Wednesday - May 19, 6pm vs. D-LITES

Coming off of the loss against the CV METS, BLUR faced the D-LITES for the 2nd, and last time, in the regular season. Although BLUR came out on top in the last game against the D-LITES, it wasn’t a decisive, or a pretty, victory. Just the opposite, BLUR exploited the D-LITES’ struggling pitchers to get runs across the plate. Given BLUR’s typical performance during weeknight games, coupled with a lackluster performance in the last game (as well as the D-LITES’ recent victory against the #1 team in the league), it was a big question mark as to whether or not BLUR could bring another win home against the D-LITES. This would be BLUR’s final regulation game before the Tournament of Champions and a loss would lock BLUR in last place. It was time to see what BLUR could do as the umpire got the game started.

1st Inning
Lexie was in to pitch to start BLUR off. The 1st D-LITE batter fouled Lexie’s 1st pitch off on a bunt attempt. She took a swing and missed the next pitch to get further behind in the count. Lexie’s next pitch came in high to put the 1st ball in the count. Her next pitch was outside and evened up the count at 2 and 2. A 3rd ball in a row on Lexie’s next pitch brought up full count. On her next pitch, Lexie calmed down and focused on the batter. She released her pitch and the batter held her swing. The umpire called it a strike and Lexie struck out the 1st D-LITE batter of the game. The 2nd batter came out swinging. On Lexie’s 1st pitch, she took a swing and connected. She sent the ball right up the middle of the infield. On the bounce, Lexie reeled it in and threw it to Natalie, at 1st base for the 2nd out of the inning. The 3rd D-LITE batter came out swinging as well. She missed Lexie’s 1st pitch for strike 1. She fouled off the next pitch for strike 2. On the next pitch, the batter hit the ball out to the BLUR outfield. Coming down in right field, Jessica had to rush in to attempt the catch. The ball hit the ground and Jessica kept it in front of her and quickly picked it up. She threw the ball to Natalie and the ball reached Natalie’s glove just before the runner reached the bag for the 3rd out of the inning.

Rachel was up 1st. The D-LITE pitcher was warming up against Rachel, but couldn’t find her pitch. A walk on Rachel put a BLUR runner on 1st. Katelyn was up next. On the 1st pitch, Rachel saw that it was a ball and quickly took off and stole 2nd. Katelyn held her swing on the next pitch, but the pitcher found the strike to even up the count. The pitcher quickly lost her rhythm again and threw a low pitch for ball 2. She followed it up with one that got past the catcher for ball 3 as Rachel reached 3rd on a steal. Finally, a walk on Katelyn put BLUR runners on 1st and 3rd. Lexie was up next. Trying to move the BLUR runners, Lexie came out swinging. She missed the 1st 2 pitches and quickly got behind in the count. The pitcher threw low on the next pitch to bring up 1 and 2. On the release of the next pitch, Rachel made an aggressive push toward home. Lexie took a cut and missed, striking out. The D-LITE catcher, seeing Rachel’s approach quickly got up with the ball and held her hand up, threatening to throw her out, and Rachel backed up toward 3rd. Trying to beat her to the bag, the catcher threw the ball to 3rd and it went over. Rachel took the opportunity and turned around to head for home. Rachel scored and put BLUR on the board as Katelyn reached 3rd. Hylah was next at bat. Hylah battled with the D-LITE pitcher until she reached a 2 and 2 count. On the next pitch, the pitcher lost control of the ball and hit Hylah. Hylah got on base with a walk. Natalie was up next. The 1st pitch on Natalie got away from the catcher and Katelyn took off and successfully scored on the steal from 3rd. Hylah reached 2nd on the play. The D-LITE pitcher got Natalie to swing and miss a pitch for a strike, but that would be it. The pitcher couldn’t find the strike again and walked Natalie, but not before Hylah was able to steal 3rd. With runners on 1st and 3rd, Kas came up next. The 1st pitch on Kas got past the D-LITE catcher and Natalie stole 2nd. Kas went back and forth with the pitcher until the count was full. On the next pitch, the ball came in low, for what would surely be a ball, but Kas took a swing and missed, giving the strikeout and the 2nd out of the inning to the D-LITES. The pitcher struggled against Jahlan and walked her, loading the bases. Olivia was up next. The pitcher was able to get one across the plate for strike 1 against Olivia. Olivia took a swing at the next pitch, but missed it for strike 2. The pitcher missed on the next 2 pitches to even up the count at 2 and 2. On the next pitch, Olivia identified the strike and took a swing. Her swing was a bit high and the ball just barely got past her, striking Olivia out and closing out the 1st inning.

D-LITES 0– BLUR 2

2nd Inning
Lexie was back in to pitch in the 2nd. Lexie, having cooled off between innings, struggled to find the strike on the 1st D-LITE batter. After reaching 3 and 1, Lexie was able to get the batter to swing. The batter connected and fouled it off to bring up full count. The batter fouled off Lexie’s next pitch to stay alive. A ball on the next pitch put the batter on base with a walk. The next batter came to the plate and showed bunt on Lexie’s 1st pitch. She pulled the bat back to salvage the ball pitch and the runner on 1st quickly stole 2nd. Lexie’s next pitch got past Kas, at catcher, and allowed the runner to reach 3rd on a steal. The batter tried to lay down a bunt, but fouled it off for strike 1. Lexie missed on the next 2 pitches, walking the batter and putting D-LITE runners on 1st and 3rd. The 3rd batter came to the plate and wanted to move the runners. She started swinging aggressively. The D-LITE batter fouled off Lexie’s 1st pitch. Strike 1. She took a swing and missed the next 1. Strike 2. On Lexie’s last pitch, the batter held her swing, but the pitch was on the money and Lexie got the strikeout and the 1st out on the 3rd D-LITE batter of the inning. Lexie split the difference with the next D-LITE batter on her 1st 2 pitches. The batter foul tipped the next pitch for strike 2. She connected on Lexie’s next pitch, but the ball drifted and landed in foul territory and the batter stayed alive. Lexie’s next pitch came in hot and she squeezed it past the swinging batter for the 2nd strikeout in a row. Riding the momentum, Lexie gunned her 1st pitch in against the 5th D-LITE batter for a strike. On the next pitch, the batter got a piece of it and sent it bouncing up the middle of the infield. On the bounce, Lexie quickly made the grab and threw the ball to Hylah, playing 1st for the inning, to get the 3rd out and keeping the D-LITES scoreless so far in the game.

Nikki was up 1st for BLUR in the 2nd. The D-LITE pitcher struggled and, with the results of the last game, BLUR was happy to let the D-LITE pitchers work for every strike. A walk on Nikki put a BLUR runner on 1st. Jessica was up next. The pitcher exchanged the 1st 2 pitches with Jessica and the count was at 1 and 1. Jessica took a swing at the next pitch and connected. The ball arced over the D-LITES’ infield. The ball hit the ground in the dirt, right in front of the 3rd baseman. The 3rd baseman was able to make the stop and threw the ball to 1st, beating Jessica to the bag for the 1st out of the inning as Nikki made it to 2nd. Rachel was up next. The pitcher missed on her 1st 2 pitches against Rachel. A strike on the next pitch got past the catcher and Nikki was able to steal her way into scoring position. Rachel tipped off the next pitch. And a ball on the next pitch brought up full count. Rachel connected on the next pitch, sending a grounder up the 1st base line. The D-LITE 1st baseman made the stop and tagged the bag for the out on Rachel as Nikki, seeing the action moving away from home plate, left 3rd and scored. Katelyn was up next. The D-LITE pitcher started off slow against Kately and threw balls on her 1st 3 pitches to get the count to 3 and 0. Playing the odds, Katelyn held her bat, but the pitcher was able to find the strike for 3 and 1. Katelyn held her swing again, hoping for the walk, but, for the 2nd pitch in a row, the pitcher found the strike, bringing up full count. The pitcher’s next pitch looked to be heading out of the strike zone. Katelyn held her swing again, but, this time, the umpire ruled the pitch a strike and Katelyn struck out and ended the inning for BLUR.

D-LITES 0– BLUR 3

3rd Inning
Natalie was brought in to pitch in the 3rd. The 1st D-LITE batter laid down a bunt on Natalie’s 1st pitch, but it rolled into foul territory. Natalie’s next pitch came in like a shot and added another strike to the count. The next pitch was a bit too high and brought up 1 and 2, but Natalie followed it up with a shot that caught the D-LITE batter by surprise and struck her out. Natalie came out firing against the 2nd D-LITE batter. She threw the heat on her 1st pitch for strike 1. The batter fouled off the next pitch to bring up strike 2. Then, Natalie lost her groove a bit. Her next pitch came in high and the one after that came in too low. A ball on Natalie’s next pitch brought up full count. Finally, a ball on Natalie’s next pitch put the 2nd batter on base with a walk. Natalie found the target again for a strike on her 1st pitch. The runner threatened to steal, but Hylah came out with the ball to walk her back to base. Natalie threw the heat again for strike 2. On the next pitch, Natalie threw too low and the runner came off the bag and Hylah had to walk her back again. Natalie started to struggle and lost her groove. Balls on the next 3 pitches brought up full count, then, walked the batter. With D-LITE runners on 1st and 2nd, the 4th batter came to the plate. A passed ball on Natalie’s 1st pitch bought time for the runners to advance on a steal. With runners now on 2nd and 3rd, the batter tipped the ball foul on Natalie’s next pitch to even up the count at 1 and 1. On the next pitch, the batter connected and sent a grounder through the BLUR infield toward short stop. Kas moved in and picked up the ball. She turned and threw the ball to Lexie, at 1st, for the 2nd out of the inning, but the D-LITES were able to bring 1 run home on the play and put their 1st point on the board. The 5th D-LITE batter came out swinging. She missed on Natalie’s 1st pitch for strike 1. The next pitch got past Hylah and rolled up against the backstop. The runner on 3rd took off for home. Hylah couldn’t reach the ball in time to make the play at home and the runner scored. On the next pitch, the batter laid down a bunt and Natalie had to rush in to collect it. Turning toward 1st, she threw the ball to Lexie. Natalie lost control of the throw and it hit the ground, buying time for the runner to get on base. Natalie went back to work. Her 1st pitch against the 6th D-LITE batter of the inning was high and the runner stole 2nd. Natalie reached full count on the batter, but, as she seemed to struggle a bit again, gave the batter 1st base with a walk. With D-LITE batters on 1st and 2nd, it was the 7th batter’s turn to see what she could do. The batter swung aggressively. She fouled off Natalie’s 1st pitch for strike 1. She connected on the next pitch and sent the grounder down the 3rd base line. Jahlan, playing 3rd for the inning, moved in and scooped up the ball. With the force coming her way, Jahlan turned and ran for it as the runner approached 3rd. Jahlan reached out her glove and knocked the runner off of her feet to get the tag and the 3rd out of the inning.

