So, here we are in the 2nd round of the Tournament of Champions. After the commanding win over the Soul Sisters in the last game, Purple Lightning was set to face the Rock Stars in the 2nd round. The Rock Stars came out on top in the last game of the season and Purple Lightning knew that this team had it in them to do it again. This wasn't going to be a cakewalk by any means. Purple Lightning would have to put their best foot forward and work hard to advance to the League Championship Game and, with both teams fielding their full rosters, everything would have to be left out on the field. The coin toss put Purple Lightning on offense first as the visiting team. So, it was time to see if Purple Lightning could come out on top and fight for the title on Saturday.
1st Inning
Leading us off in the 1st, Janessa came to the plate. Getting an early taste of what the Rock Stars' pitcher could do, Janessa quickly found herself at 0 and 2. The pitcher lost her groove a little and got up to full count. On the next pitch, Janessa took the swing, but the pitcher got the ball by her, getting the 1st out of the game. Regaining her confidence, the Rock Star pitcher was able to get 3 over to strike Allie out. The door started to close on the 1st inning for Purple Lightning when a walk on Tess put Purple Lightning on base. Kelsey was up next and with a count of 1 and 1, she hit one high into right field. Tess took off running as the Rock Star right fielder moved in to get under the ball. As Kelsey approached 1st, the right fielder reached out her glove and caught the ball for the out, sending Purple Lightning back to the drawing board.
It was time for the Purple Lightning defense to answer the Rock Stars' challenge. Tess started Purple Lightning off at pitcher. A walk on the 1st batter put the Rock Stars on base. On a couple of pass balls, the runner stole her way over to 3rd. Starting off behind on the next batter, Tess battled back to get it to full count, but a ball on the next pitch put Rock Star runners on 1st and 3rd. Tess seemed to be having a difficult start. The runner on 1st stole 2nd on a pass ball on the next batter. When the count was at 2 and 2, the batter hit a hard grounder toward 2nd base. Yazmine came in to field the ball, but couldn't get a handle on it and the runner reached 1st as 1 run crossed home, putting the Rock Stars on the board. A walk on the next batter loaded the bases and walks on the next 2, brought 2 more Rock Star runners home. Kelsey was brought in to take over at pitcher. Getting warmed up, Kelsey walked the next batter, bringing another runner across the plate. It was starting to look like a long day for Purple Lightning. The next batter tried to continue the streak by switching it up with a bunt, but the Purple Lightning defense was ready. The ball went on a short bounce down the 1st base line and Tess charged in to field it. She reached out and tagged the runner as she was running by and quickly tossed it to Hylah at home to get the runner coming in from 3rd. With a count of 2 and 2, the next batter took a swing and connected. This time it bounced down the middle straight to Kelsey. Kelsey reeled it in and turned, throwing the ball to Tess at 1st to get the 3rd out, stopping the Rock Stars' 1st inning rush.
Purple Lightning 0 - Rock Stars 4
2nd Inning
Trailing by 4 in the 2nd inning, Purple Lightning knew that they had to put points on the board if they were going to stay in the game. Yazmine came to the plate. The Rock Star pitcher couldn't find the strike zone and a walk put Yazmine on base. Gabby was up next. On a pass ball, Yazmine quickly stole 2nd base. After getting to full count, Gabby walked and Kelsey was brought in to pinch run. With runners on 1st and 2nd, Hylah hit the ball down the 3rd base line. The 3rd baseman collected the ball and tagged the bag, getting the out on Yazmine. A walk on Sara loaded the bases. Catilin was up next. Momentarily, the pitcher got it together and managed to strike Caitlin out for the 2nd out of the inning. But she lost it again and walked Erin and Maia, bringing Kelsey and Hylah home, putting Purple Lightning on the board. Regaining her composure, the pitcher put 3 over the plate to get the strikeout on Alexis to retire the side.
After putting some points up in the 2nd, the Purple Lightning defense had some work to do, while the offense was starting to warm up. Kelsey came in to pitch in the 2nd. She started off strong by striking out the 1st Rock Star batter. The 2nd batter tried the bunt again. Tess charged in and picked up the ball. She turned and threw to Yazmine, but the ball hit the runner in the back of the arm and she made it on base. The question was raised about the runner being out of the base path, but the umpire ruled in the runner's favor and she was officially on base. The runner stole her way into scoring position on a couple of pass balls and a walk on the next batter put Rock Stars on 1st and 3rd. The 4th batter came to the plate and on the 1st pitch, the runner on 1st stole 2nd. Then the batter connected and sent a fast fly ball down the 1st base line. Tess moved in to make the catch. She jumped and reached out her glove, but the ball was just out of reach and it hit the ground in right field. Caitlin grabbed the ball and threw it back in, but the runner made it to 1st and a runner came home. Regaining her composure, Kelsey put 3 over to strike out the 5th Rock Star batter for the 2nd out of the inning. But walks on the next 2 batters loaded the bases and brought another Rock Star runner in. Getting back to work, Kelsey got the next batter to swing and got the strikeout, limiting the Rock Stars to 2 runs in the inning.
