Coming into our 2nd game of the season, the BLUR girls wanted to shake off the effects of the last loss in their see-saw battle with INFERNO on Opening Day. We worked hard during our practice to fix some weaknesses that were exposed and build upon some of the things that worked. With the SMASHING PANDAS at home, BLUR had the first opportunity to get on the board. Now, it was time to see if our hard work paid off.
1st Inning
Rachel came to the plate to start us off in the game. The pitcher wasted no time and threw a pitch that caught Rachel off guard. Strike 1. On the 2nd pitch, Rachel took a swing and missed, then stayed alive with foul tips until, the pitcher got the better of Rachel on the next pitch and struck her out for the 1st out of the inning. Janessa was up next and on a bunt, Janessa caught the SMASHING PANDAS napping to get on base with a single. Lexie was next in line and on the 1st pitch, swung aggressively and made contact with the ball, crushing it to the outfield for a double. Hylah was up next. A low ball on the 1st pitch immediately put Hylah ahead in the count, but that didn’t matter as she swung her bat hard on the next pitch sending the ball deep into the SMASHING PANDA center field for a single, bringing both Janessa and Lexie home and putting BLUR on the board early in the game. Natalie was next at the plate. A foul tip and a swing on the 1st 2 pitches brought the count to 0 and 2 as Hylah stole 2nd. Then, Natalie made contact as well and sent a hard line drive toward the defending 1st baseman. The 1st baseman made a quick adjustment to stay in front of the ball, reached out her hand and caught it for the 2nd out of the inning. With Hylah still on 2nd, Kas made her way to the plate. After fouling out the 1st pitch, Kas also got a piece of the ball, sending the hard grounder through the SMASHING PANDA infield for a single, bringing Hylah home. Anna was up next and immediately got a hit, sending the ball through the PANDA infield as she headed for 1st. The short stop collected the ball and made the hard throw to 1st, beating Anna to the bag and getting the last out of the inning.
It was now the PANDAS’ turn to see if they had an answer to the BLUR’s initial rush. Natalie started BLUR off at the rubber. The 1st PANDA batter came to the plate to face off against Natalie. Natalie went high on the 1st pitch for a ball. On the next pitch, the batter took a swing and made contact, but sent a high fly ball toward 3rd. Janessa came off the bag to get under the ball and made the catch for the 1st out. Natalie struggled on the next batter and the batter got on base with a walk. On the next pitch, Natalie stopped her motion, resulting in an illegal pitch and the PANDA runner advanced to 2nd. Natalie shook it off and got back to work. On the next pitch, the batter bunted, sacrificing herself to advance the runner to 3rd. As the ball rolled in front of the pitcher’s circle, Natalie ran over to scoop it up and turned sharply toward first and connected with Lexie on the throw for the out. The next batter came out aggressively and took a swing on the 1st pitch that went foul for a strike. Then, she swung her bat at Natalie’s next pitch, sending a hard grounder on the 3rd base side of the field. Katelyn, playing short stop, charged the ball, but fumbled it as she tried to ready herself for the throw to 1st and the runner made it safely to 1st. The runner on 3rd took her chance as Katelyn tried to regain control of the ball and scored. With the PANDAS now on the board, the BLUR defense regrouped to get ready for the 5th PANDA batter of the inning. On the 1st pitch, the batter connected and sent the ball down the middle of the infield. On the bounce, Natalie reached out and grabbed the ball. Without missing a step, she threw the ball hard to Lexie, who made the catch to close out the 1st inning.
