Game recap.

NPF website story. 

Pay no attention to that idiot who wrote in the preview that Burkhart wouldn't start tonight.

Even though Katie Burkhart pitched 5 innings in the first game of yesterday's double-header, she faced off against Sarah Pauly tonight, in another Battle of the Aces. (Not to be confused with Battle of the Bats - that's tomorrow night.)

After a hitless first inning for the Force, LaDonia Hughes broke through with a strangely spinning grounder down the 3rd base line. It was quite foul but rolled back fair, and she beat the throw at first for an infield single. She was then erased trying to steal second, though it could have been a failed hit and run. Jackson then struck out looking to end the inning.

Another 1-2-3 from Pauly in the top of the 2nd. The bottom saw the 2nd hit for the Glory, another 1-out infield single. This time it was Catalina Morris using her speed to beat the throw from SS. Two foul popups to catcher ended the inning.

The number 9 hitter for the Force, Trena Peel, ended the no-hitter with a line drive single to right, cut off nicely by Nicole Barber to hold Peel to a single. Pauly then got leadoff batter Claire Burnum to go down swinging on a change-up to end the inning. We went 1-2-3 in the home half, and it remained scoreless after 3 innings.

The 4th started nicely, with two quick outs, before Chelsea Spencer hit her 4th HR of the season, this one to CF. The next batter, Savannah Long, hit a hot shot that Sara Larquier could not field cleanly, for error number 1. A fielder's choice to second ended the inning. Only Jackson's first of two walks on the night kept the home half from being a 1-2-3, and we were down 1-0 after 4.

After 1 out in the top of the 5th, Pauly walked catcher Kristen Miller. Unfortunately, number 9 batter Peel then followed with the longest HR I've seen in any Glory game. The only question was whether it was fair or foul as it left the park near the right field line. I would estimate it at about 260 feet, and it was still very high in the sky when it cleared the foul pole. In what was quite possibly a guess, the umpires called it fair, for a 2-run HR. (This was Peel's 5th of the season.) Leadoff hitter Burnum singled sharply to RF, bringing up Sharonda McDonald. She laid down a well-placed bunt, making for a close play at first. Except for Sara's throw going into RF, that is. Runners at second and third after Barber finally throws the ball back in to the infield.

I find it interesting when a pitching change is made after an error, which is what happened next, as Lisa Ferguson came in to pitch. If the play is made, a runner is on second with two outs, so why is Pauly the one who gets pulled? Anyway, it looked as though she was pulled to save her for the next outing, effectively conceding this game. After all, how many teams score 3 runs (to tie) on Burkhart, in the 3 innings remaining in the game? Especially the way we've been hitting lately, and tonight. This seemed like a reasonable move, at the time.

The next batter was league-leader Kellie Wilkerson. Coach Carie told the Bandits radio guy that she would be walked in situations like this, but we choose not to throw 4 outside for an intentional walk. Which worked out quite well, because after the first pitch, Callie caught Burnum about halfway home. Possibly a squeeze bunt sign was missed. Callie fired quickly to third, possibly too quickly, because Burnum broke back home. Larquier fired back to Callie, but this allowed McDonald to move up from second to third behind the play. (There was only one out, so this is the time to move up during a rundown, not when there are two outs like we did last weekend.)

Continuing on, we eventually did walk Wilkerson, on 4 pitches, on what might be called an unintentional-intentional walk. What happened next is a bit of a mystery, as I was writing the result of the play in the scorebook. Next thing I see is Jackson picking the ball up off the ground and throwing home, because McDonald is trying to score. She does, beating the throw easily. I'm told that Callie Piper kinda mis-fired on the throw back to pitcher, and it went more toward Jackson at SS (though on the ground is not a good throw.) This was not scored as an error, but a "fielder's choice." I guess Piper choose to throw the ball into the ground? It almost sounded like a play in 10U ball where on a walk the batter/runner rounds first and heads to second, trying to draw a throw to allow the runner from third to score. Many teams simply allow the runner to take second. But Wilkerson did not end up on second, so that can't be it. Like I said, it's a mystery. Fortunately, Spencer fouled-out to end the inning. It was 4-0, but that didn't seem any different than the 3-0 it maybe should have been. But it would turn out to be very different.

The bottom of the 5th saw one more hit from the Glory, as Jessica Moore slapped a single to center. (The play-by-play shows Larquier reached on error, then out. She popped the ball up foul near the plate, but Miller dropped it for an error. She then grounded out 4-3.) No scoring from this inning either, and we were still down 4-zip.

Fergie got a 1-2-3 in the 6th, bringing up the top of the order in the home half for the Glory. Courtney Bures was retired on a nice running catch in foul right field by Peel. Hughes then slapped her second single of the night with a slap to left. Oli hit a grounder to second, but a bobble kept us out of the double play, though she was still out at first. Jackson's second walk followed, bringing up Morris. After working the count to 3-2, she hit her 5th HR of the season, just to the left of dead center, and suddenly we had scored 3 runs off Burkhart. Oops. That was it for the inning, but suddenly this "lost" game was not so "lost." Had we given up too soon?

Fergie faced number 8 hitter Miller to start the 7th, and walked her on 5 pitches. There was some displeasure with the calls at the plate at this point. Then Peel walked on a 3-2 pitched that looked very, very close. Actually, Piper slammed her glove on the ground after the non-strike call, something I don't remember her doing. Around this time, Pauly and English left the dugout to warm up. Burnum walked to load the bases, and Pauly re-entered to pitch. She had warmed up for a minuscule amount of time, and her first warmup on the field was way to high, hitting the backstop. The second wasn't much better. In fact, I think she threw just one strike during however many warmups she was allowed. If only she had started warming up earlier, perhaps.

Bases loaded, no outs, 1-run game, top of 7th, very little time to warm up. This doesn't look good.

The first batter faced by Pauly was pinch-hitter Megan Gibson. First pitch, plunk, right in the arm. Run scored, still bases loaded. Can't walk Wilkerson now, can we? Oops, yes we can, as Pauly still struggled with control, walking her on 5 pitches. Another run, still bases loaded, no outs. Finally, Pauly starts to regain control, and gets Spencer to hit a nice come-backer. For some reason, Pauly looked at third, then decided to throw home. We got the out, but we might have had more. Pauly then made sure her mental lapse didn't matter, as she sent Long and Jenna Hall both down swinging. But those 2 runs changed the game, big time. Down 3 with 3 outs to go.

Although "Do You Believe in Magic?" blared from the speakers, there was no magic at Westfield tonight. Moore went down swinging after fouling off several pitches. Pinch-hitter Cambria Miranda flew out to center, deep but not deep enough. Leah English pinch-hit for Barber, and singled nicely to left. Still not allowed to run bases, apparently, as Barber came back in to run. Wouldn't matter, as Bures flew out to RF to end the game.

I'm not sure what to say about tonight's game. Did we give up on the game, and remove Pauly too soon? Did we have her warm up too late? If she had more time, perhaps she would have gotten out of the jam with no runs, which she did after her control returned. Of course, the Bad News Bears defense didn't help much either.

Pauly's loss is her third on the year, against 10 wins. She gave up 4 runs (3 earned), on just 4 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 5. Fergie's line is even stranger: 2 runs on no hits, though 4 walks. Burkhart got the win, improving to 8-3 on the season.

End Notes: a good crowd on hand tonight, possibly biggest of the season. I even saw tailgaters in the parking lot before the game!