Purple Lightning 2 - Rock Stars 6
3rd Inning
Going shot for shot in the 2nd and needing to make something happen, Purple Lightning was back at the top of the lineup. Janessa came to the plate and, quickly, on 2 pitches found herself again with 2 strikes. On the next pitch, Janessa took a cut and, this time made contact. The ball went toward the 2nd baseman. The 2nd baseman made the catch for the 1st out. Allie was up next. With a full count, Allie got a hit and sent a fast grounder straight to the charging 3rd baseman. The 3rd baseman came up with the ball and gunned it to 1st to get the 2nd out on Allie. The Rock Star defense wasn't going to make it easy. On Tess's next turn at bat, she connected and sent a short fly ball again toward the 2nd baseman. The Rock Star defender reached out her glove and caught the ball for the 3rd out of the inning and it looked like the Rock Stars had our number and were on their way to certain victory.
Tess came in to pitch in the 3rd and Purple Lightning needed to respond with a strong defense. Giving it another shot in the 3rd, Tess started off behind in the count on the 1st batter. She battled back from a 2 and 0 count getting it to full, then making the batter swing for the strikeout. Tess got behind again on the 2nd batter with another 2 and 0 count, but this time caught the batter swinging to get another strikeout for the 2nd in the inning. Refusing to go down without a fight, with a count of 1 and 2, the next Rock Star batter went for the risky bunt. Fair ball! Janessa came in to field the ball. When she got up to throw, she found herself behind a couple of Purple Lightning infielders and took an extra fraction of a second to throw the ball through traffic to Yazmine, now covering 1st. Yazmine couldn't get a good eye on the ball and it bounced out of her glove, allowing the runner to get on base. Not wanting to lose her fire, Tess quickly got back to the rubber to face the 4th Rock Star batter. Strike 1, Strike 2, Strike 3! She made quick work of the batter and sent her back to the dugout, putting an exclamation point at the end of the inning.
Purple Lightning 2 - Rock Stars 6
4th Inning
Entering the 4th inning still trailing by 4 points and the clock ticking on the game, Purple Lightning knew that it was time to make a statement if they wanted to stay alive. Kelsey started Purple Lightning off with a big hit, deep into right field for a double. Yazmine was up next. On the 1st pitch, Kelsey stole 3rd and a walk on Yazmine put Purple Lightning runners on 1st and 3rd. A walk on Gabby loaded the bases and Tess was brought in to pinch run. Hylah was up next. With her bat coming alive in the last couple of games, she continued that streak with a big hit deep into left field for a double that sent the outfield running to get control of the ball. The outfield managed to get the ball back to the pitcher, but the damage was done as the hit brought 3 runs home and reduced the Rock Star lead to 1 point. The Purple Lightning crowd was roaring with excitement. Game on! This was the spark that Purple Lightning needed to come alive. A pass ball on Sara, sent Hylah on a successful steal to 3rd, then Sara hit a grounder toward the short stop. Not letting the earlier hit get to her, the short stop fielded the ball and quickly made the throw to 1st, getting the 1st out of the inning on Sara. Caitlin was up next and she also made contact. She sent the ball into left field and it hit the ground between 3 Rock Star defenders for a single, bringing Hylah home and tying up the game. Erin was up next and made contact with the ball for a single. The 1st pitch on Maia sent the runners on a successful steal and Purple Lightning was again in scoring position and a walk on Maia reloaded the bases. Not wanting to let the game get away, the Rock Star pitcher put 3 strikes together on Alexis for the 2nd out of the inning. Then Janessa, who has been waiting for a big hit, finally got her wish and she hit one down the 1st base line into right field, bringing 2 runs in and putting Purple Lightning in the lead for the 1st time in the game. After getting to full count and staying alive on fouls, the pitcher eventually walked Allie and loaded the bases for Purple Lightning again. Tess was up next and, with a walk, brought in another run and kept the bases loaded. On Kelsey's next trip to the plate, she connected with a pitch and sent it straight toward the pitcher. The pitcher came forward to field the ball, but fell as she was coming up and Kelsey got to 1st and Janessa tagged home. Yazmine was next. With a count of 2 and 1, Kelsey took a long lead on the pitch. The Rock Star catcher, who was itching to throw someone out, finally bit and tried to get the ball to 1st. Allie, on 3rd, left for home, attempting the steal. Kelsey came back to 1st as the 1st baseman got the ball and quickly tried to get it back to the catcher. The catcher stepped off home plate to make the catch as Allie came barreling in. When the dust settled, the umpire made the call. SAFE! Allie scored on the steal, adding to Purple Lightning's increasing lead. Then, after full count and staying alive on fouls, the pitcher was able to get Yazmine to swing to strike her out and stop the Purple Lightning onslaught.
