Moving into the 2nd half of the 2010 season, BLUR faced INFERNO for the 2nd and last time in regulation play. BLUR came into the game with their spirits high and the desire to put on a good show as this was the opening game for the league’s annual BBQ. It wouldn’t be the normal, Saturday morning game. This would be the game that would kick off the festivities for league family and friends for a day at the softball fields. Many fans and friends as well as other teams would be present to watch the game unfold and BLUR needed to bring out their best game to tie things up with INFERNO for the season. A win would be great, but more importantly, BLUR would have to put on one of their best performances for all of the fans in attendance. For this game, the field scoreboard would be utilized and as the announcer called out the lineups for both teams, the BLUR girls prepared for the tough INFERNO team. The umpire called a start to the game and, as visitors, BLUR was 1st at bat.
1st Inning
Rachel was up to kick things off in the game. The INFERNO pitcher took a moment to find her pitch. Not able to find her pitch on Rachel, the pitcher threw 4 pitches across that all missed their mark and Rachel got on base with a walk. Katelyn was up next. The pitcher drilled the 1st pitch in, getting the ball past Katelyn as she held her bat for strike 1. The pitcher struggled as she alternated between strikes and balls until she reached full count. Rachel stole 2nd as the next pitch got past the catcher, but with the pitch being ruled a ball, Katelyn got on base as well. The 1st pitch to Lexie went high and got past the catcher again and the BLUR runners safely advanced to 2nd and 3rd on a steal. Another few ball pitches later and Lexie was awarded 1st base on a walk and the bases were loaded for BLUR. Hylah was up next. The INFERNO pitcher threw high on the 1st pitch for ball one. The next one came through the strike zone and caught Hylah holding the bat to even up the count. With bases loaded and no outs, the INFERNO pitcher either couldn’t or wouldn’t give Hylah a shot at a good pitch and eventually walked her, keeping the bases loaded as Rachel came home, putting BLUR on the board in the 1st inning. Kas was up next. On the 1st pitch, Kas got a hit and sent it down the middle of the infield. On the bounce, the pitcher grabbed the ball. Quickly, she threw the ball to the catcher to prevent the score and got the 1st out of the inning. Natalie was up next. The 1st 2 pitches on Natalie went high. The 3rd pitch was low and outside, but the umpire called it a strike, bringing up 2 and 1. The next pitch went right down the middle as Natalie held her bat and the count evened up. Natalie took a swing on the next pitch. Getting the swing off a little too late, Natalie’s bat missed the ball as it flew into the catcher’s glove for the 2nd out of the inning. Anna was up next. Splitting the difference on the 1st 2 pitches, the INFERNO pitcher brought the count to 1 and 1. On the next pitch, Anna took a swing and connected sending a grounder through the middle of the infield. The pitcher, with plenty of time, leaned down and picked up the ball. She got up and flipped the ball to the catcher to, once again, prevent the score and secure the 3rd out.
Lexie was in at pitcher in the 1st. Lexie also needed a moment to get started as this was yet another early game. Working her way to full count, Lexie alternated between strikes and balls. The batter stayed alive with a foul ball on the next pitch. Lexie’s next pitch was just outside the strike zone and the batter got on base. Lexie’s 1st pitch on the next INFERNO batter went low and the runner on 1st took off for 2nd. The batter took a swing and missed on the next pitch to even up the count. A passed ball on the next pitch sent the runner on 2nd on a successful steal to 3rd. On the next pitch, the batter hit one just over Katelyn playing 2nd for a single and brought the runner on 3rd across the plate to tie up the score. Lexie’s 1st pitch on the next INFERNO batter went high for ball 1 and the runner on 1st, stealing aggressively, made it to 2nd. On the next pitch, the batter connected and sent the ball straight to Natalie at short stop. Natalie picked up the grounder and threw the ball to 1st and got the out. With the ball and the defense’s attention on the other side of the field, the runner on 2nd easily made her way to 3rd on a steal. The next INFERNO batter came out swinging and sent Lexie’s 1st pitch to the outfield for a single. Rachel retrieved the ball and threw it back to the infield, but the runner on 3rd had time to take off for home and score, putting INFERNO in the lead. The 5th batter came to the plate and also took a swing at the 1st pitch. She sent the ball into foul territory for strike 1. Lexie’s next pitch came in high, evening up the count. A swing and a miss on the next pitch brought up strike 2 and the runner on base took off and stole 2nd. The batter connected on the next pitch and sent a hard grounder toward Katelyn, playing 2nd. Katelyn bobbled the ball on the way up, but recovered in time to make the throw to 1st, securing the 2nd out. Lexie struggled at first with the next batter. Lexie took 4 pitches before she was able to find the strike. But, once she found it, Lexie wouldn’t let it go. The next pitch came threw and caught the INFERNO batter napping. Strike 2. Following it up with nearly the exact same pitch, the batter was caught holding the bat one more time as Lexie got it past her for the strikeout to close out the 1st inning.