Lexie was up 1st for BLUR in the 3rd. Lexie came out swinging. She took a cut on the 1st pitch, but missed for strike 1. Lexie held her swing on the next pitch as it seemed to drift out of the strike zone, but the umpire ruled it a strike. She connected on the next pitch, but fouled it off and Lexie stayed alive. Then, the pitcher lost her groove and, after 3 pitches, the count was full. Lexie tipped the next pitch and continued to stay alive. On the next pitch, Lexie connected and popped the ball up. The D-LITE 3rd baseman moved under the ball and waited for it to drop. The ball came down and the 3rd baseman made the catch for the 1st out. Hylah was up next. On the 1st pitch, Hylah liked what she saw and released her swing. Coming around with the bat, Hylah connected and used all of her strength to drive the ball all the way out to the outfield fence for a triple. For the 2nd game in a row, Hylah nearly hit the ball out of the park. This time, there were no runners on and, although we considered rolling the dice to give Hylah the home run, the D-LITE defense was quick to get to the ball and relayed it back to the infield as Hylah reached 3rd and held her to a triple. Natalie was up next. On the 1st pitch, Natalie hit the ball as well. She sent the ball rolling up the 1st base line as the D-LITE 2nd baseman moved in to collect the ball. With the play going in the other direction, Hylah left 3rd and scored. The 2nd baseman picked up the ball and made the throw to 1st for the out on Natalie. Kas was next at bat. On the 1st pitch, the D-LITE pitcher lost control of her release and Kas got hit with the ball. After a second to recover, Kas took 1st base on a walk. Jahlan was up next. Kas stole 2nd base on the 1st pitch as it got past the D-LITE catcher for ball 1. Jahlan tried to advance Kas by throwing out the bunt. Unfortunately, the ball rolled into foul territory, forcing everyone to reset with the count even at 1 and 1. A passed ball on the next pitch bought time for Kas to make it to 3rd on a steal. The pitcher started to have trouble again and, after reaching full count, couldn’t finish Jahlan off and Jahlan got on base with a walk. Olivia was up next. The 1st pitch on Olivia got past the D-LITE catcher and Kas took off for home. The pitcher was not able to cover home in time and Kas scored and Jahlan made it to 2nd. The next pitch got past the catcher again and Jahlan stole her way into scoring position. With the count now at 3 and 0, the pitcher released her next pitch. Olivia held her bat as she watched the pitch drift out of the strike zone for a ball. The catcher lost control of the ball and Jahlah gunned it for home. The catcher was able to quickly recover the ball, but Jahlan was committed to the steal. The catcher positioned herself in the base path and tagged Jahlan with the ball to get the 3rd out, closing out the inning.

D-LITES 2– BLUR 5

4th Inning
With BLUR in the lead by 3 points, Lexie was brought back in to pitch in the 4th. Lexie’s 1st pitch was on target. The 1st D-LITE batter took a swing and missed for strike 1. On Lexie’s next pitch, the batter tried again. This time, she connected and sent the ball in the air over the 1st base line. Natalie stayed in line with the approaching ball, but backpedaled as it was over her head. At the last possible moment, Natalie used her long frame to her advantage as she reached her glove out and made an incredible fingertip catch for the 1st out. Lexie battled with the next batter until they reached full count. On Lexie’s next pitch, the batter connected and sent the ball down the 3rd base side of the field. Rachel moved in to make the stop, but the ball bounced out of her glove and got by her. Kas tried to work the backup, but was unable to reach the ball and it rolled into the grass before BLUR was able to regain control. The batter made it to 1st on the play. Lexie split the 1st 2 pitches with the 3rd D-LITE batter of the inning. On the next pitch, the ball was outside and the runner on 1st took off for 2nd. Hylah caught the ball and got up to try to get the runner out at 2nd. She threw the ball and Katelyn moved in and made the catch, but the runner beat the ball to 2nd and was safe. On the next couple of pitches, Lexie was able to bring up full count. Then, Lexie fired in a heater and got the the batter to swing. She squeezed the pitch past the batter for the strikeout and the 2nd out of the inning. The 4th D-LITE batter was up and, swinging aggressively, connected on Lexie’s 1st pitch. She sent the ball into the BLUR right field toward Jessica. Once again, Jessica moved in toward the ball. The ball hit the ground, but Jessica was able to keep it in front of her. Jessica bobbled the ball on the way up, but she still got the throw off. Unfortunately, the ball arrived just after the runner and the runner made it safely to 1st and brought 1 run home. The D-LITES seemed charged. The 5th D-LITE batter took a swing at Lexie’s 1st pitch and fouled it off. The next pitch was outside for a ball and the runner on 1st took off for 2nd. Hylah, once again going for the out at 2nd, got up and threw the ball. Kas moved in to make the catch, but missed it and the ball bounced into the grass. The runner took off for 3rd as BLUR scrambled for the ball. Kas picked it up as the runner turned the corner at 3rd. She threw the ball home, but the ball was way off target and the runner scored. After that, Lexie had lost her groove and walked the batter. The 6th batter of the inning came out swinging. She tipped Lexie’s 1st pitch foul for strike 1. She hit the next pitch and fouled it off for strike 2. After a ball, which brought the count to 1 and 2, the batter got a hit and sent the ball bouncing up the middle of the infield. On the bounce, Lexie caught the ball and turned and made the throw to 1st for the 3rd out.

Nikki was up 1st. The D-LITE pitcher, once again, couldn’t get a strike over the plate. A walk on Nikki put a BLUR runner on 1st. Jessica was up next. The D-LITE pitcher’s 1st pitch got past the catcher and Nikki successfully stole 2nd. The next pitch was a ball, but the catcher caught the ball. Undeterred, Nikki took off on a steal to 3rd. The catcher got up and threw the ball to 3rd, but the 3rd baseman missed the catch and the ball got past her. Nikki turned the corner and gunned it for home and scored. When the pitcher got back to work on Jessica, she continued to have trouble finding the strike. A walk on Jessica put a runner on 1st for BLUR. Trying to move the BLUR runners, Rachel came to the plate and immediately threw out her bat to attempt a bunt. She pulled it back to collect a ball on the pitch and Jessica stayed put at 1st. The next pitch got past the catcher and Jessica ran for 2nd and made it. On the next pitch, Rachel got a hit and sent the ball up the 1st base side of the infield. The D-LITE 2nd baseman stopped the ball and threw it to 1st to get the out on Rachel as Jessica made it to 3rd. Katelyn was up next. The 1st pitch was high. The next pitch was close and Katelyn held her bat as the umpire called the strike. On the next pitch, the ball looked low and Katelyn held her swing again. The umpire called the pitch a strike once again and brought the count to 1 and 2. Katelyn took a cut at the pitcher’s next pitch. Her bat just missed the ball and Katelyn struck out. Lexie was up next. The 1st pitch came in fast and Lexie held her swing for strike 1. The next pitch got past the catcher, but Lexie tried for it and missed, bringing up strike 2. On the last chance pitch, Lexie, having little luck in the batter’s box during this game, took a swing and missed, striking out for the 3rd out of the inning.

D-LITES 4– BLUR 6

5th Inning
Natalie made her 2nd appearance at the rubber in the 5th inning. Leading by 2 points, BLUR was seemingly on their way to their 3rd win of the season. But, there was still some time in the game and anything could happen. Natalie had to lead the BLUR defense to stay in control. Needing to close the distance, the 1st D-LITE batter came to the plate swinging. On Natalie’s 1st pitch, the batter took a swing and hit the ball. She sent it dribbling awkwardly on the infield dirt. Natalie rushed over to pick up the ball near the 1st base line and she turned and flipped the ball to Lexie at 1st to get the 1st out on the runner. Natalie threw a strike on her 1st pitch against the 2nd D-LITE batter of the inning. The batter took a swing on Natalie’s next pitch and tipped it into foul territory for strike 2. Natalie lost her rhythm a bit on the next 3 pitches and brought up full count, but she threaded the needle on the next pitch to win the exchange and earn the strikeout. Natalie got back to work as the 3rd D-LITE batter came to the plate. Natalie was on fire. Natalie brought the heat again on the 3rd batter. The pitch came in and the batter held her swing for strike 1. On the next pitch, the batter took a cut, but missed, bringing up strike 2. Not wanting to go down without a fight, the batter took a swing at Natalie’s next pitch. She managed to graze the ball with her bat and tipped it toward the backstop in foul territory. Luckily, Hylah kept her eye on the ball and tracked it with her glove to get the catch on the fouled ball for the 3rd out, shutting out the D-LITES in the 5th.

Hylah was up 1st in the 5th. Immediately, the D-LITE coaches pushed the outfield back as far as they could go. Hylah took a swing at the 1st pitch and missed for strike 1. She tried again on the next pitch and connected. The ball took a hard bounce and nearly bounced over the D-LITE 3rd baseman, who was able to bat the ball to the ground. She picked it up and made the throw to 1st, beating Hylah to the bag for the 1st out of the inning. Natalie was up next. Natalie took a swing on the 1st pitch for a strike. On the next pitch, Natalie made contact and sent a fast grounder through the 3rd base side of the D-LITE infield. The short stop had to adjust quickly to get in front of the ball. She came up with it and fired it to 1st, but Natalie ran through the base and was safe. It was Kas’s turn at bat. She held her bat on the 1st pitch, but it was on target and the pitcher got the 1st strike. On the pitch, Natalie took off for 2nd. The D-LITE catcher came up and threw the ball to 2nd, but the ball sailed over and Natalie was able to make it to 3rd. The next pitch got past the catcher and rolled up the backstop, giving Natalie a chance to steal home. She took off like a shot and the D-LITE defense rushed to regain control of the ball, but, before they were able to do so, Natalie reached home and scored. When the D-LITE pitcher got back to work, she had lost her touch a bit and missed on the next pitch. Kas tipped the next pitch and brought the count to 1 and 2. On the next pitch, Kas took a swing and sent the ball to the grass in left field for a single. Jahlan came to the plate next. The 1st pitch came through and was wide. The catcher couldn’t maintain control and Kas was able to steal 2nd. The next pitch was a strike, but, again, the catcher dropped the ball and Kas was able to reach 3rd on a steal. After a few pitches, the D-LITE pitcher was able to get full count, but Jahlan connected on the next pitch and sent the ball through the infield into the left field grass for a single, bringing Kas across the plate. Olivia was up next. After taking a ball on the 1st pitch, Olivia made contact and sent one over the D-LITE infield. The ball found a seam in the D-LITE defense and hit the ground in front of the right field grass for a single. Nikki came to the plate next and split the 1st 2 pitches with the D-LITE pitcher. On the next pitch, Nikki connected as well and sent one into the outfield for a single. The D-LITE outfielders were able to make the stop and threw the ball to 2nd, just in time to get the force out on Olivia as Jessica came up to take her at bat. The pitcher’s 1st pitch was on the money and Jessica held her swing. Nikki quickly stole 2nd on the pitch. The pitcher’s next pitch found its mark again for strike 2 on Jessica. Then the D-LITE pitcher seemed to lose focus as her next 2 pitches put balls 1 and 2 in the count. The pitcher’s next pitch came in a bit high. Unfortunately, the umpire ruled it a strike and Jessica struck out, ending the 5th inning with very little time left in regulation play.

