On the
heels of their most disappointing performance of the season,
the Tigers finally returned to the field a week later; three scheduled
games in between had been postponed due to Girl Scout
conflicts and rain. The layoff seemed to do them good,
coming back to play one of their sharpest games to date.
Home for just the second time this
season, the Tigers fell behind 3-0 in the top of the first,
pulling to a tie in the bottom half. Caroline Kilday
opened with a walk, and Allyson Williams was hit with ball
four. Katie Westmoreland singled on a full count pitch
to drive in Caroline, sending
Allyson to third.
Allyson
scored the Tigers second run as Rutherford Stephens grounded
to first, and three walks to Audrey
Hipple, Brittany
Leeper,
and Irene Tsinajinnie pushed the tying run across.
Rutherford came
in to pitch the
second inning, jumping ahead of the first Thrasher batter 0-2
before losing her on balls. Another walk followed before
picking up a strikeout on the third batter. She couldn't
turn the inning around, though, walking the next four, and
giving the Thrashers a 6-3 lead.
The Tigers could do little in the
second but to walk around the bases, drawing just four strikes
to seven batters. Stami Luchette started the inning off
with a base on balls, but was later retired on a delayed steal
of third. Meanwhile, Tina Savic drew the first three of
13 consecutive balls to complete her walk, followed by Ashley
Favors. The bases were loaded when Kinsey Phillips was
hit by the first pitch to her, and Tina scored on another walk
to Caroline. The string of balls ended after one to
Allyson, but three followed to push
Ashley across and pull
within one. Katie finished the inning by hitting the
first pitch to short for a single, scoring Kinsey from third
and tying the game at six.
Rutherford started the third inning,
hoping to capitalize on her near-success in the second.
She started out by hitting Jessica Cook, the Thrashers cleanup
batter, then striking out Gretchen Hendrix. Wildness
then returned, walking the next two batters on eight pitches
to load the bases. Katie was called on to get the Tigers
out of a tough spot. After running the count full to the
first batter she faced, she walked in a run on ball four, then
missed on four straight to the next, putting the Thrashers
ahead 8-6. Katie then really went to work, striking out
the next batter on three pitches, all called strikes, and then
striking out the Thrashers leadoff batter to close the inning.
The Tigers did not put Katie's
performance to waste, nor were they really given the
chance. Only three strikes found their way to the Tiger
batters, every second batter seeing one of them. Rutherford,
Audrey, Brittany,
Irene, Stami, and
Tina marched
to the plate and around the bases until the Tigers picked up
their three runs and a 9-8 lead.
In the open fourth inning, with the
Thrashers' manager pitching, the Tigers for the first time
allowed a team to mount an offense. A triple to the
fence started things, halted for a moment on a strikeout on
the second batter. Cook followed with a hard grounder
that bounced off Katie's glove at first, but right to an
always-in-the-right-spot Kinsey. Still,
Katie was taken
by surprise by the fortunate bounce, and couldn't navigate the
tricky footwork to retreat to first and take the throw - when
the throw came early, it hit the spun-around Katie in the
back, allowing Cook to go to second, the game now tied
9-9. Hendrix slapped another hard grounder right to Kinsey, but a high hop just over her glove eluded her, and
Cook scored the lead run. With two strikes on the next
batter, she dribbled a ball in front of the plate for a hit,
the Thrashers lead now extended to 11-9. A grounder to
Allyson at third prompted calls of "Pitcher!" from
the dugout, content to stop the play and keep the force alive,
but instead Allyson executed a sparkling pickup and throw to
Kinsey at second, nipping the runner for the second out.
The Thrashers' next batter bounced to Caroline at the mound,
throwing to first to retire the side.
Ashley led off for the Tigers,
needing two run for the tie, and three to win. After
fouling off two pitches, she ripped a single through the left
side, bringing up Kinsey, who drilled a pitch into
right-center field, holding at first while Ashley
scored. Caroline picked up an infield single, taking
second as the Thrashers held Kinsey at third.
Kinsey
went home as the Thrashers tried to catch Caroline, but
instead threw the ball into centerfield, Caroline ending up at
third, even though she quite likely could have scored. Katie took care of that shortly, smashing a double to knock
her in for the winning run.
The win once again evens the Tigers
record, this time at 3-3. The Tigers remain unbeaten in
home games, producing their biggest open innings in those two
games. With home team status in five of the final seven
games, they'll look to keep that up.
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Recent Results
Sunday, April 22
Titans 11,
Sluggers 10
Monday, April 23
Panthers 11,
Thrashers 3
Tuesday, April 24
Tigers v
Sluggers - postponed
Thursday, April 26
Tigers 11,
Thrashers 10
Upcoming Games
Saturday, April 28
Sluggers v
Thrashers (11:15)
Titans v Panthers (4:30)
Monday, April 30
Tigers v Titans (7:45)
Tiger of the Game
A walk and two runs
scored added to the Tigers effort today, but Tiger of the
Game
goes to Ashley Favors for starting the Tigers game-winning
rally by fighting off a two strike count with a stinging
single, setting the tone for Kinsey
Phillip's duplicate
effort.
An honorable mention
goes to Katie
Westmoreland, who pitched the Tigers out of
trouble in the third inning and garnered the Tigers
first three hit game of the season.
Next Game
Date: Monday, April 30
Time: 7:45 PM
Opponent: Titans
Drinks: Westmoreland
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