BLUR 1 – INFERNO 2
2nd Inning
Nikki was up 1st in the 2nd inning. The INFERNO pitcher, having cooled off, needed a couple of pitches to get in the groove. After 2 ball pitches, the pitcher finally got one past Nikki for a strike. The next pitch went high, but the one after that found its mark and the count was full. Playing the odds, Nikki held her bat on the next pitch and, sure enough, the ball went low and Nikki got on base with a walk. Olivia was up next. On the 1st pitch, Olivia held out her bat for a bunt and Nikki took a strong lead. With a ball on the 1st pitch, the INFERNO catcher forced Nikki back to the bag as she quickly got up and threw the ball to 1st base. The next pitch on Olivia came with some heat and caught Olivia off guard. Holding her bat, Olivia let a strike pitch go by. Olivia held her bat a 2nd time for another strike, but the pitcher missed on her next pitch and the count was full. On the next pitch, Olivia took her swing and connected. The ball popped up over the infield and the pitcher came off the rubber to get under the ball and made the catch for the out. Jessica was up next. Jessica hung tight in the batter’s box as she worked her way to full count against the INFERNO pitcher. The next pitch came in too low and Jessica got on base. With BLUR runners on 1st and 2nd, Janessa was up next. The 1st 2 pitches on Janessa went high. Janessa held her bat on the next pitch, but, this time, the pitch was good and the count went to 2 and 1. Holding her bat again, the pitch barely grazed the bottom of the strike zone and the umpire called it a strike. A passed ball on the next pitch brought up full count and the BLUR runners stole their way into scoring position. A passed ball on the next pitch got Janessa to 1st and Nikki saw an opportunity and tried for home. The catcher was able to quickly recover the ball near the backstop and had to race Nikki back to the plate. The catcher was able to get there just before Nikki and tag the plate as Nikki slid in. Nikki was called out and the INFERNO defense, once again, thwarted BLUR’s attempt to score. Back at the top of the lineup, Rachel was up for her 2nd at bat in the game. With BLUR runners on 1st and 2nd, the pitcher found her mark and threw a pitch past Rachel for a strike. Rachel got a hit on the next pitch, but sent the ball into foul territory to bring up 0 and 2. On the next pitch, the ball went high and Jessica stole 3rd base. Rachel got a piece of the next pitch and sent a grounder down the middle. The BLUR runners took off for their next bases. With Jessica coming home, the pitcher collected the ball and continued her attack on the BLUR lead runners. The pitcher threw the ball to the catcher and the catcher stepped on the plate, getting the 3rd out at home on Jessica.
