Facing
elimination and a distasteful end to their season, the Tigers
pulled together to stage a late rally, scoring the final
six runs to advance in the tournament.
In their final game as the home team,
the Tigers fell behind from the onset. Katie
Westmoreland struggled with what appeared to be a very tight
strike zone, walking four to set up a duel with Megan
Ralston. Behind 3-1, Katie threw four straight strikes,
Ralston fouling off two to stay alive, then bouncing back to
the mound. Katie and
Caroline Kilday at first base
couldn't get the exchange cleanly, and two runs scored as both
the throw to first and the throw back to the circle went awry.
Rutherford Stephens grounded sharply
to short, hard enough to allow time for the ball to be
bobbled, controlled and thrown to first for the out. Katie started the Tigers off with a one out
double to left
field, and scored on Audrey
Hipple's single to the right
side. A strikeout brought Irene Tsinajinnie to the
plate, where she nearly outran a ball down the first base line
for her first hit; she was tagged halfway down the line, a
step away from passing the Sluggers first baseman, the bag
open ahead of her.
Rutherford looked to head off the
Sluggers and keep the Tigers in the game, but was clearly
off. Allyson Williams replaced her after a pair of
walks, and pitched well to the four batters she faced.
She ran the count full to the first two batters she faced,
finding the third strike elusive. A final pair of walks
concluded the inning, the Tigers now finding themselves in a
6-1 hole - an all too familiar condition over the second half
of this season.
The Tigers had little difficulty in
closing the gap. Ashley
Favors, Kinsey
Phillips, and
Stami Luchette loaded the bases full of Tigers without seeing
a strike, and Rutherford knocked two in with a double to the
right field gap. Katie matched
Rutherford's hit,
smashing a double to the left field gap to score the final
run, and Rutherford for good measure.
Katie returned to the mound, but
could not negotiate the umpires zone much better than in the
first. She managed one strikeout, avenging Ralston for
her first inning hit, but walked five and hit another as the
Sluggers amassed a 9-4 lead.
Audrey picked up a walk to open the
Tigers' third, moving to third on steals while Caroline stood
in for a walk herself. Caroline stole second while
Allyson took a pair of balls, then Allyson sent a fly
over second base. The Sluggers short fielder was fortunately
positioned, and handled the fly, but didn't account for Audrey
tagging up and taking home on a rare sacrifice fly for Allyson. Two walks followed,
Irene and Ashley filling
the bases for Kinsey, who singled through the middle, the
Sluggers engaged in a futile attempt to catch Caroline at the
plate. Stami closed the Tigers scoring in the third,
drawing a walk to force in Irene from third.
The Tigers now needed to hold the
Sluggers down. At 9-7, they were within striking
distance, but a few more runs would magnify the task
significantly. A pair of strikeouts eased the urgency
somewhat, but also brought leadoff batter Hannah Wilson
up. Wilson hit the first pitch, popping up to the center
of the infield, where Rutherford settled under the ball and
squeezed it to shut down the Sluggers.
Rutherford then started the Tigers
last inning rally, sending a long fly to right center for a
single. Katie continued her "Anything you can do, I
can do better" duel with Rutherford, lining to the
centerfield fence, sending Rutherford around to third.
Audrey hit up the middle, sending both Rutherford and
Katie -
all the way from first - in, Audrey winding up on
second. Caroline turned the fourth pitch of the inning
into the fourth hit, a short ball to the right of the
circle. Irene came up with one out, and singled to the
right side past the pitcher as Audrey scampered home with the
winning run. Irene's first base hit of the year produced
the game winning RBI.
The Tigers now advance to play the
Thrashers. The Thrashers took the Panthers to the edge
in a one run loss last night after ending their season earlier
in the week with another one run loss to the Titans.
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Recent Results
Friday, May 18
Panthers 8,
Thrashers 7
Saturday, May 19
Tigers 10,
Sluggers 9
Upcoming Games
[Post-Season
Tournament brackets]
Sunday, May 20
Panthers v
Titans (4:30) Thrashers v Tigers (7:30)
Tiger of the Game
Both
ineffective pitching in today's game, Rutherford Stephens and
Katie Westmoreland countered with their bats, as each crushed
the ball to lead the Tigers come from behind attack.
Combined, they went 5-6, sending five balls to the fence for
three doubles, four RBI, and three runs scored, and share
today's Tiger of the Game honors.
Next Game
Date: Sunday, May 20
Time: 7:30 PM
Opponent: Thrashers
Drinks:
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