a double, bringing Janessa and Alli in to score and putting Purple Lighting on the board. Trying to contain the Purple Lighting offense, the pitcher dug deep and got 3 over the plate to strike Hylah out on her first at bat. The Giants' pitcher stayed in the pocket to close out the 1st inning with a strike out on Yazmine.
CV Giants 0 - Purple Lightning 2
2nd Inning
Kelsey took over the rubber in the 2nd inning. Trying to find her pitch, Kelsey walked the 1st batter. After the runner stole 2nd, Kelsey shook it off to get the strikeout on the 2nd batter. As the 3rd batter came to the plate, the runner on base stole her way to 3rd. After getting to 0 and 2, Kelsey got behind and eventually walked the batter. The runner got to 1st base and stopped. Purple Lightning reset for the next batter. Then, without warning, the runner on 1st took off for 2nd base. This caused some confusion, but eventually the runner was called out for the infraction. A pass ball on the 4th batter got the runner on 3rd base to try to make a move, but Kelsey quickly went to cover home. Receiving the ball from Hylah, Kelsey made the throw to Janessa to hold the runner on 3rd. A walk on the 4th batter put runners on 1st and 3rd. Trying to put the Giants on the board, the next batter came out swinging and connected. The ball went high into the air toward 3rd base. Waving everyone off, Janessa made the catch for the out, keeping the Giants scoreless in the game.
Caitlin came to the plate to lead us off in the 2nd. The CV Giants pitcher, visibly a little bothered, hit Caitlin with a pitch, sending her to 1st base. With a pass ball on Sara, Caitlin stole 2nd. Staying alive on fouls, Sara got to full count. On the next pitch, Sara made contact and sent a grounder to the 2nd baseman. As Caitlin reached 3rd, the 2nd baseman made the stop and made the easy throw to 1st for the out on Sara. The pitcher quickly sent Maia back to the dugout with a strikeout. A walk on Alexis put 2 Lightning runners on. Janessa was up next. After getting up to full count, the pitcher walked Janessa and loaded the bases. Alli was up next and the Giants' pitcher knew she had to get it together to keep the game close. She got down to business to get 3 over on Alli, eliminating the Lightning scoring threat and moving the game into the 3rd inning.
CV Giants 0 - Purple Lightning 2
3rd Inning
Kelsey was back in to pitch in the 3rd. The 1st batter hit a grounder down the middle that found a hole and made it out to Maia in right center. Maia threw it back in but the runner made it to 1st. On a pass ball, the runner stole 2nd, but Kelsey was able to battle back from a 3 and 1 count to get the strikeout on the 2nd batter. The 3rd batter came to the plate. The batter was called out when it was discovered that she was batting out of order. There was a delay in the game as both sides tried to figure out what happened. Once everything was straightened out, play resumed. Kelsey got right back to work. On a pass ball, the runner on 2nd stole 3rd and put herself in position to score, but after working to full count, Kelsey got the batter to commit to the swing and got it by her, striking her out and keeping the CV Giants to no runs in the game.
The CV Giants decided to put in a new pitcher for the 3rd. It was a different look for the Purple Lightning and it seemed to do the job. Tess came to the plate and connected on the pitch, but it bounced back to the pitcher and she was able to get the ball and make the throw to 1st for the out. Kelsey was up next and, in an almost identical play, she hit the ball and sent it straight back to the pitcher, who again made the throw to 1st for the 2nd out. On Hylah's next trip to the plate, with a count of 0 and 2, the pitcher hit Hylah with a pitch and Hylah got on base. Yazmine was up next. Hylah stole her way into scoring position on a couple of pass balls. A walk on Yazmine put runners on 1st and 3rd. Caitlin came up to the plate and on the pitch, Yazmine took off like a shot and stole 2nd base, getting Purple Lightning ready to score. But the Giants' pitcher, after working up to full count, was able to get Caitlin to swing on a strike and the final out of the inning.