BLUR 3 – SMASHING PANDAS 1
2nd Inning
Katelyn started us off in the 2nd inning. The PANDA pitcher took a minute to find her stride as the 1st pitch went low and the 2nd went high. With the count at 2 and 0, the PANDA pitcher got one past Katelyn for a strike. Eventually, the count was at full when the pitcher finally lost the battle and Katelyn got on base with a walk. Up next was Destiny. Trying to build on the previous inning’s BLUR hits, Destiny took swings on the 1st 2 pitches, missing both. On the 2nd pitch, Katelyn tried to make it to 2nd, but an alert PANDA catcher wouldn’t let her have it. The catcher picked up the loose ball as the PANDA short stop moved in to cover 2nd. As Katelyn reached the half-way point, the catcher released the ball. The short stop moved in and received the throw and promptly got in front of Katelyn for the tag, putting her out. Then, the pitcher turned her attention back to Destiny. The next pitch went high for a ball. Then the PANDA pitcher got Destiny to swing at the next ball for the strikeout. Nikki was up next. The 1st pitch on Nikki was a bit high, but she still decided to take a swing, grazing the ball for a foul tip strike. Nikki made contact on the next pitch and sent a grounder through the infield. The 2nd baseman charged the ball, reeled it in and made the throw to 1st, getting the out on Nikki and retiring the side with no runs in the inning.
Natalie was back in to pitch. Riding the wave of the 1st inning, Natalie threw some heat and got the 1st pitch past the batter for a strike. The batter connected on the next pitch and sent the ball bouncing down the middle. Natalie easily moved in for the grab and threw it to Lexie who was in position at 1st to make the catch. After 2 balls on the next batter, Natalie found her pitch again and sent one straight into Hylah’s glove for a strike. With the count at 2 and 1, the batter threw out the bunt. Natalie was ready for it and she rushed the ball, scooping it up and, once again threw the ball to Lexie, who got the 2nd out on the runner. The next PANDA batter was up next. After an initial strike on a failed bunt attempt, Natalie lost the strike zone long enough to walk the batter, putting a PANDA runner on 1st. But Natalie found the zone quickly and threw a 1st strike pitch on the next batter as the runner, trying to make something happen, stole 2nd. Natalie got the batter to swing again on the next pitch for strike 2. After a couple of balls to bring the count to 2 and 2, Natalie zeroed in once again on Hylah’s glove. She brought her hands together and stepped forward for the pitch. The batter tightened up to get ready for the pitch. Natalie’s arm came around and released the ball. The batter stepped forward to initiate her swing and the bat came around to meet the ball in front of the plate. THUNK!! The ball reached Hylah’s glove as the batter came around with the swing. Strike 3! Natalie put on a great pitching performance to successfully keep the PANDAS at bay in the 2nd.
BLUR 3 – SMASHING PANDAS 1
3rd Inning
Jahlan started BLUR off in the 3rd. She took a swing on the first pitch, but foul tipped it for strike 1. A ball on the next pitch brought the count to 1 and 1. Then, on the next pitch, Jahlan tried again and this time send a hard grounder down the 3rd base line. The PANDA 3rd basement charged the ball and reeled it in. She stood up and made the throw to 1st, but Jahlan beat the ball to the bag and got on base. With Jahlan on 1st, Olivia was up next. The PANDA pitcher couldn’t find Olivia’s strike zone and walked her, but not before Jahlan was able to steal her way to 3rd. Rachel was next at bat. Still trying to find her pitch, the PANDA pitcher brought the count to 2 and 0. The pitcher battled back and brought the count to full. With her last pitch on this turn, Rachel decided to swing the bat and made contact. The ball went bouncing down the middle and the pitcher was able to get to the ball and made the throw to 1st. This time the ball got there 1st and Rachel was out. With BLUR runners now on 2nd and 3rd, Janessa took her turn at bat. She attempted a bunt and missed for a strike. Then, Janessa swung at the next one and missed for a 2nd strike. The pitcher managed to get the next pitch through to the catcher, striking Janessa out. Lexie was next at the plate. On the 1st pitch, Lexie took a cut and sent the ball into the PANDA outfield for a single and bringing Jahlan across the plate to extend the BLUR lead by 1. With BLUR runners on 1st and 3rd, Hylah was next. Swinging on the 1st pitch, Hylah made contact with the ball and sent a low fly ball toward the PANDA 2nd baseman. The ball hit the ground, but the 2nd baseman was able to pick up the ball and make the toss to 1st, getting the out on Hylah and moving the game into the 2nd half of the 3rd.