Lexie was back in to pitch in the 2nd. Having cooled off between innings herself, Lexie had trouble finding her pitch with the 1st batter. Lexie threw 3 balls before finding her strike to bring up 3 and 1, but she lost it again on the next pitch and the 1st INFERNO batter got on base. Lexie’s 1st pitch found its mark for a strike, and the runner took off for 2nd. Hylah got up to make the throw to 2nd as Katelyn moved in to cover. Hylah let the ball go and Katelyn caught the ball. As Katelyn came down with it, the runner slid to avoid the tag and was able to safely reach 2nd base. A passed ball on the next pitch evened up the count and the INFERNO runner continued to aggressively steal her way into scoring position. Lexie reeled it back in and battled to full count on the batter. Missing the throw on the next pitch put 1 more INFERNO runner on base. With runners on 1st and 3rd, Lexie got ahead in the count with the 1st 2 pitches on the next batter. She evened it up with balls on the next 2, but, throwing heat, Lexie was able to get the batter to swing at the next pitch. Lexie squeaked the ball past the batter, striking her out. Lexie got back to work on the next batter. She alternated between strikes and balls until the count was full. On the next pitch, Lexie dialed in the heater again and got the batter to swing and miss again, sending the batter back to the dugout empty handed. On the next batter, Lexie had trouble on her 1st 2 pitches and they both missed the strike zone, bringing up 2 and 0. On the next pitch, the batter took a swing and connected, popping the ball up over the BLUR infield on the 3rd base side. Waving everyone off, Janessa moved under the ball and reached out her glove to make the catch and getting the 3rd out of the inning.
BLUR 1 – INFERNO 2
3rd Inning
Katelyn started BLUR off in the 3rd inning. A high pitch and a swing put the count at 1 and 1. Alternating the next 2, the pitcher brought the count to 2 and 2. The next pitch came through high, but Katelyn took a swing at it and missed for the 1st out. Lexie was up next and took a swing at the 1st pitch. The umpire called it a ball, but on appeal from the INFERNO coach, the ump called for help from the base umpire. After some discussion, they reversed the call and the count was changed to 0 and 1 as play resumed. Lexie fought her way to full count and a ball to end the exchange put Lexie on base. Hylah came to the plate next and after 2 pitches, including 1 swing, Hylah found herself behind with a count of 0 and 2. Hylah connected on the next pitch and sent the ball tearing through the infield. The INFERNO short stop moved in front of the ball and as she went to scoop up the grounder, she missed the pick up and Hylah made it safely to 1st. Kas came up to the plate. She took a swing on the 1st high pitch, missing it for a strike. A foul tip on the next pitch put Kas behind in the count further by bringing up strike 2. Knowing her at bat was coming to a close, Kas prepared herself for the next pitch. She got in her stance and loaded the bat behind her. The pitcher threw the ball and Kas immediately identified the strike. She took a swing and connected, sending the ball up the middle of the infield and took off for 1st. The pitcher, reacting quickly, picked up the ball and threw to 1st for the 2nd out as the BLUR runners moved to 2nd and 3rd and got themselves into position to score. Natalie came to the plate next. The pitcher started to lose her groove on Natalie as the 1st 2 pitches missed the target and brought up 2 and 0. Natalie took a swing on the next pitch for the 1st strike in the count. Then, after 2 more pitches, the count was full. A passed ball on the next pitch got Natalie on base, but the door was open and BLUR tried to go for the tie. Lexie took off for home and the pitcher ran over to cover the plate as the catcher scrambled for the ball. The catcher got a hold of the ball and turned back to make a run at the plate as Lexie crossed the commit line. Arriving in the nick of time, the catcher stepped on the plate a split-second before Lexie reached it on her slide. BLUR denied one more time at home, had to regroup as their defense took the field.
Natalie took over at the rubber for the 3rd inning. Getting off to a good start, Natalie brought the heat on the 1st INFERNO batter of the inning. Natalie fired the 1st pitch in and the batter held her bat. Strike 1. Natalie reset, stepped off of the rubber and drove the pitch in. Once again, the batter held her bat and collected strike 2. Settling down to find her mark, Natalie threw the ball, once again with bad intentions, and the batter took a swing. The batter missed and was sent back to the INFERNO dugout. Natalie started off on the next batter with another strike, but missed on the following 2 pitches and brought the count to 2 and 1. The INFERNO batter took a swing on the next pitch and connected, sending the ball toward 3rd base. Janessa moved in front of the ball and got her glove down to reel the grounder in. She picked it up and made the throw to 1st for the 2nd out of the inning. A walk on the next batter put INFERNO on base. The 4th INFERNO batter came to the plate to try to turn things around. She took a hard swing on Natalie’s 1st pitch and connected. The ball popped up as it sailed over the BLUR infield toward Kas at short stop. Kas, watching the ball, waved everyone off as she moved to get under it. Kas reached out her glove to receive the ball and caught it. But the ball popped out of her glove and the crowd gasped. With the 2nd effort, Kas kept her eye on the ball and brought up her throwing hand to catch it, securing the 3rd out. Then, for good measure, Kas turned and threw the ball to 1st, but as the out was recorded on the catch, the follow-up play was academic.
