Having tied for 1st in the last game, Purple Lighting came to the field with confidence that they could repeat their performance vs. the Rock Stars. A win in this, the Purple Lightning's final game of the season, would lock up the tie at 1st and possibly more depending on the outcomes of the remaining regular season games to be played. But a loss would do just as much damage. Needless to say, it was a crucial game for Purple Lightning and the state of the division standings in general as the last season games could knot up the top 3 spots. Could we repeat our earlier performance against the Rock Stars in an attempt to clarify the division leaders?
1st Inning
Starting Purple Lightning off at the rubber in the 1st was Tess. She struggled to get her pitch going. A walk on the 1st batter put a Rock Star runner on base. Working up to full count on the next batter, Tess's next pitch went high and she walked the batter. With runners on 1st and 2nd, the 3rd batter was able to connect on a pitch and sent one in the air toward 2nd base. Caitlin had enough time to walk over to make the catch to get the 1st out of the game. When the 4th batter came up, the runners successfully stole 2nd and 3rd to put the Rock Stars into scoring position. Tess was able to put 3 over the plate for the 2nd out of the inning. The next batter came to the plate. With the count up to 3 and 1 a pass ball that bounced off the backstop, the batter walked and the runner on 3rd left for home. It took a moment for Hylah to find the ball and by the time she reached it, the runner crossed the plate, putting the Rock Stars on the board. On a pass ball, the runners on base stole to put themselves into scoring position. With a count of 2 and 2, the next batter hit one that went over Tess and hit the ground in front of 2nd base for a single and the runners made their move. Caitlin made it to the ball as the 1st runner crossed and picked it up to make the throw to Hylah at home to try and prevent the score. With 2nd base open, the runner on 1st got a double on the play. The throw went low and Hylah was not able to reach it and the 2nd runner scored. On the 1st pitch on the next batter, the runner on 2nd tried to steal, but Hylah was ready for her and made the throw to Janessa in time to tag the runner out and retire the side.
Janessa was up to lead us off in the 1st. On the 1st pitch, Janessa made contact and sent a slow grounder down the 3rd base side. She took off like a shot and the 3rd baseman fielded the ball. She made the throw, but Janessa got there first and she was on. Yazmine was up next. On a pass ball, Janessa stole 2nd. A walk on Yazmine put 2 Purple Lightning runners on base. Tess was up next. With a count of 3 and 1, Tess hit the ball and sent it out to left center. Tess made it on base and Janessa turned the corner at 3rd and made it home, putting a point up for Purple Lightning. Kelsey came up to bat and Yazmine stole 3rd. The pitcher was able to catch Kelsey swinging to strike her out. Hylah came to the plate next. After a couple of strikes, the pitcher threw an off-speed pitch that got Hylah to commit to the swing early, getting the strikeout on Hylah. Sara was up next and she got a piece of the ball and sent it into the outfield. Yazmine crossed the plate as Sara turned the corner, but the Rock Star outfield was able to get the ball back to the 3rd baseman who quickly threw to 2nd to get the tag and the 3rd out of the inning.
Rock Stars 3 - Purple Lightning 2
2nd Inning
Kelsey was in to pitch in the 2nd. Kelsey also needed a moment to find her pitch. Kelsey battled with the 1st batter, but eventually gave up 1st base with a walk. A pass ball on the 2nd batter sent the runner on a successful steal to 2nd. Another pass ball sent the runner again. This time, Hylah got the drop on her and she made the throw to Janessa at 3rd for the tag and the 1st out of the inning. After getting to full count on the batter, Kelsey was able to get her to swing for the strikeout. Finding her groove, Kelsey was able to get the next batter to swing, striking her out and getting the last out of the 2nd inning.
Caitlin was up to lead us off in the 2nd. The pitcher walked Caitlin, putting a runner on base. Erin was up next. On the pitch, Caitlin took a lead and the Rock Star catcher tried pick Caitlin off at 1st, but overthrew the 1st baseman. Caitlin took off for 2nd and had time to make it around to 3rd. Erin was caught swinging and was struck out. Maia came to the plate next. A walk on Maia put Purple Lightning runners on 1st and 3rd. Alexis was up next and Caitlin teased the steal to home. The catcher got up to send her back to 3rd and Maia was able to steal 2nd. The pitcher was able to get 3 over the plate on Alexis, getting the strikeout. Janessa came to the plate next and renewed the Purple Lightning's hopes of tying up the game with a big hit. Janessa connected and sent a short fly ball down the 1st base line. On the bounce, the Rock Star 1st baseman was able to reel in the ball and make the hard tag on Janessa for the 3rd out of the inning.