Putting on a great display of pitching on the day, Natalie was back in for the 3rd. Finding her pitch, Natalie’s 1st 2 pitches on the 1st batter went high, but quickly, Natalie got the PANDA batter swinging at 3 in a row to send the batter back to the PANDA dugout. The next batter came out a little more aggressively, and fought hard against Natalie, but stayed alive on foul balls. With the count at 1 and 2, the batter swung at the next pitch and got a hit. The ball dribbled down the middle. Quickly, Natalie got in front of it, picked it up and turned, flipping the ball to Lexie at 1st. The ball went high and Lexie had to jump for it. She made the fingertip catch and managed to tag the base for the 2nd out. The 3rd PANDA batter came to the plate. The 1st pitch went high for a ball. On the next pitch, the batter took a swing and grazed it, sending it into foul territory. Undeterred, the batter kept swinging, but kept fouling it out. With the count now at 1 and 2, the batter connected on the next pitch sending a low fly ball down the middle. Reacting quickly, Natalie got in front of it and reached out to make the grab for the out, closing the door on the 3rd inning.
BLUR 4 – SMASHING PANDAS 1
4th Inning
Leading BLUR off in the 4th was Natalie. After swinging on the 1st pitch for a strike, Natalie followed it up with a big hit to right field. She took the turn at 1st as PANDA right fielder ran to get the ball and made the throw to 2nd, but Natalie turned up the speed to claim 2nd just as the 2nd baseman caught the ball. Kas was next and on the 1st pitch, Natalie took 3rd on a steal. On the next pitch, Kas hit the ball into foul territory. With the count even at 1 and 1, Kas took a swing at the next pitch and sent the ball high toward the back of the infield. The PANDA short stop took a couple of steps backward to make the catch, getting the out on Kas. It was now Anna’s turn to take the plate. Swinging at the 1st 2 pitches, Anna missed the mark and brought up 2 strikes. A ball on the next pitch brought the count to 1 and 2. With a swing on the next pitch, Anna sent the ball on a short bounce in the dirt. The pitcher cleared the rubber to get to the ball, but Natalie took a hard step home to get her attention and the pitcher threw the ball home. Natalie turned back to 3rd and allowed Anna to get on base. Staying aggressive on 3rd base, Natalie started toying with the PANDA defense. The 1st pitch on Katelyn saw Natalie taking a nice aggressive lead at 3rd. The PANDA defense was set in motion and the catcher threw the ball quickly back to the pitcher. Trying for the pickoff play, the pitcher quickly turned to throw the ball to 3rd to catch Natalie off of the bag, but the ball went wide and got past the 3rd baseman. Natalie saw the opening and gunned it for home and put one more on the board for BLUR. The pitcher focused her attention back on Katelyn. With the fire lit, the pitcher threw aggressively and got Katelyn to swing on the next 3 pitches, striking her out. Destiny was up next and on a passed ball, Anna stole 3rd to put herself into scoring position. The PANDA pitcher wasn’t able to find Destiny’s strike zone and Destiny walked to get on base. With BLUR runners on 1st and 3rd, Nikki came out to take her position in the batter’s box. The pitcher managed to get the count to 1 and 2. Then a passed ball that rolled up the 3rd base side of the backstop opened up home plate. Anna went for it, but as soon as she took off, the catcher quickly recovered and raced Anna to the bag. Going step for step Anna almost had it when the catcher threw out her hands and tagged Anna hard, getting the 3rd out and knocking Anna to the ground.