BLUR 1 – INFERNO 2
4th Inning
Anna was up 1st. Anna took a hard swing on the INFERNO pitcher’s 1st pitch and connected. She sent the ball through the infield toward the INFERNO short stop. The short stop crept in and got the stop. She turned and made the throw to 1st. The ball arrived just as Anna was crossing the bag and Anna was ruled out. After a 1st strike pitch on Nikki, the pitcher couldn’t find her target and eventually lost the exchange as Nikki jogged to 1st. Olivia was up next. The 1st pitch went high and Olivia took a swing at the next pitch and missed for the strike as Nikki took off for 2nd. The catcher got up quickly to try to throw Nikki out, but the throw went over 2nd base and Nikki was able to scramble and make it all the way to 3rd base. The pitcher and Olivia got back at it and split the next 2 pitches, bringing up 2 and 2. Then, the pitcher threw her next pitch and Olivia read strike. So, Olivia took a swing, the ball dipped as her bat came around and landed in the catcher’s glove. Olivia was sent back to the BLUR dugout empty handed. Jessica was up next. The pitcher’s 1st pitch hit the ground and got past the catcher. Nikki took a big step off of 3rd, but the catcher quickly recovered and Nikki turned back. The pitcher never found the strike on Jessica and after 3 more pitches, Jessica got on base with a walk. With 2 outs and BLUR runners on 1st and 3rd, Janessa took her turn at bat. The 1st pitch on Janessa got past the catcher and Jessica was able to steal 2nd safely. With BLUR runners ready to score, Janessa took a swing at the next pitch to put it in play. Unfortunately, the ball popped up high over the 3rd base side of the infield and the BLUR runners took off. The INFERNO 3rd baseman made the adjustment and got under the ball. She reached out her glove and made the catch to retire the side.
Natalie was back in at pitcher in the 4th. Starting off strong again, Natalie got the batter to swing at the 1st pitch. The batter fouled it off. Natalie brought the heat again on the next pitch and caught the INFERNO batter napping to bring the count to 0 and 2. Missing the mark on the next 2 pitches evened up the count, but Natalie won the exchange with another heater that blasted its way into Kas’s glove, striking the 1st batter out. The next INFERNO batter came to the plate and was determined to get INFERNO moving. She took a swing on Natalie’s 1st pitch, but missed. Natalie threw 2 balls in a row and got behind in the count, but found the strike again on the next pitch to even up the count at 2 and 2. Natalie dug in her cleats against the pitching rubber as she prepared to send the next pitch through. She gripped the ball and rolled it inside her glove to find the seam. She stepped forward hard and started the wind up. Her arm came around and Natalie released the ball toward home plate. The batter misjudged the pitch and held her bat. The strike pitch came through and found a home in Kas’s glove, striking the batter out and making it 2 strikeouts in a row for Natalie. With the effort on the 1st 2 INFERNO batters of the inning hitting her, Natalie couldn’t find the strike pitch on the next batter and the batter got on base with a walk. The next INFERNO batter took a swing at Natalie’s 1st pitch and tipped it into foul territory. She took a swing at the next pitch and got a better piece of it, but fouled it out as well. On the next pitch, the ball got past Kas and the runner on base took off for 2nd. Kas recovered and threw the ball to Katelyn at 2nd. Katelyn caught the ball, but the runner slid to avoid the tag and was safe. Fouling the ball out again, the batter stayed alive on the next pitch. The next pitch was low and it nearly got away from Kas as the runner on 2nd took off for 3rd. Kas got up and threw the ball to Janessa well ahead of the runner. Janessa caught the ball as the runner slid again to avoid the tag. This time, Janessa tagged the runner on the facemask, but the base umpire called the runner safe and INFERNO was getting ready to score. Natalie went back to the rubber to try to close out the inning. Natalie’s next pitch missed the strike zone and filled up the count. Digging deep, Natalie found the strike and delivered her fast ball. The batter held the bat and was stunned as the umpire called the strike. The game moved into the 5th inning.