D-LITES 4– BLUR 8

6th Inning
With time running out and trailing by 4 points, the D-LITE offense took the field for their last chance at mounting a comeback. Natalie was brought back in to pitch to try to bring the win home for BLUR. On Natalie’s 1st pitch, the 1st batter laid down a very nice bunt that rolled slowly to a stop near the 3rd base line. Nikki charged the ball and picked it up, but it was too late to make the play at 1st and the runner was safe. Natalie’s 1st pitch on the next D-LITE batter was low, but she quickly regained her groove and put 3 over the plate and caught the batter swinging for the strikeout. Trying to get the D-LITE offense moving, the 3rd batter came out swinging. She connected on the 1st pitch and sent the ball out toward Rachel, playing right center. Rachel moved in and collected the ball. She came up quickly, but wasn’t sure where to throw the ball and the runners reached their respective bases safely. Natalie’s 1st pitch on the 4th D-LITE batter was high and the runners stole their way into scoring position. With runners now on 2nd and 3rd, Natalie threw wide on her next pitch and got a bit further behind in the count. Natalie battled with the batter until the count was full. On the next pitch, the batter hit the ball hard and sent it right up the middle of the BLUR infield. Natalie moved in and made the stop. She came up and turned to throw to 1st. The runner on 3rd saw the opening and took off. Natalie released the ball, but it was a bit out of Lexie’s reach and the ball got loose, giving the runner a single and scoring 1 run for the D-LITES. With runners on 1st and 3rd, the 5th D-LITE batter came to the plate. Natalie fired in her 1st pitch for a strike. On the pitch, the runner on 1st safely stole 2nd. The batter took a swing on Natalie’s next pitch and connected. Once again, the ball went up the middle of the infield and Natalie made the stop. Again, choosing to go to 1st with the throw, Natalie, this time, connected with Lexie for the out, but the lead runner was able to take advantage of the opening and scored, bringing the D-LITES to within 2 points. The 6th D-LITE batter was next. She took swings on Natalie’s 1st 2 pitches, missing both for strikes 1 and 2. On the next pitch, she connected and sent a fast grounder through the 3rd base side of the BLUR infield. Kas moved in and stopped the ball, but had trouble maintaining control of the ball. She managed to get the throw to Lexie off, but the delay allowed the runner to reach 1st. The play also left the door open for the D-LITES to bring another runner from 3rd home, reducing the BLUR lead to 1 point with the tying run on 1st. Natalie’s 1st pitch on the 7th D-LITE batter was off target and got past Hylah, allowing the tying runner to make it to 2nd on a steal. Natalie’s next pitch missed the mark again for ball 2. The batter took a swing on the next pitch and missed to put the 1st strike in the count. On the next pitch, the batter took a swing and connected. She sent a fast grounder through the infield. The ball headed toward Kas once again. Kas moved in front of the ball and got her glove down. She picked up the ball and made the throw to Lexie at 1st. This time, Kas was able to get the throw off and make the connection with Lexie to get the final out at 1st and preserve the 1 point lead. And, with the time expired in the game and BLUR, the home team, ahead, the umpire ended the game and the BLUR took home the win in their final game of the season.

Final Score
D-LITES 7– BLUR 8

Game Ball
It was a great win and, more importantly, a great performance by BLUR in this game. There were a lot of great plays everywhere. Some great pitching and great plays on defense. There was even some aggressive and successful base stealing, which put some points on the board for BLUR. It was overall performance and teamwork that brought home the victory. But, there was one person in today’s game that really caught the coaches’ attention. It was not due to points scored or clutch plays. It was more for bringing up her enthusiasm and her hustle and, by extension, her presence in today’s game that won Jessica the game ball. Great job Jessica!

Saturday - May 15, 9am @ CV METS

Coming into the 11th game, BLUR faced the CV METS for the 2nd, and last, time in the regulation season. In the last game, the CV METS outperformed BLUR and took home the win. But, BLUR , having put on great performances throughout the season, was able to put together 2 wins in their last 2 games. Unfortunately, BLUR was missing 2 key players on the day, Natalie and Olivia, one of which was one of our primary pitchers. Only able to field 10 girls, BLUR would have to play everyone for the entire game and, with players missing in key positions, BLUR was forced to shuffle around their defense as well as their lineup. It would be a tough uphill battle. But, could BLUR overcome their disadvantage in the game to make it 3 wins in a row? It was time to find out as the umpire got the game under way.

1st Inning
With the METS at home, the BLUR offense was up 1st. Rachel was up to lead BLUR off. Rachel went back and forth with the METS pitcher until they reached full count. Then, she fouled off the next pitch to stay alive. On the next pitch, the pitcher missed the strike zone and Rachel walked, putting a BLUR runner on 1st. Janessa was up next. Janessa held her bat on the 1st pitch and Rachel successfully stole 2nd. The pitcher lost her groove on the next 2 pitches, bringing the count to 2 and 1. Playing the odds, Janessa held her bat on the next pitch, but the pitcher was on target and the count evened up at 2 and 2. Janessa fouled off the next pitch to stay alive and a ball on the next pitch filled up the count. Losing control on the next pitch, the METS batter gave Janessa 1st base with a walk. With BLUR runners on 1st and 2nd, Lexie was up next. Lexie held her bat on the 1st pitch, but the pitch was on target and put 1 strike in the count. Lexie took a swing at the next pitch and connected. She sent the ball rolling fast through the 1st base side of the METS' infield. The 2nd baseman got in front of the ball and reeled it in. She got up and flipped the ball to the short stop covering 2nd to get the 1st out on Janessa. With BLUR runners on 1st and 3rd, Hylah came up to bat. Hylah held her bat on the 1st pitch as Lexie safely advanced to 2nd on a steal, but, again, the pitcher was on target and put a strike in Hylah's count. Hylah tipped the next pitch and the count was at 0 and 2. Hylah held her bat on the low pitch, but the umpire ruled it a strike and Hylah struck out for the 2nd out of the inning. Kas was up next. Kas came to the plate swinging. She missed on the 1st pitch for a strike. On the 2nd pitch, Kas connected and sent a fast grounder toward the outfield, which looked like it was going to get past the METS 2nd baseman. At the last second, the 2nd baseman picked up the speed and got in front of the ball. She scooped it up and made the toss to 1st, beating Kas to the bag and getting the 3rd out to retire the side.

Lexie was in to pitch to start BLUR off. Lexie's 1st pitch on the 1st METS batter was low. She found her strike on the next pitch to even up the count, but quickly lost it and eventually walked the batter. Lexie was able to get the 2nd batter to swing at her 1st pitch for a strike. The runner on 1st took off and stole 2nd. Lexie's next 2 pitches looked good, but the umpire called them balls to bring the count to 2 and 1. The batter fouled off the next pitch and evened up the count at 2 and 2. Lexie threw heat on her next pitch and, once again, the pitch looked like it was on the money, but the umpire called it a ball and the count was full. A ball on the next pitch walked the batter and put METS runners on 1st and 2nd. Growing frustrated with the umpire's calls, Lexie had to dig deep to stay focused. On the 1st pitch, she got one over for a strike, but the next pitch hit the ground and the count was at 1 and 1. The METS batter took a swing at Lexie's next pitch and connected, sending it toward Jessica in right field. Jessica moved to the ball, but couldn't reach it and it hit the ground. Jessica collected the ball and threw to 1st, but the throw was a bit off and the runner reached the base safely as 1 METS runner crossed home. Once again, the umpire was calling, what looked to be strike pitches, balls and on 4 pitches, the next batter got on base with a walk and loaded the bases. The 5th METS batter was up. Lexie's 1st pitch was called a ball. On the next pitch, the batter connected and sent a grounder toward Katelyn, playing 2nd base. Katelyn made the stop, but, on the way up, Katelyn held up her throw for a moment and that was all the time the runner needed to cross the bag safely. The runner on 3rd, seeing Katelyn go for the play at 1st, took off for home. Kas received the ball from Katelyn and, seeing the runner try to score, quickly threw the ball to Hylah at home and got the out. Lexie got back to work and this time, she was determined. She threw a strike on her 1st pitch. Then, she got the batter to swing and got the ball past her and into Hylah's glove for strike 2. Lexie started to struggle a bit and, with her next 3 pitches, she brought up full count. On Lexie's next pitch, she dug deep and threw right down the middle striking the batter out for the 2nd out of the inning. Lexie's 1st pitch on the next batter was low. A ball on the next 2 pitches brought the count to 3 and 0. The batter connected on the next pitch and hit a grounder down the 3rd base line. Janessa scooped up the ball and ran back to base to get the last out at 3rd, but 1 run crossed the plate before the out and scored.

BLUR 0 – CV METS 2

2nd Inning
Katelyn was up to lead things off for BLUR in the 2nd. It seemed like the umpire was affecting the METS' pitcher as well as every pitch on Katelyn was ruled a ball. In the end, Katelyn got on base with a walk. Jahlan came up next. This time, the METS' pitcher dialed it in and strung to strike pitches together. Jahlan connected on the 1st pitch, but the ball landed in foul territory and Jahlan stayed alive. The METS pitcher's next pitch came in low and Jahlan held her bat. However, the umpire called it a strike and Jahlan was sent back to the BLUR dugout. Nikki was up next. Again, a pitch came in a bit wide and the umpire ruled it a strike, putting Nikki behind after the 1st pitch. Nikki held her bat on the next pitch, but the METS pitcher got it over for strike 2. The pitcher missed the target on her next 2 pitches to even up the count at 2 and 2. Then, the pitcher threw the ball hard and fast straight down the middle. Nikki held her bat and struck out. Anna came to the plate to take her at bat. The pitcher's 1st pitch on Anna came in high for a ball. The next pitch was high as well and the count was at 2 and 0. The METS pitcher's next pitch was a bit low and Anna held her bat, thinking ball. But, the umpire raised her hand to call strike. Another pitch looked off, but the umpire, once again called strike and evened up the count at 2 and 2. A ball on the next pitch brought up full count. On the next pitch, Anna held her bat again for what looked like another ball. But the umpire thought differently and raised her hand to call the strike. Anna struck out and that was the end of BLUR's 2nd inning.

Lexie was back in to pitch in the 2nd. The 1st batter took a swing at Lexie's 1st pitch and missed for strike 1. On Lexie's 2nd pitch, the batter got a hold of it and sent the ball rolling toward Janessa at 3rd base. Janessa picked the ball up and threw it to Kas, playing 1st. The ball reached 1st before the runner, but Kas dropped the ball and the runner got on base. The next METS batter came to the plate. Lexie's 1st pitch found it's mark for strike 1. The batter took a swing on Lexie's next pitch and connected. This time the grounder went through the infield toward Katelyn at 2nd. Katelyn made the stop and flipped the ball to Kas. When the runner, now on 2nd, saw that Katelyn tried to make the play at 1st, she took off for 3rd and arrived safely. For the 2nd play in a row, Kas wasn't able to secure the ball and it fell out of her glove and hit the ground. The runner reached 1st safely and METS runners were now on 1st and 3rd. The next METS batter came to the plate. On Lexie's 1st pitch, the ball got past Hylah and the runner on 1st stole 2nd. Another pitch looked close, but the umpire ruled it a ball, bringing up 2 and 0. The batter took swings at Lexie's next 2 pitches, evening up the count at 2 and 2. Another close pitch, ruled a strike, filled up the count. The batter stayed alive by fouling off Lexie's next pitch. On the next pitch, the METS batter took a cut and connected. She sent the ball through the BLUR infield, on the 1st base side, straight toward Katelyn, playing 2nd. Katelyn charged in and threw the ball to Kas. Seeing the play go to 1st, the runner on 3rd took off for home and scored. Kas reached out her glove to receive the ball. This time, Kas secured the ball and stepped on the base to get the 1st out of the inning. At this point in the game, the umpire's non-existent strike zone started to hurt us. While there were a few legitimate balls in the mix, a lot of Lexie's pitches were strike pitches, but the umpire seemed to refuse to call them. A walk on the next batter put METS runners on 1st and 2nd. With the 5th batter at the plate, the runner on 2nd stole 3rd on the 1st pitch, which was ruled a ball. After being able to throw 1 strike through, a walk on the batter loaded the bases. Lexie was able to reach full count on the 6th batter, but a ball on her last pitch walked the batter and brought a runner home. Walks on the next 3 batters kept the bases loaded for the METS and brought 3 more runners across the plate. Lexie was able to get the 10th METS batter to swing at a couple of pitches and, after getting the count to 2 and 2, Lexie was able to get a pitch past the swinging batter for the strikeout and the 2nd out of the inning. A walk on the 11th batter kept the bases loaded and brought 1 more MET in. On the 12th batter of the inning, Lexie threw a heater across the plate to get ahead in the count with a strike. Lexie got the batter to swing at the next pitch and miss for strike 2. She lost her groove on the next 3 pitches to bring up full count. Playing the odds, the METS batter held her swing on Lexie's next pitch, hoping for a walk, but the umpire, surprisingly called it a strike and Lexie ended the misery of the 2nd inning with the strikeout and the 3rd out of the inning. Unfortunately, the damage was done and the METS were up by 8 points.