Lexie was brought in to pitch in the 4th. The PANDAS were now fired up and knew they needed some runs to stay in the game. Swinging aggressively, the 1st batter took the 1st pitch and caught the BLUR defense off guard. She sent a hard grounder through 4 BLUR defenders who were working beautiful backup mechanics, unfortunately none could get a glove on it. BLUR was able to stop the ball in right field holding the runner at 1st. With the count at 1 and 0 after a low pitch, the 2nd batter laid down a perfect bunt. Reacting quickly, Lexie ran to scoop up the ball and made the throw to Natalie at 1st to get the out. The 3rd batter took a swing at Lexie’s 1st pitch sending another slow grounder down the 1st base side of the infield. Once again, Lexie quickly ran to the ball and connected with Natalie for the 2nd out in a row as the PANDA runner on base made her way to 3rd. The 4th batter laid down another perfect bunt on Lexie’s 1st pitch. It looked like a foul ball, but the umpire ruled it fair and the batter made it on with little BLUR resistance. The next batter came to the plate and on a high ball, the runner on 1st stole 2nd. On the next pitch, the batter made contact and sent the ball into the BLUR outfield for a single, bringing in both of the PANDA runners. As the ball was thrown back to Lexie, the runner on 1st left for 2nd. Attempting the throwdown, Lexie waited for Rachel to get in position and fired the ball. The ball got past Rachel and the runner made it around to 3rd. Riding their newfound momentum, the PANDAS were now focused on bringing their runners home. The 6th PANDA batter came to the plate and after an initial ball, she hit a hard grounder to Kas as short stop. Kas couldn’t get a handle on it as she picked up the ball and the runner made it safely to 1st as the other runner crossed home. After the 1st pitch went high on the next batter, Lexie threw what looked to be a strike pitch. The batter caught a piece of it and sent the ball down the 3rd base line. Janessa moved in to collect the ball, picked it up and threw to 1st. The ball went over Natalie’s glove and the runner made it safely to 1st, while the other PANDA runner made it to 3rd to, once again, threaten to score. The next batter had a see-saw battle with Lexie and with the count at 2 and 2, the batter connected with the ball and sent it up in the air. The BLUR defenders converged, but couldn’t make the catch and the ball hit the ground on the infield. The runner was able to reach 1st and the runner on 3rd made it home, eliminating the BLUR lead and tying the game. With PANDA runners on 1st and 2nd, the next batter laid down a bunt, but Hylah was ready for it and jumped up to collect the ball. Throwing to Natalie, the ball crossed the base path and Natalie lost it behind the runner. The runner made it to 1st and the bases were loaded. Bringing the count to 1 and 2 on the next batter, Lexie needed to throw 1 more strike to put this inning to bed. Digging deep, Lexie came around with the pitch and it was on target. The batter took a swing and connected sending the ball toward Janessa at 3rd. Janessa got in front of it and picked up the ball. Slowly backpedaling as the runner approached 3rd, Janessa managed to touch the bag with her foot to get the force out, preventing the score and moving the game into the 5th inning.
BLUR 5 – SMASHING PANDAS 5
5th Inning
With the ball game tied up and great defensive and offensive play on both sides of the ball, it was now anyone’s game. Nikki was 1st at bat in the inning. Nikki took a swing at the 1st pitch and missed for strike 1. She tried again on the 2nd pitch and connected. On the bounce, the pitcher grabbed the ball and easily beat Nikki to 1st with the throw, getting the 1st out. Jahlan was up next. The pitcher delivered her 1st pitch. Strike 1. Jahlan took a swing on the next one and missed. Strike 2. Holding the bat on the 3rd pitch. Strike 3! The pitcher sent Jahlan to the BLUR dugout empty handed. Olivia was next and took a swing on the 1st pitch. Olivia made good contact, but unfortunately the ball went straight down the 1st base line, right into the 1st baseman’s glove. She easily picked it up and strolled back to the bag, tagging it and getting the out on Olivia and quickly shut down BLUR’s offense in the 5th.