Rock Stars 3 - Purple Lightning 2
3rd Inning
Kelsey was back in to pitch in the 3rd. After getting behind in the count on the 1st batter, Kelsey was able to battle back to get the strikeout. The next batter was hit by a pitch and got on base. When the 3rd Rock Star batter came to the plate, the runner stole 2nd. On a pass ball, she took off for 3rd and trying to go 3 for 3, Hylah made the throw to Janessa, but this time, it went low and Janessa had to come off the base to make the catch and the runner made it to 3rd. A walk on the batter put runners on 1st and 3rd, but, as Kelsey was getting set for her next pitch, the runner on 1st started to steal 2nd and was called out for the illegal move. Walks on the next 2 batters loaded the bases. Kelsey was beginning to struggle. A walk on the next batter brought a runner across the plate. The next batter was able to make contact. She sent a grounder to Erin at short stop. Erin was able to make the stop, but she lobbed a ball to Tess at 1st giving the runner enough time to reach 1st and allowing 1 run to get home. A walk on the next batter brought one more across the plate. Feeling the momentum shift in their favor, the next batter got a hit and sent it bouncing down the 3rd base line. Luckily, Janessa was able to make the grab and run back to tag the bag to get the force out at 3rd and hold the Rock Star rush to 3 runs in the 3rd inning.
Trailing by 4, Yazmine came to the plate to start the 3rd inning for Purple Lightning. After getting up to 3 and 1 a walk on Yazmine put a runner on base. Tess was up next. A walk on Tess put Lightning runners on 1st and 2nd. Kelsey, hit a high fly ball that the Rock Star infield was able to catch on the fly, for the 1st out. Trying to find an answer against the Rock Stars, Hylah came to the plate next to see what she could do. Hylah connected, sending the ball down the 3rd base side. The 3rd baseman was able to make the grab and tag the base for the force out on Yazmine at 3rd. With 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd, Sara came to the plate. On a pass ball, the runners stole 2nd and 3rd and eventually, Sara was walked to load the bases. A walk on Caitlin brought Tess home. Erin was up next. After getting to full count, Erin hit a ball that slowly bounced into the Rock Star infield. The ball was picked up and the throw was made to 1st getting the last out of the inning and holding Purple Lightning to 1 run.
Rock Stars 6 - Purple Lightning 3
4th Inning
Trailing in the 4th, Tess was brought back in to pitch in the 4th. After getting to 2 and 0 on the 1st batter, Tess walked the batter to put the Rock Stars on base. When the next batter came to the plate, the runner was able to steal her way around to 3rd. Then, after getting up to full count, Tess was able to get the batter to swing for the strikeout and the 1st out of the inning. Her pitch coming alive, Tess got the strikeout on the next batter, but a walk on the next batter put Rock Star runners on 1st and 3rd. Unfazed, Tess went right back to work on the next batter. Getting behind with a count of 1 and 2, Tess pulled it together on the next 3 pitches to strike the batter out and hold the Rock Stars scoreless in the 4th.
Now, it was time for the Purple Lightning offense to do their job. Maia came to the plate to lead Purple Lightning off. Maia made contact and sent a grounder down the 3rd base line. The Rock Star 3rd baseman collected the ball and threw to 1st. The ball reached the 1st baseman, then bounced out of her glove, but Maia slowed down a touch before getting to 1st, giving the 1st baseman enough time to recover and get the out. Alexis was up next and the Rock Star pitcher was able to get Alexis to swing and she was quickly sent back to the dugout. The door was beginning to close on Purple Lightning in the 4th. On Janessa's next turn at bat, she got hit by a stray pitch and got on base. A pass ball on Yazmine allowed Janessa to steal 2nd. Another pass ball sent Janessa to 3rd. A walk on Yazmine put runners on 1st and 3rd. As Tess came up to the plate, Yazmine quickly stole 2nd and Purple Lightning was in scoring position. Tess hit the next pitch out to left field for a single, giving Janessa and Yazmine time to come home, making it a 1-point game. On her next trip, Kelsey roped one to right center. The center fielder ran up to make the catch, but couldn't get there in time and the ball hit the ground. Kelsey made it to 1st and Tess advanced to 2nd. Hylah was up next and hit a hard grounder toward 2nd base. The 2nd baseman made the stop and with time, made the throw to 1st for the out, moving the game into the 5th inning.