BLUR 0 – CV METS 8

3rd Inning
With much of the time in the game ticking away waiting for the umpire to approve a strike and the METS pitching a shut-out so far, BLUR was still scoreless in the game. Jessica was up 1st in the 3rd to see if she could get the BLUR offense out of the gates for this game. The METS pitcher threw a strike on her 1st pitch, but she started to struggle and that proved to be the only strike she would get before walking Jessica. With a runner on 1st, Rachel was next up to bat. The METS pitcher regained her strike and strung 2 together to get ahead in the count against Rachel. Rachel held her swing on the next pitch for a ball and an outside pitch after that evened up the count at 2 and 2. On the next pitch, Rachel connected and sent a grounder down the 3rd base line. The METS' 3rd baseman moved in to get the stop and fired the ball to 1st for the 1st out as Jessica advanced to 2nd. Janessa was up next. She put out her bat for a bunt and fouled the 1st pitch off for strike one. She put the bat out again to try another bunt and fouled off the next pitch. With 2 strikes, it was time to swing. Janessa decided to hold up on the next pitch. Luckily, it was low and outside and the count moved to 1 and 2. The pitcher dug deep on the next pitch and fired on in. Janessa held her swing again, but, this time, the pitch was good and Janessa struck out. Lexie was up next. The METS pitcher missed on her 1st pitch and Jessica stole her way into scoring position. Then, the pitcher found her rhythm again on the next one to bring the count to 1 and 1. Lexie tipped the next pitch foul, bringing up strike 2. On the next pitch, Lexie took a swing and missed for strike 3 and the 3rd out of the inning. The METS pitcher, even though she started to show some wear, so far, had BLUR's number all game and was pitching a shutout. So far, BLUR couldn't come up with an answer and things started to look bad for the BLUR girls.

It was time to give Lexie a break. Hylah was brought in to pitch in the 3rd inning, but with the umpire calling the pitches as she had been all game, it was a mystery if the BLUR defense could turn things around in this game. The 1st METS batter came out to face Hylah. Hylah's 1st pitch on the batter was low and her next pitch was outside. On Hylah's next pitch, the batter took a swing and got a hit. She sent the ball over the BLUR infield and it landed in the grass for a single. The next batter was up. It seemed like Hylah couldn't find the umpire's strike zone either as her 1st 2 pitches were ruled balls. On Hylah's 3rd pitch, the batter connected and sent a grounder through the BLUR infield toward Rachel, now playing 2nd. Rachel moved in to the ball. She lost control of the ball for a moment as she was coming up to make a play and it was all the time the batter needed to make it safely to 1st. The next batter came out swinging and was able to hit Hylah's next pitch. Again, the ball was headed toward Rachel at 2nd. Rachel picked up the grounder and threw to 1st, going for the out. But, the throw was a bit too high and got away from Lexie, playing 1st and the batter got on base safely. With the overthrow and the ball going out into the right field grass, the BLUR defense scrambled to get the ball under control and the METS runners were on the move. One run came across the plate as the ball was thrown to Katelyn, at short stop. Covering 2nd base, Katelyn made the catch and applied the tag on the runner coming to 2nd for the 1st out of the inning. Hylah got back to work against the next batter. Again, the umpire seemed to be playing Keep Away with her strike zone, but Hylah was able to get the batter to swing at a couple of pitches to reach full count. In the end, a walk on the batter put METS runners on 1st and 3rd. The 5th METS batter was next at bat. Hylah's 1st pitch was on the mark, but the runner on 1st took off and made it safely to 2nd on a steal. On Hylah's next pitch, which went high, the anxious runner on 2nd tried for 3rd, but the runner on 3rd held up. As the runner returned to her base, Kas got up to try to get the out at 2nd. When she threw the ball, the runner on 3rd saw an opportunity and scored on a steal from 3rd. The ball arrived at 2nd, but the runner was able to put her foot on the base before Rachel was able to turn and apply the tag. Hylah was able to reach full count on the batter, but not before the runner managed a steal to 3rd on a passed ball. Finally, a ball on Hylah's last pitch walked the batter. Then, the umpire's unforgiving strike zone started to rear its ugly head again. On 5 pitches, the 6th METS batter walked and loaded the bases. Walks on the next 3 METS batters kept the bases loaded and brought 3 runs in. On the 10th batter, Hylah was able to reach full count, but a hit on the next pitch sent a ball through the BLUR infield for a single and brought 2 runs across the plate. Hylah's 1st pitch against the 11th METS batter of the inning went high and it looked like the walk-a-thon would begin again. Hylah was able to string together a couple of strike pitches until she reached full count. Hylah reached deep and threw her next pitch. The batter, hoping for the umpire to call another ball, held her swing, but this time the umpire didn't give it to her and she struck out for the 2nd out of the inning. Hylah started to struggle against the 12th METS batter. After 3 pitches were ruled balls, the batter connected on Hylah's next pitch and sent the ball through the infield toward Rachel at 2nd base. Rachel reeled it in and threw to 1st, but, again, her throw was slightly off and Lexie wasn't able to get a handle on it. The batter was able to reach 1st and brought 2 runs across the plate for the METS. The 13th batter came to the plate. Hylah found the umpire's strike zone on her 1st pitch, but lost it immediately and the runner stole her way to 3rd. A walk on the batter put METS runners on 1st and 3rd. A walk on the next batter loaded the bases and BLUR was forced to bring Lexie back to the rubber to try to see if a fresh pitcher would be able to throw a pitch that would meet the umpire's approval. Lexie tried her best, but, after reaching full count on the 15th METS batter of the inning, a ball on the next pitch brought 1 more run across. The 16th METS batter came out swinging and connected on Lexie's 1st pitch. The ball hugged the 3rd base line and Janessa picked it up. With a force at any base, she returned to 3rd and stepped on the bag for the 3rd out.

BLUR 0 – CV METS 18

4th Inning
With the METS sitting on a ridiculous 18-point lead. It was almost a foregone conclusion that BLUR's 2-game win streak was broken. It was now up to the BLUR girls to make sure that they wouldn't get shut out of the game. Having done her job throughout the game and needing to save her for her upcoming games, the METS decided to give their starting pitcher a break. With time running low in regulation play, this would be the final chance for BLUR to put points on the board. Hylah was up to start things off in the 4th. After 2 ball pitches, Hylah connected and sent the ball tearing through the METS infield and out into the grass for a single. Kas was up next. She connected on the pitcher's 1st pitch and sent the grounder past the METS short stop for another single. With BLUR runners on 1st and 2nd, Katelyn came up to bat. A passed ball on the 1st pitch gave Hylah and Kas an opening and they safely moved into scoring position with a steal. On the next pitch, Katelyn got a hit and sent the ball deep into the METS right field for a triple and brought Hylah and Kas home. The METS pitcher seemed a bit rattled at having lost the METS' chance at the shutout victory. Having successfully prevented the shutout, Katelyn, now at 3rd, lit a fire under BLUR as Jahlan came to the plate. A walk on Jahlan put BLUR runners at 1st and 3rd. After battling to reach full count, the METS pitcher walked Nikki and loaded the bases. Anna was up next. Anna took a swing at the pitcher's 1st pitch for strike 1. Then, after reaching full count, the pitcher, apparently growing more and more anxious, struggled to find the umpire's strike zone. A walk on Anna brought Katelyn home. Jessica was up next. The pitcher missed on the 1st 2 pitches to bring the count to 2 and 0. On the next pitch, the ball got past the catcher and Jahlah, stealing aggressively, scored from 3rd base. The METS pitcher ran off the field and demanded that she be taken out of the game. The METS brought in a new pitcher to finish Jessica's at bat. The new pitcher was able to get 1 strike across, but her 2nd, and last, pitch against Jessica was a ball and Jessica got on base with a walk, loading the bases once again for BLUR. Rachel was up next. It took the METS' new pitcher 3 pitches to find the umpire's strike zone. But, once found, she wouldn't let it go and tossed 3 pitches in a row that all found their target for the strikeout on Rachel and the 1st out of the inning. Janessa was up next. After reaching 2 and 0, Janessa took a swing at the pitcher's next pitch. Janessa connected and sent the ball through the METS infield toward 2nd base. The 2nd baseman moved in and stopped the ball, but she fumbled it on the way up and allowed Janessa to reach 1st as Nikki scored. Lexie was up next. Again, the pitcher struggled to find the umpire's strike zone. She was able to get 1 strike over, but, in the end, she wasn't able to win the exchange and a walk on Lexie kept the bases loaded and brought Anna home. With the bases loaded and 1 out, Hylah came to the plate to take her 2nd at bat of the inning. The 1st pitch was high. Hylah fouled off the 2nd pitch to bring up 1 and 1. On her next 2 pitches, the METS pitcher was off and brought the count to 3 and 1. The pitcher dug deep and was able to peel off a strike pitch, but Hylah was ready for it and took a swing. Hylah roped the ball to the base of the outfield fence and the BLUR runners were on the move. The METS outfield rushed to get the ball back to the infield, but Hylah got a triple on the play and brought 3 runs home for BLUR. By all reports, this was one of, if not THE, biggest hit that most people in the league had ever seen in any division. Another couple of feet and the ball would've cleared the fence 200ft from home plate. It was a sight to behold. Kas was up next. Inspired by Hylah's big hit, Kas came out swinging. She fouled off the 1st pitch and tipped off the 2nd for strikes 1 and 2. The pitcher's next pitch came in low and put a ball in the count. Sensing her opportunity slipping away, Kas took a swing on the next pitch and tipped it. The alert METS catcher caught the ball and got the 2nd out of the inning. Katelyn was up next. She fought hard against the METS pitcher until they reached a count of 2 and 2. Katelyn fouled off the next pitch to stay alive. Hoping to repeat her triple earlier in the inning, Katelyn took a hard swing at the next pitch and connected. The ball popped up high over the METS' infield. The short stop got herself under the ball and reached out her glove. The ball hit the glove and the METS' short stop secured it for the final out, ending the BLUR rally and the game.

Final Score
BLUR 9 – CV METS 18

Game Ball
Excepting the late-game rally, which included some incredible hits from Hylah and Katelyn and some great base stealing by Jahlan as well as some (unnoticed by the umpire) continued good pitching by both Lexie and Hylah throughout the game, for the 2nd game in a row, BLUR was stifled and was not able to put up a lot of offense. Upon review of BLUR's last game, it was apparent that someone was overlooked for her performance in that particular game and that situation would be rectified with the game ball. So, for her great performance in the previous game as well as her continued enthusiasm and support of the team, including her determination to get some infield play this season, Anna was awarded the game ball. Great job Anna!

Tuesday - May 11, 6pm @ D-LITES

Coming off of their 1st victory of the season, BLUR was energized to take on the D-LITES for the 1st time in the season in this, BLUR’s 10th game (of 12). The D-LITES, much like BLUR, have had a tough time in the 2010 season as most of their games resulted in losses, but they had the added hurdle of having their schedule plagued by rainouts for much of the season. The D-LITES, at this point, were still somewhat of a mystery to BLUR as well as the league. And with BLUR buzzing from their victory against the SMASHING PANDAS, they needed to stay focused and not underestimate the D-LITES if they were going to build on the previous game’s performance. Playing this game on a weeknight, which has been proven to be a BLUR weakness throughout the season, it would be a tall order for BLUR to come out of the game with another victory. As the game got underway, with D-LITES at home, the BLUR offense was up first.