With a big offensive drive, Purple Lightning now had to put up a strong defense to keep control of the game. Kelsey came back for another turn at the rubber. She looked like she was struggling a bit as she walked the 1st 2 batters. Kelsey momentarily found her pitch and got a strikeout on the 3rd batter. The 4th batter came to the plate and, with the count at 2 and 1, she hit a hard grounder through the infield. Caitlin rushed in to make the stop and quickly threw it to Tess at 1st, who then ran it back in to hold the runners on the newly loaded bases and prevent the score. Still struggling, Kelsey walked the next batter and 1 Rock Star runner came home. Tess was brought in to finish off the 4th inning. Tess made quick work of the next batter and caught her swinging for the strikeout. The 7th batter wouldn't go down as easy as she decided to swing on the pitch. She connected and sent it high toward 1st base. Kelsey walked into position and made the catch for the 3rd out and closing down the 4th inning with Purple Lightning in the lead and time running short.
Purple Lightning 11 - Rock Stars 7
5th Inning
Coming into the 5th inning with a 4 point lead, Purple Lightning could possibly be on their way to a victory and a trip to the League Championships. All they needed to do was to play strong on both sides until the end of the game. The Rock Stars were gunning for victory too, but they had to stop the Purple Lightning offense first to make that happen. Leading off in the 5th, Gabby came to the plate. A walk on Gabby put Purple Lightning on base and Kelsey was brought in to pinch run. Hylah was up next. On a pass ball, Kelsey stole 2nd. Trying to repeat her big hit in the 4th, Hylah tried to make contact, but missed on 2 pitches. With the count at 1 and 2, the Rock Star pitcher pulled out the old change-up, getting Hylah to commit to the swing for the strikeout. Sara was up next. On a pass ball, Kelsey made it to 3rd and put herself into scoring position. With a full count, Sara took a swing, but missed for the 2nd strikeout. With the door closing on the Purple Lightning offense, Caitlin took the ball for a ride, sending it into center field. The Rock Star outfielder backpedaled and reached out her hand to make the catch and the final out of the inning.
Not having added to the score in the top of the inning, it was the Purple Lightning defense's turn. The Rock Stars knew that it was time to make their move if they were going to get past Purple Lightning. Kelsey came back in to pitch. Trying to get the ball in play, the 1st batter came to the plate. With strikes on the 1st 2 pitches, 3 balls brought the count to full. Kelsey needed to throw a perfect pitch to get the batter out of there. Kelsey focused on Hylah's glove, wound up, stepped forward and threw the ball. The batter swung the bat. Hylah caught the ball. Strike 3! 2 more outs and Purple Lightning gets the win. The crowd was silent as the next batter came to the plate. With the count at 2 and 2, Kelsey again had to throw a great pitch to get the batter to swing. She took a breath and set her feet on the rubber. She brought her hands together in preparation for the pitch. She cleared her head, stepped forward, brought her arm around in a big circle and released the ball. The batter saw her pitch. She loaded the bat, stepped forward, twisted her hips and released. The ball reached Hylah's glove. Strike 3! 1 more out and Purple Lightning advances to the championship game. With the door closing on the game, the Rock Stars needed an answer. The next batter came to the plate determined. She connected and sent the ball into foul territory. On the next pitch, she connected again. This time, it was a grounder that headed straight for Yazmine at 2nd base. Yazmine came in and got her glove in front of it, reeled it in, came up with it and made the throw to Tess at 1st, beating the runner to the bag and getting the last out of the game for the win. The Purple Lightning crowd went wild!
With the hard fought victory over the Rock Stars, Purple Lightning advances to the League Championship Game to face the CV Giants. Great work Purple Lightning!
Final Score
Purple Lightning 11 - Rock Stars 7
Game Ball
For hitting big and playing great defense, including a great game at the rubber - not to mention her great attitude and performance throughout the year - Kelsey received the game ball. Great job Kelsey!
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