Rock Stars 6 - Purple Lightning 5
5th Inning
Having just brought the game to within 1 point, the Purple Lightning defense had to tighten up if they were to take this game back. Tess was back at pitcher. A walk on the 1st batter put the Rock Stars on base. On the steal, Hylah tried to throw the runner down, but the ball went high, going over Sara, now covering 2nd, and allowed the runner to get to 3rd. After full count on the next batter, Tess made her swing and got the strikeout for the 1st of the inning. The next batter hit one to the grass just behind 2nd base for a single, bringing the runner on base home. The next Rock Star batter hit a grounder through to Yazmine. She got a handle on the ball and quickly threw to Kelsey at 1st for the 2nd out. With the runner now on 2nd, a pass ball allowed her to steal 3rd. The next batter hit the ball over the infield into left center. Alexis moved toward the ball, but didn't get there in time and it hit the ground. She picked up the ball and threw it back to the infield, but the runner reached 1st and another run came in. With the Rock Stars' bats coming alive, the next batter hit a grounder down the middle. The runners took off. Sara got to the ball as the runner came in to 2nd. Missing the tag at 2nd, Sara made the throw to Kelsey at 1. The runner made it on base as Kelsey dropped the ball. She quickly recovered and thinking the play was over, threw the ball to Tess as the runner on 3rd left for home. Tess, still sensing the play was on, quickly threw the ball to Hylah at home to get the out on the runner, stopping the Rock Star onslaught.
Bottom of the 5th, trailing by 3 points, the Purple Lightning girls knew they had to come up with some runs to stay in the game. Sara hit a grounder down the 1st base side for a single, getting the ball past the 2nd baseman. With 2 and 2 on Caitlin, a pass ball sent Sara on a successful steal to 2nd. Eventually, the Rock Star pitcher walked Caitlin, putting Purple Lightning runners on 1st and 2nd. Erin was up next. After an initial foul ball, the Rock Star pitcher got Erin to swing on 2 pitches to get the strike out. A quick strikeout on Maia sent her back to the dugout. The Rock Stars seemed to have our number. Alexis was next. On a pass ball, Sara and Caitlin stole 2nd and 3rd to put themselves into scoring position. The Rock Star pitcher went right back to work. The count at 3 and 1 on Alexis, the next pitch missed the mark and loaded the bases for Purple Lightning. With 2 outs, bases loaded and trailing by 3, Janessa came to the plate. It was high time to get a big hit. On the pitch, Janessa made contact. The ball bounced hard to the pitcher and the pitcher grabbed the ball and made the throw home, beating Sara to the plate and getting the 3rd out of the inning to keep Purple Lightning scoreless in the 5th.
Rock Stars 8 - Purple Lightning 5
6th Inning
Quickly taking the field to start the 6th and to give Purple Lightning a final shot at evening the score or taking the lead, Kelsey came back in to pitch. The 1st batter hit a high fly ball toward Caitlin. Caitlin walked in to make the catch, but it bounced out of her glove and the runner got on. With the count at 1 and 2 on the 2nd batter and the runner on base now at 2nd on a successful steal, Kelsey got one through for the strikeout. The next batter made a perfect bunt to get on base, bringing the runner to 3rd. After getting to 3 and 0, the next batter made a big hit to left field and the runners took off. Maia got herself into position, reached out her glove and made the catch for the out. The runners having left before the catch, had to return to their bases. A walk on the next batter loaded the bases. When the count was at 2 and 2, the next batter stayed alive on fouls. The count now full, the batter swung on a pitch and sent a grounder through the infield for a single, bringing a run in. A walk on the next batter, brought another Rock Star runner across the plate. Now determined to put a stop to the Rock Star offense, Kelsey worked up to a 2 and 2 count, then threw one over to get the batter to swing, getting the strikeout and brining the Purple Lightning offense out for their final stand.
Yazmine came up to start the 6th. After getting up to full count, Yazmine made contact, sending it toward the 3rd baseman. The 3rd baseman overthrew 1st and Yazmine held up at 1st for a second before trying for 2nd. The Rock Stars were on their game and were able to bring the ball back in to 2nd to get the tag on Yazmine, getting the out. Tess was up and connected. She sent a grounder to the Rock Star short stop and took off for 1st. The short stop fielded the ball and gunned it to 1st to get the 2nd out of the inning on Tess. The door quickly closing on the game, Kelsey came to the plate and got hit by a pitch to get on base. Hylah was up next. With the count at 1 and 2, the pitcher, having successfully done it earlier in the game, threw an off-speed pitch that got Hylah to swing giving the Rock Stars the final out and the victory in the Purple Lightning's final game of the regular 2009 season.
Final Score
Rock Stars 10 - Purple Lightning 5
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