1st Inning
Facing a pitcher and a defense that we had not seen all year, since this was our 1st game against the D-LITES, BLUR had to proceed cautiously. Leading BLUR off as she has all year, Rachel was up 1st. Rachel split the 1st 2 pitches with the D-LITE pitcher. A low pitch, then a swing and a miss brought the count to 2 and 2. On the next pitch, Rachel was hit by the ball and took 1st base on a walk. Katelyn was up next. Katelyn took a swing on the 1st pitch. She fouled it off for strike 1. The next pitch got past the D-LITE catcher and Rachel stole 2nd. The pitcher threw a strike on the next pitch and Rachel rolled the dice and went to steal 3rd. The D-LITE catcher got up and threw the ball to 3rd, slowing Rachel’s step. Confused whether to turn back to 2nd or not, Rachel quickly found herself in a pickle and, after a couple of throws between 2nd and 3rd, got tagged out for the 1st out of the inning. A ball on the next pitch put Katelyn on base with a walk. Lexie was up next. A foul tip on the 1st pitch put a strike in the count for Lexie. Unfazed, Lexie took a swing at the next pitch and fouled it off for strike 2. On the 3rd pitch, Lexie was determined to find that hit. Unfortunately, she missed the ball and struck out as Katelyn successfully stole 2nd base. Hylah was up next. She held her bat on the 1st pitch and the D-LITE pitcher was able to thread the needle for strike 1. Seeing the strike pitch, Hylah took a swing, but missed for strike 2. The pitcher lost her groove on the next 2 pitches and brought the count to 2 and 2. On the next pitch, the D-LITE pitcher found the strike again. Hylah took a swing at it, but misjudged her timing and struck out, sending the BLUR offense back to the drawing board.

Lexie was in to pitch to start the BLUR defense off. On the 1st pitch, Lexie lost control of the ball and hit the batter, putting a D-LITE runner on base quickly. Lexie recovered on the next batter and threw 2 strike pitches in a row. But the batter was swinging and fouled both off for strikes 1 and 2. The next pitch missed and the runner successfully stole 2nd. Another ball evened up the count at 2 and 2. On the next pitch, the batter connected and sent the ball out over the BLUR right center field. Rachel ran into position under the ball and made the catch for the 1st out. The next D-LITE batter came to the plate. Lexie battled with the batter. At 2 and 1, Lexie’s pitch got passed Hylah and the runner stole her way into scoring position. Lexie continued to battle with the batter until the count was full. A ball on Lexie’s next pitch put D-LITE runners on 1st and 3rd. The 4th batter took a swing on Lexie’s 1st pitch for a strike and the runner on 1st stole 2nd. With D-LITE runners now on 2nd and 3rd, the batter got a hit on Lexie’s next pitch. The ball rolled through the BLUR infield toward short stop and the D-LITE runners took off. Kas picked up the grounder and threw to 1st for the 2nd out, but D-LITES brought 1 run home to get on the board. Lexie got back to work. Lexie split the 1st 2 pitches with the next batter. Lexie lost control of her pitch again and hit the D-LITE batter, giving her 1st base on a walk. With runners on 1st and 3rd, the 6th D-LITE batter connected on the 1st pitch, sending it Kas’s way again. Kas got her glove down and collected the ball, but from her position on the infield, made an awkward throw to Natalie that didn’t quite reach. Natalie stretched to make the catch, but dropped it and the runner made it on base and brought another run in for D-LITES. The 7th D-LITE batter came to the plate. Lexie threw high on the 1st pitch and the batter fouled one off to bring the count to 1 and 1. A passed ball on the next pitch moved the count to 2 and 1 and Lexie had to quickly cover home to prevent the runner on 3rd from coming in. Throwing balls on the next 2 pitches, Lexie walked the batter and loaded the bases. Lexie seemed to find her groove again as she threw 2 strike pitches in a row, including one that the 8th D-LITE batter tried to hit, but missed. On the next pitch, the batter tried again and connected, driving the ball to the BLUR outfield. The BLUR defense was caught napping as the ball hit the ground in the grass in the middle of 3 BLUR defenders and 2 runs scored as the batter got a single. The 9th D-LITE batter came out swinging. She fouled off Lexie’s 1st pitch for strike 1. Lexie missed on the next 2 pitches, but a swing and a miss brought the count to 2 and 2. The next pitch missed the mark for full count. Then, Lexie took a deep breath, relaxed and threw her next pitch right down the middle. The batter read the strike and took a swing. She missed the ball and struck out, but the damage was done as the D-LITES took a comfortable lead early in the game.

BLUR 0 – D-LITES 4

2nd Inning
Natalie was up to start things off in the 2nd. She took a swing on the D-LITE pitcher’s 1st pitch for a strike. On the 2nd pitch, Natalie got a piece of it and sent a low fly ball over the infield. The D-LITE’s short stop was able to bat the ball down with her glove to hold Natalie to a single. Anna was up next. The 1st pitch got past the D-LITE catcher and Natalie quickly stole 2nd. Anna held her bat out for a bunt on the next pitch for a strike, but Natalie was able to make it to 3rd on a steal. The D-LITE pitcher missed on her next 2 pitches, but, on the next pitch, Anna took a swing and fouled the ball off to bring up full count. The next pitch came in a bit low and Anna held her bat, but the umpire ruled it a strike and Anna struck out. Olivia was up next. The pitcher’s 1st pitch went high and the other went low, as she overcorrected. Olivia tried to swing on the next pitch, but missed to bring up 2 and 1. After another ball pitch moved the count to 3 and 1, Olivia got a piece of the next pitch and sent a fast grounder down the 3rd base line. On contact, Natalie took off like a shot for home. The D-LITE 3rd baseman charged the ball. Coming up with the ball, the 3rd baseman realized that it was too late to get Natalie out at home and opted to let her score in order to go for the out on Olivia. The 3rd baseman turned, fired the ball and connected with the 1st baseman just before Olivia hit the bag to secure the 2nd out of the inning. Kas came to the plate to take her turn at bat. Kas took a swing on the 1st pitch and tipped it foul for strike 1. The next pitch came in low to even up the count. Kas tried to connect on the next pitch, but missed it to add another strike to the count. Then, the D-LITE pitcher fired on in. Kas connected and sent a fast grounder through the D-LITE infield on the 3rd base side. The D-LITE short stop rushed in to collect the ball. She made a hard throw to 1st and the 1st baseman secured the ball for the 3rd out on Kas.

With BLUR only able to put 1 point on the board, the D-LITES were looking like a tougher test than originally anticipated. Natalie was brought in to pitch in the 2nd to give the D-LITES a different look. The 1st D-LITE batter fouled off Natalie’s 1st pitch on a bunt attempt. Natalie’s next 2 pitches were high. On the next pitch, Natalie fired one in to Hylah’s glove and the batter took a swing and missed to even up the count at 2 and 2. The batter didn’t want to go down without a fight and got ready for Natalie’s next pitch. Natalie fired another heater toward the batter. The batter saw the strike and released her bat. The ball flew just over her swing and Natalie got the strikeout on the 1st batter. Natalie battled with the next batter until the count reached 2 and 2. On the next pitch, the batter connected and sent the grounder through the infield on the 1st base side. Anna, playing 2nd for the 1st time in the season, couldn’t quite get to the ball and it got past her and the runner was safe at 1st. The next D-LITE batter came out swinging. She fouled off Natalie’s 1st pitch. Then, a passed ball on the next pitch evened up the count and allowed the D-LITE runner to steal 2nd. The batter fouled off Natalie’s next pitch on the swing and got behind in the count. On Natalie’s next pitch, the batter made contact and popped the ball high up above the BLUR infield. 3 BLUR defenders converged on the dropping ball. No one called for it and all of them backed off at the same time and the ball hit the ground in foul territory giving the batter a single on the play. The 4th batter of the inning was up next. Natalie’s 1st pitch hit the ground and the runner on 2nd stole 3rd. Hylah threw the ball to Janessa to try for the out, but the ball got there a hair too late and the runner was safe. On the next pitch, the batter connected and sent the ball into the BLUR outfield for a single, bringing home 1 run for the D-LITES. With the 5th batter at the plate and runners on 1st and 2nd, Natalie threw high on her 1st 2 pitches. The next pitch hit the mark, but the one after that was high again and the count reached 3 and 1. On the next pitch, the batter took a swing and connected. The ball was headed out to right field, but Anna was able to scramble to make the catch on the fly for the 2nd out. The runners were caught off base. Anna attempted the double play at 2nd, but overthrew the ball and the runner on 2nd flipped around and ran for it as BLUR rushed to collect the ball in the outfield. The outfielder threw the ball home, but the runner was able to beat the ball to the plate to add another run to D-LITES’ growing lead. Natalie started to struggle and walks on the next 2 D-LITE batters loaded the bases. With the 8th D-LITE batter at the plate, Natalie quickly regained her strike and got one over the plate. On the next pitch, the batter took a swing and connected. On the bounce, Natalie reeled it in and, with plenty of time, Natalie turned and threw the ball to 1st for the 3rd out.

BLUR 1 – D-LITES 6

3rd Inning
With the D-LITES’ lead and confidence growing, there was still a lot of time left in the game. BLUR was still trying to find a way to get back in the game as Jahlan started us off in the 3rd. The D-LITE pitcher struggled to find her pitch against Jahlan. After reaching a 3 and 1 count, the pitcher walked Jahlan and BLUR was on base. Nikki was up next. The pitcher continued to struggle. The D-LITE pitcher only managed 1 strike in 4 pitches. Her last pitch was a ball and Jahlan successfully stole 2nd. With the count at 3 and 1, Nikki took a swing at a high pitch and connected. Unfortunately, she sent the ball straight back to the pitcher on a line drive and, on the fly, the pitcher was able to make the catch for the 1st out. Jessica was up next. Jessica split the difference with the pitcher on the 1st 2 pitches. On the next pitch, Jessica took a swing and connected, sending the ball bouncing up the middle of the D-LITES’ infield. On the bounce, the pitcher moved in and caught the ball. She turned and threw the ball to 1st. The D-LITE 1st baseman was able to make the catch just before Jessica stepped on the bag, to get the 2nd out on Jessica. Janessa came to the plate as, potentially, BLUR’s last chance batter of the inning. The D-LITE pitcher’s 1st pitch was low and inside for a ball. The next pitch was high for ball 2. Janessa held her bat on the next pitch, but the ball found its mark and the count was at 2 and 1. Janessa took a swing at the next pitch and fouled it off, evening up the count. The D-LITE pitcher, knowing that the next pitch could close out the 3rd for the BLUR offense, got back to the rubber and prepared for her next pitch. Janessa got herself ready. The pitcher stepped forward and threw the ball hard and straight. Janessa read the strike. Misjudging the speed, Janessa took a cut, but the bat was just ahead of the ball and Janessa struck out.