BLUR 1 – INFERNO 2
5th Inning
With the 4th inning in the books and the score frozen for the last few innings, it was clear that both teams were nullifying each other for the better part of this game. It was a great defensive effort on both sides of the ball. BLUR came to the plate to see if they could take this game. Rachel was up 1st. The pitcher got ahead in the count quickly as she threw a strike on the 1st pitch as Rachel held her bat. But, the INFERNO pitcher started to pitch erratically alternating between strikes and balls. At 2 and 2, Rachel stayed alive with a foul ball and eventually reached full count. With a ball on the next pitch, Rachel got on base with a walk. Katelyn was up next and the pitcher continued her skid. In 4 pitches, Kately got on base also with another walk. With 2 runners on base, Lexie came to the plate to take a shot at moving the BLUR runners. Lexie got a hit on the 1st pitch and send the grounder up the 2nd base side of the field and the runners made a break for it. Incredibly, the INFERNO 2nd baseman got a jump on the ball and moved in to make the stop. Getting up as Katelyn ran by, on her way to 2nd, the INFERNO 2nd baseman reached out her glove and tagged Katelyn for the 1st out. Quickly, the 2nd baseman turned and threw the ball to 1st, beating Lexie to the bag and scoring a double play. Hylah came to the plate next. Hylah took a swing on the 1st pitch for a strike, but the ball got past the catcher and she had to scramble to retrieve it. Coming off of her big lead, and despite the previous failed BLUR attempts to score on a steal from 3rd, Rachel took a shot and turned on the speed. The pitcher moved in to cover home and Rachel slowed a bit. The catcher collected the errant ball and turned to toss it to the INFERNO pitcher. As the ball came in, Rachel slid into home, avoided the tag and scored, tying up the game. On the next pitch, Hylah connected and sent the ball through the infield, out into the grass for a single. Kas was up next. After a foul tip on the 1st pitch, Kas hit the ball toward 3rd base. On the bounce, the INFERNO 3rd baseman grabbed the ball and threw to 1st, getting the out on Kas and bringing out the INFERNO offense.
For the 3rd time in as many innings, Natalie took the reins of the BLUR defense. Getting the 1st batter to swing at her 1st 2 pitches, Natalie got ahead in the count at 0 and 2. Natalie threw a ball on the next pitch, but quickly recovered and threw a strike that caught the INFERNO batter by surprise, striking her out. Natalie had trouble against the next batter and the batter walked. The 3rd batter came to the plate. Natalie’s 1st pitch was a ball and the runner aggressively made her way to 2nd. Natalie had trouble again on the next couple of pitches and was still hunting for her strike as the count reached 3 and 0. Natalie finally found a strike, but the runner on 2nd took off and reached 3rd on the throw back from the catcher. INFERNO was stealing aggressively as they applied the pressure to try to take the game. A ball on the next pitch walked the batter. As the batter moved up the 1st base line, Kas threw the ball back to Natalie. When Natalie started to move back in position at the rubber, the runner going to 1st turned up the speed and turned the corner at 1st. The BLUR defense was not ready and no one moved in to cover 2nd base. Natalie was caught by surprise as well. When she realized what was happening, she turned to make the throw, as the BLUR defenders moved toward 2nd. The ball reached Katelyn’s glove and as the BLUR defense’s attention was focused on 2nd base, the INFERNO runner at 3rd saw an opening and came across home on a steal, putting INFERNO back in the lead. The next INFERNO batter came to the plate. A passed ball on the 1st pitch brought up 1 and 0 and the runner on 2nd stole her way safely to 3rd. After evening up the count on the next pitch, Natalie lost her groove and walked the batter. With runners on 1st and 3rd and only 1 out, Natalie went back to work. A passed ball on the 1st pitch got away from Kas and the runner on 3rd saw the opening. She took off from 3rd as Kas retrieved the ball. Kas scrambled to get back to home plate as the runner approached. Kas reached out her hands to try to get the tag, but the runner was just out of reach and was able to put 1 more run on the board for INFERNO. In the confusion, the runner on 2nd made it to 3rd. With the ball on the 1st pitch, Natalie was behind in the count. