Glory's MySpace blog entry.

Game recap.

Payback is heck.

On a gorgeous evening, helping me cheer on the Glory were Karen (from Mary's womens team) and two of her friends. The first thing we noticed were new (to us at least) red jerseys on the Glory, with names on the back of most of the players (finally!). My first thought was this might be in response to the 2-game losing streak, but this was not the case. More on that at the end. Two quick notes: Kelly Kretschman was not there tonight (possibly due to US National Team committments), and Oli returned to the lineup (hurray).

Desiree started the game tonight. Leadoff batter Maria Soto drew a walk, and was erased on a fielder's choice by Jineth Pimentel. Yuruby Alicart followed with a shot to right center, fielded by Catalina Morris. As a coach myself, I wasn't happy when Cat's throw went to third base, allowing Alicart to take second. Worse, it appeared as if Alicart was trying to stretch it into a double from the beginning, and that there was a play on her at second. Fortunately, it didn't matter, as Serrano struck out Ruby Rojas and enticed Yusmari Perez to foul out to third.

I was happy to see that the starting pitcher for Venezuela was Mariela Espinoza, since we scored 6 runs against her on Wednesday night. Although just like that night, we didn't do so in the first inning. (Interestingly, looking back at my scorebook, it's actually quite rare that we score in the first, but we score quite often in the second. Perhaps our lineup is slightly off, but it seems to work out in the end.) So, after a 1-2-3 top of the second, we were ready to pounce.

Nichole Thompson got things started with a one-out walk, and one out later, up stepped Jessica Moore. Now, Jess just finished playing at Liberty University this season, and has primarily been used as a pinch runner, with just 6 at-bats so far. But that might change after tonight. She proceeded to show she's more (Moore?) than just speed, as she crushed a ball that easily left the park in left-center. We're up 2-zip after 2.

After another 1-2-3 third by Serrano, LaDonia Hughes was hit by a pitch to start the home half of the third. Now, faithful readers might remember that we were able to run on Team Venezuela's catcher quite easily on Thursday, as she failed to get the ball to second without bouncing it. Yet, with the same catcher behind the plate tonight, Nicole Barber bunted Hughes over to second. Personally, I think Hughes has the speed to beat a bounce pass to second, so she should have stolen second and been sacrified over to third, if we're playing small ball. But perhaps Nicole was bunting for a hit, who knows. As it turned out, it wouldn't have mattered, as Hughes was left on second after a lineout, walk, and popup.

The top of the 4th was a 1-2-3 and a half inning, as we had to pitch to an extra batter so Callie could throw out the runner trying to steal. Then we got back on the board in a big way in the home half of the 4th. With one out, Sara Larquier hit yet another first pitch offering out of the park, and again it was an opposite field shot. This was her league-leading 5th home run of the year for the University of Virginia graduate (my school as well - she makes me proud).

However, the next batter was Jessica Moore, and this was her night. Having already homered herself, she didn't think Sara should take the spotlight, so she hit her second blast of the night (and the season). Unlike her first, this one barely cleared the fence, but it counts the same on the scoreboard.

Callie Piper kept things going with a bloop single to left. Hughes hit a slow roller to second, and Venezuela's Perez tried to get the lead runner by flipping it between her legs to the shortstop. But the ball rolled into center, allowing Piper to reach third, and Hughes to reach second. Nicole Barber then drove both home with a single to right-center. Barber then stole second, easily beating out the bounce pass. Nicole had been the focus of the profile during the pre-game, when they talked about her incredible stolen base records in college. Perhaps that influenced her a little when she took a risk on Catalina Morris's fly to center, but she beat the throw on a close play.

Amber Jackson drove Nicole home with a single up the middle, and promptly stole second herself. Oli then drove Amber home with a double to left-center, but that was the end of the scoring for the inning. After 4, we were now up 8-0, but we were not done.

After yet another 1-2-3 inning from Seranno, Sara Larquier lead off the fifth. Would she continue the home run derby that Jessica Moore seemed to be playing? No, she grounded back to the pitcher, bringing Jessica to the plate. Now, in Major League Baseball, someone hitting two home runs in the same game would have to be on the lookout for some chin music, or worse. Is it the same in pro softball? Quite possibly, as Moore was nailed in the back by a pitch waaay inside. She reached second on a pinch-hit single by Stephanie Best, but we were unable to score.

Sarah Pauly relieved Desiree in the sixth, and taking over right where she left off, produced our fifth straight 1-2-3 inning of the night. Nice work, ladies. In the bottom half of the inning,

In the bottom of the sixth, Morris started us off with a single to right. This wouldn't likely happen in baseball with an 8 run lead, but off she went trying to steal second. This time, the throw reached the bag nearly perfectly, but was dropped, so Cat was safe. After two outs which advanced the runner the third, Nichole Thompson was hit by a pitch, bringing up Sara Larquier. Sara plated Cat with a grounder that bounced off Jineth Pimentel's glove at third.

First and second, two outs, and up steps Jessica Moore. As I said, this was her night. She capped a perfect night with a double to right-center, scoring Thompson and Larquier. How's this for a night: a double, hit-by-pitch, not just one but two home runs, and 5 RBI's. I wonder if she'll get some playing time next weekend?

That ended the scoring for both teams. Des got the win (her league-leading 7th) with a 2-hit, 5 strikeout, 0 run performance, while Sarah pitched two shutout innings, striking out 2. Our defense was great tonight as well. In the second inning, Callie Piper and Des combined to end the inning on the old strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out play, catching a runner stealing second. In the 4th, Larquier, Thompson, and Oli combined on a sweet double play, and one batter later Callie threw out another runner to end the inning. In the 7th, Brooke Marnitz (in for Amber Jackson) made a really nice catch on a tough popup at the fence in foul territory, then made a diving stop of a one-hop liner headed to center, even though she wasn't able to gather and throw for the out. (It was scored a base hit anyway). Great pitching, hitting, and defense made for a fun game to watch.

Final Notes: I talked with Paul's wife Katy tonight, and learned that the "new" red shirts had finally arrived after a delay getting the names on the backs. Not all players had names. I noticed that Brooke and Jen Chamberlin did not, possibly because they are two of the most recent additions to the team. (For those keeping score at home, Jen changed numbers from 17 to 25.) The other thing that Katy and I talked about was attendance. I had mentioned that last night's attendance was a new high for the season, and she didn't think this was correct, thinking that opening night was over 1,000. The NPF website lists opening night as 878, and last night as 923, so it's possible that NPF's website has incorrect info. Lastly, we saw one of the most unusual hits I've ever seen come off the bat of Callie Piper in the bottom of the sixth. The ball landed in foul territory, about 6 feet up the first base line, and about 18-24 inches foul. It then spun back into fair territory, where it stayed as the fielders made the play to get the out. Immediately, the sound effects guy played "How Bizarre" by OMC. This person really does a nice job with these sound clips.

This was definitely a good way to stop our two-game losing streak, and get ready to host the Akron Racers next weekend (4-game series starting Friday). As the Glory blog likes to say, tickets are still available, so come on out and join us.