Still struggling to find an opening in the game, BLUR tapped Hylah to pitch in the 3rd. Hylah started off slowly against the 1st batter. She struggled to find her strike, but couldn't get one over and, after 4 pitches, the 1st batter got on base with a walk. Hylah continued to struggle against the 2nd D-LITE batter and, once again, in 4 pitches, she walked the 2nd batter, putting runners on 1st and 2nd. The next D-LITE batter came to the plate and she was eager to get a hit. The batter took a swing at Hylah's 1st pitch and missed for strike 1. Energized by her 1st strike, Hylah got the next one over as the batter held her bat and scored the 2nd strike. A passed ball allowed the runner on 2nd to get herself to 3rd on a steal. And, another 2 pitches missed the strike zone to bring up full count. Playing the odds, the batter held her bat on Hylah's next pitch, but Hylah found the strike again and got it past the D-LITE batter, striking her out. Riding the wave, Hylah got back to work against the next batter. Hylah's 1st pitch missed, but after the 1st one, every pitch was on target and Hylah notched a 2nd strikeout in a row. Hylah started to cool off against the next D-LITE batter. Once again, Hylah couldn't find the strike and a walk on the batter loaded the bases. With a new batter in the box, Hylah shook off her previous pitches and found the strike. Unfortunately, the batter was ready and took a swing. She connected with the ball and sent a fast grounder through the BLUR infield on the 1st base side. Katelyn moved in to collect the ball, but the ball rolled to a stop and Katelyn had to adjust to reel it in. Katelyn scooped up the ball and threw it to 1st, but the ball arrived too late and the runner was safe as 1 D-LITE runner crossed home, increasing the D-LITES' lead to 6 points. The next batter was up. Hylah refocused and found her groove quickly. She threw a strike on the 1st pitch and got ahead. On the next pitch, Hylah found the strike again, but the batter took a cut and fouled it off. A ball on the next pitch brought the count to 1 and 2. Then the batter foul tipped the next pitch to stay alive. 2 more missed pitches by Hylah brought up full count. It was do or die for Hylah against the batter. Hylah collected herself and tried to throw her best pitch to get the batter out of there, but the batter had other plans. As soon as she saw the strike, the batter released her swing and connected, driving the ball into the BLUR outfield. With the bases loaded, a hush fell over the crowd as it looked like the ball would hit the grass. Rachel, from her position at right center, zeroed in on the ball and moved in to get under it. She opened up her glove on the run and at the last moment brought it up above her head and made the catch for the 3rd out of the inning.

BLUR 1 – D-LITES 7

4th Inning
With the clock ticking on the game and BLUR trailing by 6 points, things looked bad for the BLUR offense as they had yet to show up for this game. They were trying their hardest, but the D-LITES defense was stifling them successfully up to this point. The BLUR offense needed to find some kind of opening if they were going to get back in this game. Back at the top of the lineup, Rachel came to the plate 1st. The 1st pitch on Rachel missed for ball 1. On the next pitch, the pitcher lost control of the ball and hit Rachel. After a moment to recover, Rachel took 1st base. Katelyn was up next. The 1st pitch was low and outside for ball 1. The catcher dropped the ball and Rachel took off and successfully stole 2nd. On the next pitch, the pitcher lost control again and hit Katelyn, giving her 1st base. Lexie was up next and the pitcher continued to struggle. On 4 consecutive pitches, Lexie got on base with a walk and the bases were loaded. Was this the opportunity BLUR had been waiting for? Since the pitcher was visibly struggling, it was time to make her work for every strike as Hylah took her turn at bat. The 1st pitch went high. A passed ball on the next pitch got away from the catcher and Rachel made a run for home. The D-LITES defense rushed to gain control of the ball to get the out on Rachel, but Rachel stepped on the plate before the catcher could get there and scored. When the dust settled, the pitcher got back into position. Hylah continued to hold her bat as the pitcher continued to struggle. A walk on Hylah reloaded the bases for BLUR. Natalie was up next. Natalie held her bat and, on 4 pitches, she took a walk, keeping the bases loaded and bringing Katelyn home. Anna was up next. The pitcher managed to gain full count, but Anna held her ground and the D-LITE pitcher's last pitch missed and Anna walked, bringing Lexie home. Olivia was up next. Continuing to let the pitcher give up runs, Olivia held her bat as well. The pitcher managed full count again, but a walk on Olivia kept the bases loaded and brought Hylah across the plate. Kas was up next and it was more of the same. A walk brought Natalie across and kept the bases loaded. Jahlan was next and a walk brought Anna in to tie up the game. The D-LITES were forced to bring in a new pitcher. Nikki was up. The new pitcher had to warm up quickly. She couldn't find her strike and a walk on Nikki brought Olivia in and put BLUR in the lead for the 1st time in the game. Jessica was up next. The 1st pitch on Jessica was ruled a ball. Then, the pitcher strung to pitches together to bring the count on Jessica to 1 and 2. Jessica was forced to protect if she wanted to keep BLUR's momentum. Jessica fouled the next pitch off and stayed alive. She took a swing at the next pitch and missed, striking out and giving up the 1st out of the inning. Janessa was up next. The 1st pitch was high for ball 1. The pitcher found her strike again and evened up the count. The next pitch got loose and Janessa had to duck to get out of the way. Unfortunately, she left the bat out and the ball hit it and went into foul territory for strike 2. On the next pitch, Janessa connected and sent a grounder through the infield. The D-LITE 2nd baseman made the stop and when she turned to throw to 1st, Kas took off for home and scored. The ball reached 1st before Janessa and the D-LITES got the 2nd out of the inning. Having gone through the lineup, Rachel was back at the plate for the 2nd time in the inning. The pitcher got to full count. Then her last pitch got past the catcher, walking Rachel. As the D-LITES tried to retrieve the ball, Jahlan took a shot at home and scored as Nikki, right behind her made it to 3rd. Katelyn was up next. She took a swing on the 1st pitch and missed for strike 1. On the next pitch, Katelyn connected and sent the ball toward the D-LITES' 2nd baseman. The defender was able to make the stop and threw the ball to 1st for the 3rd out of the inning.

Lexie was back at the rubber in the 4th. Lexie threw a strike on her 1st pitch. The D-LITE batter, knowing that the D-LITES needed a comeback, took a swing and fouled the 1st pitch off. Lexie cooled off a bit and threw balls on her next 3 pitches, but followed them up with a strike to fill up the count. The batter took a swing at Lexie's next pitch and sent a grounder up the middle of the infield. Lexie grabbed the ball and threw it to Natalie at 1st for the 1st out of the inning. Lexie got the 2nd batter to swing at the 1st pitch and got it past her for strike 1. Lexie's next pitch went low to even up the count at 1 and 1. The batter fouled off Lexie's next pitch and a ball on the pitch after that brought the count to 2 and 2. Lexie dug deep for her next pitch and fired one in with authority. The batter saw the strike and let her bat go. The bat missed and Hylah caught the ball for the 2nd out. The 3rd D-LITE batter came to the plate. Lexie's 1st pitch came in low. The batter fouled off Lexie's next toss to even up the count. The next pitch came in too high, bringing the count to 2 and 1. Then, the batter fouled another pitch off to bring the count to 2 and 2. Sensing that her chance to make something happen in the inning was coming to an end, the D-LITE batter took a swing at Lexie's next pitch. Lexie drove the pitch in and threaded the needle to get the strikeout on the 3rd D-LITE batter to preserve the newfound BLUR lead.

BLUR 10 – D-LITES 7

5th Inning
It looked like the tables were turned late in the game, but, with a little time left on the clock, the umpire called a start to what would be the final inning of the game. BLUR had to preserve their lead in this inning if they were going to take home their 2nd win of the season. Lexie was up 1st to lead BLUR off in the 5th. Fighting against the D-LITE pitcher, Lexie inched her way to full count. The next pitch missed the target and Lexie got on base. Hylah was up next. The D-LITE pitcher started to struggle. Her 1st pitch on Hylah went high and Lexie stole 2nd base. The pitcher’s next 2 pitches were outside as well and on the 3rd pitch, Lexie took off for 3rd. The catcher got up to attempt the throwdown, but Lexie beat the ball to the bag and was safe. A ball on the next pitch walked Hylah and put BLUR runners on 1st and 3rd. Next up was Natalie. Again, the pitcher continued to struggle and her 1st pitch got past the catcher. On the ball pitch, Hylah took off for 2nd and, with Natalie on 3rd, the D-LITE catcher let her have it. The pitcher was able to get a strike across the plate on Natalie, but with 3 ball pitches in the mix, Natalie walked and loaded the bases. Anna was up next and she came out swinging aggressively. On the 1st pitch, Anna took a cut and connected, sending the ball bouncing down the middle of the infield. Anna took off for 1st and the runners were on the move. On the bounce, the D-LITE pitcher got a hold of the ball and, displaying good situational awareness, decided to go after our lead runner. She made the quick toss to the catcher standing at the plate and got the out on Lexie to prevent the score. Olivia was up next. She split the difference on the 1st 2 pitches with the D-LITE pitcher. On the 3rd pitch, Olivia took a swing and hit a low fly ball over the D-LITES’ infield. The short stop, moved in and made the catch on the fly for the out on Olivia. Hylah, not paying attention to the ball and anxious to score, left from her lead off position and gunned it for home, failing to tag up. Quickly, the short stop flipped the ball to 3rd base to get the out on Hylah as she stepped on home plate.

With D-LITES at home and regulation time expired, they got one last chance to attempt a comeback. Natalie was tapped to close the show for BLUR. Natalie threw high on the 1st pitch. She followed it up with a strike as the 1st D-LITE batter held her bat. Natalie threw another strike, but this time the batter took a swing and fouled it off to bring the count to 1 and 2. On the next pitch, the batter got a hit and sent a grounder through the BLUR infield on the 3rd base side. Kas charged and scooped up the ball. She came up and threw the ball to Lexie at 1st. The ball came in high and Lexie had to jump to make the catch. She came down on 1st base and landed just as the runner was crossing the bag and the umpire ruled it an out. The next D-LITE batter came to the plate. Natalie traded with the batter on the 1st 2 pitches. Then, the batter got a piece of the next pitch and drove it out into the BLUR outfield for a single. The next batter came up and, after battling with Natalie to reach a count of 2 and 2, she also got a piece of the ball and sent the ball out into the BLUR outfield for another single. With runners on 1st and 2nd, the 4th batter came up to the plate. Natalie’s 1st pitch was a ball and the runner on 2nd stole 3rd to get into scoring position. Natalie’s next pitch was a ball again. This time, the runner on 1st advanced to 2nd on a steal. After reaching full count, the batter stayed alive by fouling off Natalie’s next pitch. Motivated by the contact, the batter took a swing on Natalie’s next pitch, but missed and struck out for the 2nd out of the inning. The 5th D-LITE batter came to the plate. After alternating between balls and strikes on the 1st 3 pitches, the batter took a swing and hit the ball. She sent it rolling through the infield toward 3rd base. With 2 outs, the runners were on the move. Janessa moved in to pick up the rolling ball, but when she came up with it, she wasn’t sure where to go and in the confusion, all the D-LITE runners were able to advance safely and 1 run reached home. With the tying runs on base and 2 outs, the 6th batter came to the plate to face-off against Natalie. Natalie started off strong with a 1st strike pitch, but lost her rhythm on her next 3 to bring the count to 3 and 1. On the next pitch, the batter hit the ball and sent a grounder down the 1st base side of the BLUR infield. Lexie charged the ball and picked it up. Then she ran back to 1st to get the 3rd out and ended the game.

Final Score
BLUR 10 – D-LITES 8

Game Ball
BLUR came out on top in the game. It wasn’t a pretty win, but it did mark 2 in a row for BLUR in the season. There wasn’t a lot of offense generated by BLUR in the game other than a couple of steals from 3rd. The win came primarily by allowing the struggling D-LITE pitchers to walk our batters in. It was the opportunity the BLUR needed to take home the W. With that said, there weren’t any big offensive plays to speak of. There were some great defensive plays: a few strikeouts by our pitchers and a couple of clutch catches in the outfield by Rachel. But, there has been 1 person throughout the season who has always displayed a positive attitude and always represented BLUR well on and off the field. Even when bad things happened, she always had a big smile on her face. So, for that, Nikki was awarded the game ball! Great job Nikki!