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to turn it around and although she got the batter to swing for 1 strike, the rest of her pitches missed and the batter walked, putting INFERNO runners on 1st and 3rd. The next batter came out swinging. Missing Natalie’s 1st pitch, the batter got behind in the count. On the next pitch, the runner on 1st stole 2nd and the batter held her bat, hoping for the best. But as the umpire called it a strike, the count reached 0 and 2. On the next pitch, the batter took a swing and sent the ball bouncing through the infield. Katelyn scooped up the ball and turned to throw to 1st. The runner at 3rd gunned it for home. BLUR secured the 2nd out at 1st, but as Lexie turned to make the throw home, it was too late and the runner scored. Natalie turned back to her position at the rubber to try to limit the damage and get BLUR out of the inning. Natalie threw her fast ball on the 1st pitch. Strike 1. The batter connected and fouled the ball out. Strike 2. A high pitch and a passed ball evened up the count at 2 and 2. Natalie brought the heat on the next pitch and threw the ball at Kas’s glove. The INFERNO batter took a swing, but misjudged the speed of the pitch, missing the ball and striking out to end the inning with INFERNO up by 3 points.
BLUR 2 – INFERNO 5
6th Inning
Moving into the 6th inning with the clock ticking on regulation play, if BLUR couldn’t cover the distance, the game would be over. If BLUR could take the lead, INFERNO would get another chance to come back. If BLUR tied it up, regulation time would expire and BLUR would add another tie game for their 2010 record. It was do or die for BLUR. Natalie was up 1st. After a high pitch for a ball, Natalie got a hit, but fouled it out. Another high pitch and a foul ball evened up the count at 2 and 2. On the next pitch, the INFERNO pitcher, taking advantage of Natalie’s aggressive swing, threw out the change-up. Natalie, expecting the ball to come in hot, started her swing. When she realized that her timing was off, Natalie tried to hold the bat back, but it was too late as the bat completed the swing. Natalie was sent back to the BLUR dugout with the 1st out of the inning. Anna was up next. After a high pitch for a ball, Anna took a swing and hit the ball down the 1st base side of the infield. The INFERNO 2nd baseman moved in to make the grab and flipped the ball to 1st for the out on Anna. With the 2nd out, the INFERNO defense ramped up their game to hold on to their lead and eke out a victory in this very well contested game. Nikki came to the plate next as BLUR’s potential last-chance batter. A low pitch followed by a high pitch put balls 1 and 2 in the count. A fast pitch down the middle gave Nikki her 1st strike as she held her bat. The INFERNO pitcher repeated the effort and notched another strike against a stunned Nikki. She followed it up with a ball to fill up the count. Knowing that the pitcher needed a strike to put the game to bed, Nikki got ready for the next pitch. Nikki gave the pitcher a hard look as the pitcher focused on her target. With the step and the wind up, Nikki brought her hands back and loaded the bat. As the pitch came through, Nikki let her hands go and the bat came around to meet the pitch. As the bat came through the strike zone, the ball went low and Nikki missed as it landed in the catcher’s glove, striking Nikki out and closing the show for INFERNO.
Final Score
BLUR 2 – INFERNO 5
Game Ball
There wasn’t a lot of offense generated in this game as it was a very hard-fought defensive battle between 2 evenly matched teams. -- A comment was made by the President of the league that this was the lowest scoring game of the season so far. -- The game stayed tight until very late in regulation play and INFERNO was able to put up the numbers to edge BLUR out in the game, but BLUR managed to put 2 points up on the board and both were directly attributed to Rachel. In the 1st inning, Rachel came in from 3rd after Hylah walked with bases loaded and in the 5th, Rachel scored the game tying run with a steal from 3rd. Great job Rachel! Let’s keep it going!
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