Lexie was back in to pitch in the 5th. Trying to answer the PANDAS’ last defensive stand, Lexie started throwing heat. Swing. Strike 1. Swing. Foul ball. Strike 2. On the next pitch, Lexie fired it in there catching the batter off guard as she held her bat. Strike 3. The batter was sent packing. The next batter came to the plate and Lexie stayed focused. No swing. Strike 1. Swing. Strike 2. And, once again, Lexie threw the heat and caught the batter napping. Strike 3. Two great strikeouts in a row. With Lexie throwing 6 straight strikes in a row, the next batter took a swing on the 1st pitch and connected. Lexie zeroed in on the ball but, on a funny bounce, missed the grab and the runner crossed 1st as she tried to reel it in. With her streak broken, Lexie threw high and wide respectively on the next 2 pitches, bringing the count on the next batter to 2 and 0. Now behind in the count, Lexie got a little more cautious in order to regain control, but wasn’t able to find her pitch and the batter got on base with a walk. With the count at 0 and 1 on the next batter and runners on 1st and 2nd, the PANDA runner on 1st attempted a steal on 2nd on the next pitch. Hylah caught the pitch and quickly got up to make the throw to Janessa at 3rd to get the out on the lead runner, however, the runner on 2nd missed the signal and held up on 2nd. As the runner coming in from 1st approached, she realized that she had to run, but cautiously left 2nd as she knew she would be put out by Janessa who was still holding the ball. The runner turned back to 2nd, but was caught since the base was now occupied. The runner now occupying 2nd decided to vacate the base and turn back when the umpire called a halt to the action and ruled that the base runner that started on 1st base executed an illegal steal, drawing the 3rd out and bringing the 5th inning to a close on a very confusing note.
BLUR 5 – SMASHING PANDAS 5
6th Inning
The game was still knotted up as the BLUR offense prepared to take their at bats. With plenty of time left on the clock, Rachel came to the plate to see what she could do as she led us off in the 6th. Swinging aggressively, Rachel tried to connect on the 1st pitch, but missed for strike 1. She tried again on the next pitch and fouled it out, bringing up strike 2. The PANDA pitcher lost it for a moment and threw 3 straight balls to bring the count to full. On the next pitch, Rachel took a swing and connected, sending the ball bouncing to 3rd. The 3rd baseman scooped it up and tried to beat Rachel to the bag with the throw. Rachel crossed 1st just as the 1st baseman made the catch. Safe. Janessa came to the plate and, just like Rachel before her, came out swinging. Foul tip on the 1st pitch drew the strike. A foul ball on the 2nd pitch brought up another. Once again, the pitcher lost her groove and threw 2 balls to bring the count to 2 and 2. Then, on the next pitch, Janessa hit one hard through the PANDA infield to the short stop who missed the stop and Janessa got on as Rachel made it to 2nd. BLUR was now poised to make another run as Lexie came to bat. Lexie following Rachel and Janessa’s lead, came out swinging too. A couple of foul balls brought the count to 0 and 2 and Lexie stayed alive with a couple more fouls on the next 2 pitches. The pitcher decided to literally change things up by throwing the change-up. The ball floated through the strike zone, catching Lexie by surprise for the strikeout. Hylah was up next. The pitcher missed the mark on the 1st 3 pitches to Hylah. Wanting to generate some movement, Hylah took matters in her own hands and swung at the next pitch and missed for the 1st strike in the count. She swung at the next pitch and made contact, sending it into foul territory and bringing up full count. A ball on the next pitch got Hylah on base. With the bases loaded, it was Natalie's turn at bat. Battling with the pitcher, Natalie inched her way to a count of 2 and 2. On the next pitch, Natalie took a swing and caught the ball in front of the plate, but the off-balance swing sent the ball dribbling down the middle of the field. The pitcher rushed forward and picked up the ball. Tossing the ball home, the PANDA defense took out Rachel, our lead runner at the plate, for the 2nd out, and prevented BLUR from getting ahead. With 2 outs and bases loaded, Kas took her position at the plate. Trying to make something happen, Kas took a swing at the 1st pitch and fouled it out. On the next pitch, she tried again, this time sending one through the infield toward the short stop. The PANDA short stop was able to reel it in and step over to 2nd base for the force out on Natalie, negating the BLUR run at home and bringing out the PANDA offense.
