The Tigers sought to make a
final run at moving up a spot in the standings, held with the
Panthers early, then allowed the game to get away from them.
Beginning a string of four home games to finish the season,
the Tigers took the field to open the first. Katie
Westmoreland faced a passive Panthers lineup. Kelsie
Royal watched five pitches for a full count before walking,
and Tiffany Ketcherside took six more for a strikeout.
Kimberly Ferris in the third spot fell behind 0-2 before
swinging for a third strike. The Panthers failures
waiting for walks did not deter them, though. The next
three batters refused to swing, and were rewarded with base on
balls, pushing in a run. Katie came back with strikes to
the final batter of the inning to record her third strikeout,
even forcing the Panthers to swing a second time in the
inning!
The Tigers took the opposite approach, taking just two
pitches while putting three balls into play. A two-out
single by Katie kept the inning going, but Rutherford Stephens
hit the first pitch to short for the third out.
Rutherford went to the mound to keep the Tigers close, but
was wild in walking the first three batters. A
baserunning miscue by the Panthers ended the inning...but
didn't. With the runner on first running with nowhere to
go on a pitch to the backstop, Rutherford got the ball back
and an threw to first to get the runner coming back.
Unfortunately, the throw sailed over Katie's outstretched
glove at first, causing the Panthers coaches to erroneously
send all the baserunners - no one was permitted to advance
since the runner at third cannot take home. Rutherford
spent the next twenty seconds running around the infield,
tagging the Panthers that should have been at first and
second. While searching for the Panther that had
"scored" from third, now in the dugout, the umpire
prematurely called time, ostensibly to restore order to what
had been a wild play. What should have been an
inning-ending triple play was overturned by decree, the umpire
returning all baserunners to their bases without
penalty. In the aftermath, Rutherford stuck out the
batter, but walked a trio to score the three baserunners
restored by the umpire's decision.
Again, the Tigers tried to hit their way back into the
game, with little effect. They were retired 1-2-3, still
unable to get a batted ball out of the infield.
Katie came back to pitch the third, the Panthers swinging
exactly once in their seven at bats. Narrowly missing on
a multitude of pitches, Katie picked up one strikeout amidst
six walks, the Tigers now behind 7-0.
Tina Savic started the Tigers off in the third, picking up a base
on balls; Stami Luchette did the same while Tina advanced to
third on steals. Ashley Favors walked the bases
full. In stark contrast to the Panthers, the Tigers had
picked up three walks, but had swung at every strike in the
process. Caroline Kilday singled to the right side, driving in
the first Tiger run, and Katie drilled the first strike to
left field, nearly scoring both runners - Ashley held at third
as the Panthers got the ball in quickly. Rutherford
finished the inning with a single up the middle after falling
behind 0-2 on a pair of foul tips.
A 7-3 deficit now faced the Tigers as the Panthers came up
in the open fourth inning. Three opportunities went
awry, instead going for three infield hits to begin the
inning. Ferris followed with a legitimate hit, but the
Tigers still threw the ball around long enough for the double
to go for a home run. Another misplay produced yet
another infield hit before the Tigers finally converted.
Caroline took a comebacker to the mound, throwing over to
Katie to produce the first out, then a clean single to right
was turned into the second when Brittany Leeper came up with the ball
and threw the runner out trying stretch out a double. A
strikeout ended the inning, but the Tigers now trailed 12-3.
The Tigers last-ditch effort began with promise, but was
not sustained. Audrey Hipple hit the ball up the middle
for a hit, negated when the bat sailed out of her hand on the
backswing. Brittany started the Tigers again with
a single over the third-baseman, and Irene Tsinajinnie put the
ball into play for the second time in this game, advancing
Brittany to second. With two outs, Tina singled to the
left side, her second hit of the season. Neither runner
could advance further, as the final out was recorded; 12-3
remained the score.
The win-lose pattern of the Tigers season held firm in
their ninth game, their record now standing at 4-5. The
next game provides a difficult test to that pattern: a rematch
with the same Panthers. A win would make the Tigers the
only team to date to beat all four competitors, while a loss
would give the Panthers a sweep of the three meetings.
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Recent Results
Thursday, May 3
Thrashers 10,
Lucky Shoals 9
Friday, May 4
Panthers 12, Tigers 3
Upcoming Games
Saturday, May 5
Panthers v Thrashers (2:45)
Sluggers v Titans (4:30)
Monday, May 7
Panthers v Tigers (7:45)
Tiger of the Game
A walk to begin the Tigers only productive
inning, and a single to sustain their hopes in the final
inning earns Tina Savic Tiger of the Game for tonight's
contest.
Next Game
Date: Monday, May 7
Time: 7:45 PM
Opponent: Panthers
Drinks: Williams
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