Saturday - May 8, 2pm vs. SMASHING PANDAS

Arriving at the fields for this, our 9th game of the season, BLUR was still shut out so far in 2010. BLUR put on some good performances so far, but the win continued to elude them. BLUR’s best performances were, surprisingly, the Saturday, 9am games, which comprised most of our Saturday’s this season. This game was not one of those. So, it left a big question mark as to which version of the BLUR team would show up to face the SMASHING PANDAS for the 2nd and last time in the regular season. Our last game against the PANDAS was a very tight game, hopefully BLUR could, at the very least, put on a similar performance and, at best, turn things around and shock the PANDAS with the first BLUR victory of the season. The umpire called a start to the game and, since BLUR was the home team this time around, the PANDAS’ offense was up first.

1st Inning
Natalie was in to pitch, leading the BLUR charge in the 1st. Getting warmed up, Natalie alternated between strikes and balls to bring the count to 2 and 1 on the 1st batter. The batter took a swing on Natalie's next pitch and missed, evening up the count at 2 and 2. Another ball brought up full count. Then the batter stayed alive by fouling the next pitch off. On the next pitch, the batter connected and the ball took a hard bounce on the dirt. The ball bounced back up and hit the batter on the run and the umpire called it a foul ball. Everyone reset. On the next pitch, Natalie burned one into Hylah's glove behind the plate and caught the batter holding the bat for a strikeout. The next PANDA batter was up. Repeating her performance on the last batter, Natalie alternated strikes and balls until the count was at 2 and 2. Then, like clockwork, the batter fouled the next pitch off to stay alive. Focusing again on Hylah's glove, Natalie let the next pitch loose. This time the batter took a swing, but missed for the 2nd strikeout in a row. The next PANDA batter came to the plate and seeing that Natalie was trying to pitch a perfect inning, tried her best not to let it happen. After strike 1 on Natalie's 1st pitch, the batter connected and sent the ball into foul territory behind 1st base for strike 2. The batter went after the next pitch and fouled it off to stay alive. Then Natalie threw the heat and got it by the batter for 3 strikeouts in a row.

Leading BLUR off in the 1st, Rachel came to the plate. The 1st pitch on Rachel came in high and she held her bat for ball 1. Rachel took a swing on the next pitch and fouled it off, evening up the count. On the next pitch, Rachel connected and sent the ball low over the middle of the infield. The PANDA pitcher reached out her glove and caught the ball for the 1st out. Katelyn was up next. Checking her swing on the 1st pitch, Katelyn prevented giving the 1st strike to the PANDA pitcher. However, she tried to swing at the pitcher's next 2 pitches and both were just off of the end of her bat. Katelyn held her bat on the next pitch and evened up the count at 2 and 2. On the next pitch, Katelyn read the strike and tried to get it, but, once again, the ball was just out of reach and Katelyn struck out for the 2nd out of the inning. Lexie was up next. Lexie came out swinging to try to make something happen for BLUR in the 1st inning. She took a swing at the 1st pitch, but her timing was a bit off and she missed the ball for strike 1. The pitcher's next pitch hit the ground. The next pitch came in high, bringing up 2 and 1. On the next pitch, Lexie connected and sent the ball rolling down the 3rd base line. The PANDA 3rd baseman got in front of it and scooped the ball up. She came up firing and connected with 1st base to get the out on Lexie and the 1st inning was in the books.

SMASHING PANDAS 0 – BLUR 0

2nd Inning
Natalie was back in to pitch in the 2nd. After splitting the difference on the 1st 2 pitches, the 1st PANDA batter hit the ball and sent the ball rolling hard through the infield and past 3rd base into the grass for a single. With a runner on base for the 1st time in the game, the PANDAS started to get their offense moving. Holding out her bat on a bunt and taking a strike on Natalie's 1st pitch, the 2nd batter bought time for the runner to steal 2nd. The batter took a swing on the next pitch and connected. On the bounce, Natalie was able to reel it in. She turned and threw the ball to Jahlan, but the ball came in a bit high and bounced out of Jahlan's glove and got away from her. The runner made it to 2nd on the play and brought in 1 run for the PANDAS. Trying to shake the last play off, Natalie took 3 pitches on the next batter before finding her strike. Once she found it, she wouldn't let it go. On the next pitch, the batter took a swing and missed and the count was at 2 and 2. Natalie brought the heat again and got her next pitch past the swinging batter for the strikeout. The next PANDA batter came to the plate. After trading on the 1st 2 pitches, the count was at 1 and 1. On the next pitch the batter took a swing and, again, the ball rolled through the infield into the grass. Olivia, playing left field, charged the ball and picked it up as the runner turned the corner at 3rd. Olivia threw the ball to Kas, playing short stop and Kas relayed the ball to Hylah at catcher. Hylah caught the ball before the runner reached the plate and got the 2nd out on the lead PANDA runner, preventing the score. With a runner on 2nd, Natalie's 1st pitch on the 5th PANDA batter of the inning went high and got past Hylah and the runner stole 3rd. After the count reached 3 and 1, the batter hit the ball, but it took a weird bounce and stopped a few feet in front of home plate. Scrambling for the ball, Hylah moved to pick up the ball as the runner on 3rd saw an opening and went for it. As the runner approached, Hylah fumbled with the ball and finally got it under control. The runner was moving past as Hylah turned to try to race her back to the plate. Trying to reach out for the tag, Hylah got off balance and fell on the dirt and the runner made it home. With a PANDA runner on 1st, Natalie's pitch went high and the runner stole 2nd. Natalie struggled to find her groove on the batter and after reaching full count, a walk on the batter put runners on 1st and 2nd. The 7th PANDA batter came to the plate. Natalie got the 1st pitch past her for strike 1. Natalie's 2nd pitch got the batter to swing, but the ball got past Hylah and the runners stole their way into scoring position. A ball on the next pitch brought the count to 1 and 2. The batter took a swing on the next pitch and connected, popping the ball high up over the infield. Janessa moved under the ball and caught it for the 3rd out.

Hylah was up 1st in the 2nd inning. The pitcher seemed like she wanted to play keep away with Hylah as her 1st 3 pitches missed their target. Finally, 1 pitch got through to bring up 3 and 1. Hylah took a swing on the next pitch, but missed and filled up the count. Hylah connected on the next pitch and the ball bounced hard over the charging PANDA 2nd baseman and into the grass for a single. Natalie was up next. She took a swing on the 1st pitch, but missed for strike 1. The pitcher threw high to even up the count at 1 and 1. Unfazed, Natalie took a swing at the next pitch and fouled it off. Then, the next pitch hit the ground and got past the catcher and Hylah was able to steal 2nd. On the next pitch, Natalie took a hard swing and sent the ball for a ride into the PANDA outfield. The ball hit the grass and the PANDAS had to scramble to get the ball back to the infield. Hylah hit 3rd and took off for home. The PANDA defense tried to go for the out, but the ball came in too high and Hylah scored. Anna was up next. Anna was charged and she wanted to keep the BLUR offense moving. She took a swing on the 1st pitch and missed for strike 1. She fouled off the next 2 pitches to stay alive with the count at 0 and 2. Watching the pitcher's release, Natalie took off for 2nd and Anna tried her best to connect. Unfortunately, Anna missed and struck out. Olivia was up next. On the 1st pitch, Olivia was hit in the ankle and took a walk. Kas took her turn at bat. She tipped the 1st pitch for strike 1. Kas connected on the next pitch and sent the ball through the 3rd base side of the field. The PANDA short stop came up with the ball, but didn't know where to throw it, which gave BLUR enough time to advance safely and load the bases. Jahlan was up next. The PANDA pitcher struggled to find her strike and Jahlan, having swung on one of her pitches for a strike, eventually walked and brought Natalie home to tie up the game. Nikki came to the plate to see what she could do. The pitcher threw her 1st pitch with bad intentions and got the 1st strike. Her next 2 pitches missed and Nikki got ahead quickly. But almost on cue, the pitcher found the strike again to even up the count. The next pitch came in high, but the umpire called it a strike and Nikki was sent back to the dugout empty handed. The pitcher started to struggle again when Jessica came to the plate. With 1 strike in the mix, a walk on Jessica brought Olivia across the plate to put BLUR in the lead. Janessa came to the plate swinging and got a hit on the 1st pitch. She sent the ball into the PANDA outfield and Kas scored. With the ball on its way back in, BLUR rolled the dice and tried to get Jahlan home. Unfortunately, the ball reached the plate 1st and the PANDAS were able to get the 3rd out on BLUR at home.

SMASHING PANDAS 2 – BLUR 4

3rd Inning
Lexie made her 1st appearance at the rubber in the 3rd inning. With BLUR taking the lead in the last inning, it was up to Lexie to keep BLUR in control of the game as she prepared for the 1st PANDA batter to come to bat. Warming up on the 1st batter, Lexie took a minute to find her strike, but after 1 strike on the 3rd pitch, she couldn’t win the ex change and the 1st batter got on base with a walk. The next PANDA batter came to the plate. After holding her bat on the 1st pitch for a strike, the batter took a swing on the next pitch and missed, bringing up strike 2. Lexie’s next pitch came in a bit too high and the PANDA runner stole 2nd. Another high pitch evened up the count. Then, another ball pitch brought up full count. One more ball pitch came through and walked the PANDA batter. On the pitch the runner on 2nd tried to steal 3rd, but Kas, now playing catcher, threw the ball to Janessa, who quickly walked the runner back to her original base. Finding her groove on the next batter, Lexie threw a strike on her 1st pitch. The batter fouled off the next one to bring up strike 2. Then, Lexie brought the heat and delivered the ball right to Kas’s glove for the strikeout. The next batter came to the plate swinging. She fouled off Lexie’s 1st 2 pitches, then, held her bat for the 1st ball in the exchange. She stayed alive on foul balls until the count reached 2 and 2. On the next pitch, the PANDA managed to get a piece of the ball and sent it over the infield. The ball hit the ground between 3 BLUR defenders just past the grass line for a single and the bases were loaded. After throwing a strike on her 1st pitch, Lexie threw another one in quick succession. This time, the batter was ready and swung her bat. The batter connected, but the ball popped up over the infield. Natalie, playing short stop for the inning ran all the way across the field to make the catch for the 2nd out. Natalie turned to 1st to try to get a double play as the runners were caught off base, but 1st was left uncovered and the follow-up play wasn’t in the cards. A walk on the next batter kept the bases loaded and brought 1 PANDA runner home. Lexie turned her attention back to the plate as the 7th PANDA batter took her position. Lexie’s 1st pitch went low for a ball. On Lexie’s next pitch, the batter took a swing and connected, sending the ball down the 3rd base line. Janessa moved in quickly to scoop up the grounder. She backpedaled to 3rd to get the force out and retired the side with the PANDAS closing the gap by 1 point.

