Will it be Cat vs Monica? I'm sure it will be Monica, but Cat pitched 7 innings in the first game today, and we keep beating her. Will we continue to play Hughes, who was 0-for yesterday, while Catalina Morris sits? We shall see.

Nope. Settlemier will face Abbott today. Hughes is still in the lineup, apparently because she's due. Piper is inactive as the foul ball hit her on the same thumb that has been bothering her since July, according to her dad.

About an hour after the last out from the previous game before we get started today. I have to leave around 6, so the game will likely not be over by then. Hopefully everyone who can get to this blog can also get to Jarrod's radio broadcast. 4 umps today!

Top 1: Monica starts off strong, sriking out the side again (same as yesterday). Zaleski, Rendon, and Gardner all go down swinging.)

Bot 1: Birthday girl Kretschman leads off with a walk. Barber bunts her to second. Oli walks. Amber forces Oli at 2nd. Thompson grounds out to first to end the inning.

Top 2: Rockford shows they won't go quietly. After Abbotts gets Vandergeest swinging and Wendland looking, Freed hits a solid single to left. She came back to strike out Amanda Willaims looking. 6 outs, 6 Ks.

Bot 2: Moore flies out to right, Larquier pops up foul to third, Fairchild hits a deep fly to center which is caught about 3 feet in front of the fence. No score after 2.

Top 3: Davison starts the inning with a bloop single to left. Wong goes down swinging. During Zaleski's at bat, Fairchild showed that she can also throw out runners, as she nabs Davison trying to steal 2nd. The next pitch was a swing and a miss by Zaleski for the third out. 9 outs 8 Ks.

Bot 3: Glory players dance on the dugout to YMCA, and Jarrod takes over the audio for the podcast. Hughes flies out to left. Kretschman doubles down the first base line. Barber hits a shot that deflects off Wendland at first, picked up by Gardner at second who throws her out. Kretschman to third. Oli brings home the run with a bloop single just over the first baseman's head. Amber walks, runners now at 1st and 2nd for Thompson. Brooke Marnitz runs for Oli at 2nd. Thompson doubles to the fence in right-center, 2 RBIs as Brooke and Amber score. Moore pops up to end the inning. We are up 3 after 3. With our pitchers, I now declare game, set, and match.

Top 4: Monica decides to let some of the fielders play too. Rendon pops up between home and first, and a nice catch was made by Fairchild just before colliding with Oli. Garnder hit a deep fly to right, and another great running catch was made by Barber, possibly saving a HR. Vandergeest goes down swinging.

Bot 4: Larquier fouls out to third for the second time. Fairchild hits another deep fly to center, but this one a little shorter, and also caught. Best bats for Hughes, and she flies out to center. Still 3-0 after 4.

Top 5: Wendland singles to right-center. Freed bunts her to second. Williams goes down looking. Davison goes down swinging. 11 Ks out of 15 outs.

Bot 5: Erin Evans takes over left field for Rockford. Kretschman tests her out immediately, but Evans makes the play for the first out. Barber grounds out to second, and Oli grounds out to short. Up three after 5. I am now off to my games. Will update when I return, but I'm sure of the result.

Okay, I'm back. The team we were supposed to play never showed, so I'm just a little upset at them right now. (We played a different team for game 2, but that extra hour at home would have been very helpful!)

Top 6: Thanks to the Knoble family, I can tell you that Des came in to pitch the 6th, and held Rockford scoreless. Wong lead off with a double off the glove of Amber. Zaleski dumps a single into left, Wong to third. Rendon at the plate, Zaleski steals 2nd as the throw is cut off to keep Wong at third. Rendon hits a comebacker to Des, runners hold. Gardner then makes the second out of the inning, bringing up Vandergeest, who is intentionally walked to load the bases. Wendland pops up to second to end the threat. Still up 3-0.

Bot 6: Amber grounds to second, and beats it out as Gardner bobbles it. Thompson flies out to left-center. Moore walks, for like the twenty-second time in this series. Morris goes down looking. Jen Chamberlin pinch hits, and grounds out to first. Still up 3-0 going into the last inning.

Top 7: Pauly comes in to pitch for the Glory. Freed fouls out to Oli. Evans lines a single up the middle. Davison dribbles back to the mound, Evans to second, 2 outs. Wong singles to left center, scoring Evans to break up the shutout, scoring the only run Rockford got on us in either game. Zaleski flies out to center, and the celebration begins!

This entails owner Paul Wilson and Coach Carie getting water baths, and champagne all around. Lots of pictures are taken as the Cowles Cup is presented to the team. The tourney MVP goes to Abbott, for her 9+ no-hit innings, and 13 shutout innings total. The Knoble family correctly point out that a strong case could be made for Nichole Thompson who was on fire at the plate this weekend. Once again, many thanks to the Knoble family for the details of the last 2 innings.

End Notes: An incredible feat, to take an expansion team to both the regular season title and the NPF World Series title. Congratulations to the players, coaches, and the Wilson Family! It couldn't happen to a better group of people.