Lexie was back in to pitch. After a ball on the 1st pitch, the 1st batter took a swing and sent the ball dribbling back to Lexie. On the bounce, Lexie grabbed the ball and threw it to Natalie who had to come off 1st to make a lunging catch. Natalie dropped the ball, but staying with the play, Natalie quickly grabbed the ball and managed to swing her body around to touch the bag with her glove, salvaging the out at 1st in spectacular fashion. Lexie struggled against the next batter and eventually walked her, putting a PANDA runner on 1st. After the 1st pitch on the next batter, the runner on 1st stole 2nd on the throwback. Reacting quickly, Lexie threw the ball to Rachel as she moved in to cover 2nd, but the ball went high and got away from Rachel and the runner made it to 3rd on the overthrow. On the next pitch, the batter laid down a bunt and Lexie rushed to get the ball and cover home. Lexie picked it up and decided to throw it to Hylah at home to prevent the runner from scoring (not to mention the bad call from her coach as there were no PANDA runners behind 3rd base - Way to listen to your coach Lexie! BAD COACH! BAD COACH!). While battling with the next batter, the runner on 1st made her way to 2nd. On full count, Lexie's pitch was wide and the bases were loaded and the PANDAS were threatening to score. The next batter was up. On the 1st pitch, she took a swing for a strike. A ball on the next pitch got past Hylah and the runner on 3rd took a step, but Lexie rushed in to help Hylah out at home and the runner thought twice. Another swing brought up strike 2, but losing control on the next 2 pitches brought up full count. Lexie threw a perfect pitch, but the batter was ready and made contact sending the ball to Janessa, who quickly picked up the ball and got the force out at 3rd, but the PANDAS scored and took the lead for the first time in the game. Shaking it off, Lexie got back to work on the next batter. The 1st 2 pitches missed, bringing the count to 2 and 2 and it looked like we were getting ready to see another walk, but Lexie reached down and threw a strike pitch that got the batter swinging. She did it again for the 2nd strike in a row. On the next pitch, the batter finally got the hit, but she sent it high and Lexie was able to get under it to make the catch, closing out the inning with BLUR trailing by 1.
BLUR 5 – SMASHING PANDAS 6
7th Inning
Moving into the 7th inning with plenty of time left to spare - a rare feat in the league, which goes to show how evenly matched these 2 teams were - the BLUR offense needed to make something happen, if they were going to get this one back. Anna was 1st up in this, the final inning of the game. Ball on the 1st pitch. Next, Anna took a swing for a strike. Ball on the next pitch brought up 2 and 1. Anna tried again and made contact, sending a grounder through the 1st base side of the infield. Anna took off for 1st as fast as she could, but the alert PANDA 2nd baseman grabbed the ball and tossed it to 1st for the out. Katelyn was up next. Balls on the 1st 2 pitches brought up 2 and 0. The next pitch blew by Katelyn for a strike. Another ball brought the count to 3 and 1. Katelyn checked the next pitch, but it was on target and the count was now full. Katelyn took a swing on the next pitch and missed, striking out. With no runners on and Destiny coming to the plate, it was do or die time for BLUR. A ball on the 1st pitch. 1 and 0. Swing and a miss. 1 and 1. Ball. 2 and 1. No swing, but the pitch was good. 2 and 2. It was now or never. The pitcher dug her feet against the rubber and took a hard look at her catcher. Destiny looked on and got her bat ready to swing. The pitcher stepped and brought her arm around. Destiny loaded up her bat. The pitcher released the ball and sent it straight for the catcher's glove. Destiny swung her bat around and the bat went low and missed. Strike 3! The PANDAS kept their lead and closed the show.
Final Score
BLUR 5 – SMASHING PANDAS 6
Game Ball
Awarding the game ball for this game was a very hard decision. There were a lot of great defensive plays all around and a lot of hitting early on. Natalie put on another stellar performance at 1st and pitcher, but by being involved in a number of outs at 1st and at pitcher as well as getting 2 strikeouts in a row in the 5th, the game ball went to Lexie. Great job Lexie! Keep it up.
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