Back at the top of the BLUR lineup, Rachel came to the plate to lead us off in the 3rd. Rachel fouled off the 1st pitch for strike 1. The next pitch came in too high and the count evened up. Rachel connected on the next pitch and sent the ball tearing through the 1st base side of the PANDA infield as she took off at full speed for 1st base. The PANDA 2nd baseman had to react quickly to make the play and she dove for the ball. Getting the stop, the 2nd baseman got off the ground in time to flip the ball to the 1st baseman and got the 1st out on Rachel. Swinging aggressively on the 1st 2 pitches, Katelyn missed and got behind in the count. Luckily, the PANDA pitcher started to struggle and couldn’t find her strike again. Katelyn got on base with a walk. Lexie was up next. The pitcher was still in the weeds. Lexie took a lunging swing at the 1st pitch for a strike, but the pitcher couldn’t build on it and eventually gave Lexie 1st base on a walk. With runners on 1st and 2nd, Hylah was up next. Not wanting to risk the big play, it was clear that the PANDA pitcher wasn’t going to give Hylah a good pitch. With the walk on Hylah, the bases were loaded for BLUR and Natalie was up next. On the 1st pitch, Natalie took a swing and connected, sending the ball into the PANDAS’ left field. The left fielder moved in and had to cover some distance, but she made it to the ball and caught it for the 2nd out. Anna was up next. The PANDA pitcher continued to struggle and a walk on Anna kept the bases loaded and brought Katelyn across the plate. Olivia was up next. In similar fashion, the pitcher walked Olivia and gave up another run as Lexie came home and kept the bases loaded. Kas was up next. The PANDA pitcher was more determined than ever to regain her strike. She threw hard on the 1st pitch against Kas, but the pitch was too high. Kas took a swing and missed the next pitch to even up the count. The pitcher gunned one past Kas and, this time, the strike was good. The PANDA pitcher saw her opportunity to shut down the BLUR rush in the 3rd and she focused on her next pitch. Kas was also ready for the next pitch. They looked at each other to see if they could figure each other out, but neither would easily give the other what they were looking for. The PANDA pitcher stepped to the rubber and Kas tightened her grip on her bat. Stepping forward to begin her pitching motion, the pitcher brought her arm around and threw the ball toward home plate. Kas saw that it was definitely a strike pitch. She stepped toward the pitcher to begin her swing and released the bat. The bat came around as the ball approached home. Just prior to contact, Kas’s swing dipped and allowed the ball to fly over the bat and reach the PANDA catcher’s glove for the strikeout and the end of the 3rd inning.

SMASHING PANDAS 3 – BLUR 6

4th Inning
With BLUR in the lead by 3 points, Lexie was back in to pitch. Lexie’s 1st pitch of the inning was high and inside for ball 1. The next pitch was equally high, but the umpire called it a strike, evening up the count at 1 and 1. Lexie traded with the PANDA batter on the next couple of pitches. Then the batter stayed alive on fouls until they reached full count. A ball on the next pitch walked the batter. The 2nd PANDA batter came to the plate. Lexie’s 1st pitch got past Kas and the runner stole 2nd. The next pitch was also low, but the batter took a swing for a strike as the PANDA runner on 2nd took off for 3rd. Kas got up to throw the ball to Janessa, playing 3rd, but the ball arrived a hair too late and the runner was safe. After reaching full count on the batter, Lexie threw high on the next pitch and gave the batter 1st base on a walk. With PANDA runners on 1st and 3rd, Lexie got back to work as the 3rd batter came to the plate. Throwing heat on her 1st pitch, Lexie got one through to Kas for strike 1. On the pitch, the runner advanced by stealing 2nd. The batter took a swing on the next pitch and missed for strike 2. Lexie missed the mark on the next pitch to bring the count to 1 and 2, but she managed to get the batter to swing and miss the next pitch for the strikeout and the 1st out of the inning. Lexie struggled and, after reaching full count, walked the next PANDA batter to load the bases. Lexie continued to struggle with the 5th PANDA batter and, again, after reaching full count, a ball on the next pitch kept the bases loaded and brought 1 PANDA runner across the plate. Trying to regain control, Lexie started off strong on the next batter and threw a strike on her 1st pitch. But, she battled with the batter until the count was full. This time, however, Lexie got the better of the exchange as she threw a strike on the next pitch, getting it by the batter for the strikeout and the 2nd of the inning. The 7th PANDA batter came to the plate and swung aggressively on Lexie’s 1st pitch. She connected, but popped the ball up over the BLUR infield. Hylah, playing 1st base moved under the ball to make the catch and the 3rd out, closing out the PANDAS’ offensive half.

Jahlan came to the plate to lead BLUR off in the 4th inning. Holding her bat on the 1st 2 pitches, Jahlan got ahead in the count early as the pitcher tried to locate the strike. On the next pitch, the pitcher found it, but Jahlan was ready and took a cut and connected. She sent the ball high over the PANDA infield as it drifted over the 3rd base side of the field. The PANDA short stop moved under the ball and made the catch for the 1st out of the inning. Nikki was up next. Splitting the 1st 2 pitches, Nikki took a swing on the next pitch, but missed. Luckily, the pitcher was off on the next pitch and the count evened up at 2 and 2. Nikki stayed alive on foul balls until she reached full count. A ball on the next pitch put Nikki on base with a walk. With a BLUR runner on 1st, Jessica was up to take her 2nd at bat in the game. The 1st pitch on Jessica came in low and she held her bat for 1 and 0. Jessica took a swing on the next pitch, but missed for 1 and 1. The next pitch came in hard and fast and Jessica, backed out of the box to avoid getting hit, but the umpire ruled it a strike. On the next pitch, a shaken Jessica held her bat, but the pitch was on target and Jessica struck out. Coming to the bottom of our lineup, Janessa was up next. The 1st pitch got past the catcher and Nikki successfully stole 2nd. The next pitch got past the catcher again and Nikki took off for 3rd. Recovering quickly, the catcher scooped up the ball and threw it to 3rd base. The PANDA 3rd baseman received the ball and turned just in time to get the tag on Nikki for the 3rd out, closing out the 4th inning and bringing out the PANDA offense.

SMASHING PANDAS 4 – BLUR 6

5th Inning
With the PANDAS trailing by 2, Natalie was in to pitch for the 2nd time in the game. Having cooled off, Natalie struggled to find her pitch on the 1st batter. After 3 missed pitches, Natalie finally found her strike to bring the count to 3 and 1. The batter fouled off the next pitch to fill up the count. On the next pitch, Natalie brought the heat and got the batter to swing for the strikeout. The 1st pitch on the 2nd PANDA batter of the inning, found its mark for a strike. On the next pitch, the batter connected, sending a grounder down the 3rd base side of the infield. Janessa moved in and scooped up the ball. She came up and made the connection to 1st for the 2nd out. Natalie got right back to work on the 3rd PANDA batter with a 1st strike pitch. Her next pitch went high and evened up the count. Then, on the next pitch, the batter connected and sent the ball deep into the BLUR outfield for a double. Natalie struggled on the next batter. Missing on all of her pitches, with the runner stealing 3rd on a passed ball, Natalie walked the batter and the SMASHING PANDAS had runners on 1st and 3rd. Natalie turned her attention to the plate to face the 5th PANDA batter of the inning. After splitting the1st 2 pitches, the batter connected on Natalie’s next pitch. On the bounce, Natalie rushed up to collect the ball. Checking 3rd, Natalie saw the runner take off for home with her head down. Natalie decided to go for the closer throw to Hylah at home as the runner approached. Hylah caught the ball and got the out on the lead runner to prevent the score, retiring the side.

Janessa was up to complete her interrupted at bat from the last inning. Janessa split the 1st 2 pitches with the PANDA pitcher. A foul ball on the next pitch and a ball on the pitch after that inched the count to 2 and 2. Then, Janessa stayed alive on fouls until the count was full. A ball on the next pitch put Janessa on 1st. Rachel was up next. After 3 missed pitches, Rachel was hit by the ball and took 2nd on a walk. With runners on 1st and 2nd, Katelyn was up next. Katelyn battled back and forth with the PANDA pitcher until the count reached 2 and 2. Katelyn took a swing on the next pitch and missed. Striking out, Katelyn was sent back to the BLUR dugout with the 1st out. Lexie was up next. The 1st pitch came in low, but the umpire called it a strike. Lexie fouled off the next pitch and brought up 0 and 2. Seeing that Lexie was swinging aggressively, the pitcher threw a change up on the next pitch. The pitch did its job as it caused Lexie to take a swing. With her timing thrown off, Lexie missed the pitch and struck out. Hylah was up next. Once again, it looked like the PANDA pitcher wasn’t going to let Hylah get involved in the inning as she threw a ball on her 1st pitch. Unexpectedly, the pitcher got one over for a strike, but, then continued feeding ball pitches to Hylah, trying to fake her out. With the count at 3 and 1, Hylah took a swing at the next pitch, but missed for full count. Then she fouled off the next pitch to stay alive. On the next pitch, Hylah tried for it and swung her bat. Unfortunately, she misjudged the speed and location of the ball and missed, striking out and closing out the 5th inning with BLUR in the lead by 2 points.

SMASHING PANDAS 4 – BLUR 6

6th Inning
With a 2 point lead and the clock ticking on the game, BLUR was poised to win their 1st game of the season. BLUR would have to play great defense to keep the lead as there wasn’t enough time in the game to start a 7th inning. Lexie was back at the rubber in the 6th. Struggling on the 1st PANDA batter, Lexie couldn’t find her strike and walked the batter. The PANDAS knew they needed to take the lead in the inning if they were going to take it away from BLUR. So, they started to run aggressively. On Lexie’s 1st pitch on the 2nd batter, the ball went high and the runner stole 2nd. Lexie’s next pitch was on target and the batter held her bat for strike 1. The next pitch got past Hylah for a ball and the runner stole 3rd. Lexie lost control of her next pitch and hit the batter, putting PANDA runners on 1st and 3rd. The 3rd batter came to the plate and showed bunt on Lexie’s 1st pitch. Drawing the strike, the batter held out her bat to buy the runner on 1st time to steal 2nd. On Lexie’s next pitch, the batter hit one down the 1st base side of the field. Natalie got in front of the ball, but on the way up, lost control and didn’t recover in time to make a play. The batter got a single and brought 1 run home, reducing BLUR’s lead to 1 point. With the pressure mounting, Lexie got back to the rubber and put her game face on. Throwing heat on her 1st 2 pitches, Lexie got ahead in the count early. Her next pitch was high and inside and brought up 1 and 2. With PANDA runners on 1st and 3rd, Lexie got the batter to swing and miss on the next pitch for the strikeout and the 1st out of the inning. When the next PANDA batter came to the plate, Lexie threw another 1st strike pitch to get ahead in the count. Lexie’s next pitch went high and the count evened up at 1 and 1. Lexie threw heat on her next pitch for a strike and the runner on 1st stole 2nd. Throwing heat on her next pitch, Lexie got the batter to swing and miss for the 2nd strikeout in a row. With 2 outs, and the PANDAS’ window of opportunity closing, BLUR was on their way to their 1st win of the 2010 season, but with the tying run on 3rd base and the winning run on 2nd, BLUR still had to close the show. Continuing her streak, Lexie got back to work on the batter. She threw her 1st pitch across the plate. The batter held her bat. Strike 1. Lexie got back to the rubber and set her feet. She started her motion, brought her arm around and released the pitch. The pitch was on target and the batter held her bat again, hoping for the ball to drift out of the strike zone. It did not. Strike 2. On the next pitch, the batter learned her lesson and didn’t want to go out without a fight. She took a swing and connected, sending a fast grounder through the BLUR infield. All the PANDA runners took off. Katelyn moved in and got the stop on the ball. She came up and flipped it to Natalie at 1st and got the 3rd out on the runner to end the game and score BLUR’s 1st victory of the season.

Final Score
SMASHING PANDAS 5 – BLUR 6

Game Ball
There was a lot of great play going around in this game. It was a team effort and it couldn’t have shown more in this game. There were a few key performances during the game. Natalie pitched a perfect inning early in the game, Lexie got a couple of key strikeouts in the 6th, and Hylah got a few crucial outs at home, just to name a few. But for getting the stop exactly when we needed it and making the connection at 1st that ended the game and gave BLUR their 1st win, the game ball was awarded to Katelyn. Great job Katelyn! And GO BLUR!!!