CV Giants 0 - Purple Lightning 2
4th inning
As the game moved into the 4th inning, and time was running short, the CV Giants knew that they had to get some points on the board to keep themselves in it. Tess was back in to pitch in the 4th. The 1st batter got up to 2 and 2 and stayed alive with foul balls until Tess was able to get her to swing to strike her out. A walk on the next batter put a Giants batter on base. The 3rd batter came up to the plate and on a pass ball, the runner on base stole 2nd. Then, the batter hit one out to left field, getting it past Sara. The runner was heading for 3rd as Sara reached the ball and threw it back in directly for home. The ball reached Hylah just a touch too late and the Giants were finally on the board. Building on the momentum, the next Giants batter made contact and sent a hard grounder toward Yazmine at 2nd. Yazmine made the stop, but as she came up for the throw, she lost her grip and bobbled it, giving the Giants enough time to get on base and bring another runner home, tying up the game. Getting Purple Lightning back on track, Tess brought back the heat to get us out of the inning. The next batter came to the plate and Tess got her to swing and miss to get her out of there, getting the 2nd out. Then Tess did the exact same thing to the next batter, getting the next batter swinging for the out and forcing the side change.
Trying to keep the game tight, the CV Giants brought put their 1st pitcher back in. Leading us off in the 4th, Sara came up to bat. Sara tried to stay in there, but the Giants' pitcher was able to get 3 over to strike her out. Maia was up next and after staying alive with fouls, the pitcher was able to get her to swing at a pitch, getting the 2nd out in a row. The door was starting to close on Purple Lightning in the 4th and it looked as if this pitcher, who seemed to struggle earlier on, was now coming alive, but a walk on Alexis put a runner on base. Janessa came up to bat and Alexis stole 2nd. On a pass ball, Alexis made it to 3rd. Janessa stayed alive with fouls until the pitcher threw a ball to get to full count. Another pitch missed the mark and Janessa got on base. With runners on 1st and 3rd, Alli was up next. On the 1st pitch, Janessa stole 2nd and Purple Lightning was again ready to score. On the next pitch, Alli brought the bat around and slammed the ball to the ground, sending it speeding through the 3rd base side of the infield. The short stop made her move, but couldn't make it in time and Alli held up at 1st, but Alexis and Janessa were able to make it across home, putting Purple Lightning back in the lead. Tess was up next and Alli was able to steal her way around into scoring position. Tess was determined to extend the Purple Lightning lead. On the pitch, Tess hit the ball and sent it bouncing down the middle. The pitcher was able to get a glove on it and, turning, was able to make the throw to 1st for the 3rd out. But the damage was done and Purple Lightning left the inning leading by 2.
CV Giants 2 - Purple Lightning 4
5th inning
Leading by 2 in the 5th, Purple Lightning would move into a tie for 1st place in the division with a win over the CV Giants. Tess was tapped to close the show. Continuing last inning's performance, Tess brought the heat again and challenged the CV Giants to try to mount an offense. The 1st batter came to the plate. Working up to a count of 1 and 2, Tess got the batter to swing. Strikeout! Tess made quick work of the next batter as she swung and missed. Strikeout! The 3rd batter came to the plate and Tess seemed to slow down a touch. After being ahead in the count, Tess threw a couple of balls and the count was now full. 1 more strike and Purple Lightning would win the game and tie up 1st place. Tess,collected herself and surveyed the field, took a deep breath and put her hands together to start the pitch. She stepped forward and brought her arm around and delivered the ball. The batter loaded the bat and swung. Hylah caught the ball. Strikeout!
Purple Lightning was now at the top of the food chain, sharing the spot with today's opponent, the CV Giants. Congratulations Purple Lightning!
Final Score
CV Giants 2 - Purple Lightning 4
Game Ball
With her great defensive play to close out the 1st inning as well as her clutch, game winning hit in the 4th to put Purple Lightning back on top - not to mention her solid and consistent performance throughout the season - Alli received the game ball. Great work out there Alli!
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