1st Inning
Kas was up 1st to lead the NINJAS offense. Kas took a strike on the 1st pitch. After a ball evened up the count on Kas, she took a swing and missed the next pitch. On the next pitch, Kas put it in play and sent a fly ball out into the PANDAS right field for a single. The pitcher tried to regroup as she got back to the rubber to face off against Rachel. A bit shaken, the pitcher missed on the 1st pitch for a ball. Another ball got past the PANDAS catcher and Kas stole 2nd base. On the next pitch, Rachel connected sending a grounder toward the PANDAS pitcher. The pitcher picked up the ball as Kas reached 3rd. When the pitcher threw to 1st for the out on Rachel, Kas took off for home and scored. Erika was up next. Erika took the 1st pitch for a strike. On the next pitch, Erika released her bat and connected, sending a fly ball high over the infield as she took off for 1st. The PANDAS short stop moved in to get under the ball, but lost it in the air and, after hitting the short stop’s glove, the ball bounced out and Erika got a single. Hylah was up next. On the 1st pitch, Erika stole 2nd on the passed ball. Then, the pitcher started to throw heat against Hylah. The 1st pitch came in for a strike. Thinking it was a ball, Hylah watched another go by, but the umpire disagreed. On the last pitch, Erika took off for 3rd. Hylah, again thinking it was a ball, held her bat, but the umpire called the strike and Hylah struck out. The catcher, reacting quickly, caught the ball and fired it toward 3rd base. The PANDAS 3rd baseman made the catch and turned to tag Erika for the 3rd out.
Natalie was selected as the SKIPPING NINJAS starting pitcher. She got warmed up as the PANDAS 1st batter came up to the plate. After a ball on Natalie’s 1st pitch, the batter connected, sending a fly ball out into center field. Erika moved toward the ball, but it hit the ground and the batter got on base with a single. Natalie started to struggle on the next batter. A walk on the batter put 2 PANDAS runners on base. The next batter came up to the plate. On the 1st pitch, the runner on 2nd took a run for 3rd. The batter connected and sent a fly ball to right field. This time, Elise was ready for it and she ran in to make the catch for the out. Elise tried to throw to 2nd to get the runner, who hadn’t tagged up, out as she returned to base, but she overthrew 2nd and 1 run scored on the error. Having recovered the ball, the SKIPPING NINJAS defense reset and Natalie got back to work on the next batter. She still couldn’t find her pitch and a walk on the batter put another PANDAS runner on base. Natalie continued her skid as the next PANDAS batter came up. A passed ball on Natalie’s 1st pitch sent the runner on 2nd on a steal. Katrina quickly recovered the ball and threw to Hylah at 3rd for the 2nd out. Finally, a walk on the batter put another runner on base for the PANDAS. Natalie returned to the rubber as the next batter came to the plate. On the 1st pitch, the batter took a hard swing and connected. The line drive took off like a shot toward left field. Reacting quickly, Kas flipped her glove out to make the grab for the 3rd out and ending the inning.
SKIPPING NINJAS 1 – FLAMING PANDAS 1
2nd Inning
At the top of the 2nd, with the game knotted up, the NINJAS and the PANDAS were going shot for shot. It was time to see if the NINJAS offense could make a statement in the 2nd as Natalie came up to bat. Natalie took the 1st pitch for a strike. The PANDAS pitcher missed on her next 2 pitches. Then, Natalie fouled one off before taking another ball. On the full count pitch, Natalie took a swing and missed for the out. Katrina was up next. After reaching full count, the pitcher walked Katrina. Allie was up next. She took a swing on the 1st pitch for a strike. On the next pitch, Katrina stole 2nd base on a passed ball. Another passed ball gave Katrina an opening to steal 3rd and get herself into scoring position. Allie swung and missed the next pitch for strike 2. Then she fouled one off to stay alive. On the next pitch, Allie swung again and missed, but the catcher dropped the ball. With the drop 3rd strike rule, Allie took off for 1st. The catcher popped up. As soon as she made the throw to 1st, Katrina took off for home. The ball beat Allie to 1st and the PANDAS got the out, but Katrina crossed the plate and scored. Rebecca was up next. On the 1st pitch, Rebecca connected, sending the ball into right field for a single. Elise was up next. On the 1st pitch, Rebecca stole 2nd base on a passed ball. Recovering quickly, the catcher got up to make the throw to 2nd, but her throw got past the PANDAS 2nd baseman and Rebecca was able to make it to 3rd base on the error. Elise took a swing at the next pitch for strike 1. Just as the catcher released the ball on the throw back to the pitcher, Rebecca took off for home. Unfortunately, the PANDAS pitcher was able to turn quickly and make the throw to home. Rebecca dove for the plate and the catcher brought her glove down on Rebecca‘s back. Surprisingly, the umpire called Rebecca out, forcing the side change.
Having settled down between innings, Natalie got another chance to lead the NINJAS defense. The PANDAS, after a good hitting inning in the 1st came out with confidence. The 1st batter took her position at the plate. Natalie fired her 1st pitch in and it was a strike pitch. The batter was ready for it and took a swing, putting the ball in play. The slow grounder rolled straight back to Natalie and she grabbed it and made the throw to Rebecca, playing 1st, for the out. A walk on the next batter put a PANDAS runner on base. Natalie got back to work on the next batter. After throwing heat on her 1st pitch for a strike, Natalie followed it up with another good pitch. The batter connected and sent a hard ground ball through the 3rd base side of the infield for a single. Kas moved in to make the stop. She popped up and fired the ball to Rachel, playing 2nd, and got the 2nd out on the lead runner. Natalie battled against the next batter. After 2 balls, 1 strike and 1 foul ball, the batter fouled off 1 more for good measure. With the count at 2-2, the batter took a swing at Natalie’s next pitch and put it in play. She sent a hard ground ball down the 3rd base line and Hylah moved in to make the stop. She came up firing and threw the ball to Rebecca, but it bounced out of Rebecca’s glove and the batter was safe at 1st as the runner on 2nd advanced to 3rd on the error. With 2 outs and runners on 1st and 3rd, Natalie dug deep to find her pitch in an attempt to get out of the inning. The 1st pitch was on target and the batter watched it go by for strike 1. The batter took a swing at Natalie’s next pitch and missed for strike 2. On Natalie’s next pitch, the batter connected, sending a fast moving line drive, which looked to clear the bases. But Kas reached out her glove to make the grab, preventing the score and ending the inning in spectacular fashion.
SKIPPING NINJAS 2 – FLAMING PANDAS 1
3rd Inning
Resuming her unfinished 3rd inning at bat, Elise was set to kick things off in the 3rd. Elise went back and forth with the PANDAS pitcher and proved difficult to put away, but, after reaching full count, the pitcher got Elise to swing for the strikeout. Kas was up next. Kas came out swinging and put the 1st pitch in play. The ball popped up high over the infield and Kas took off for 1st. The PANDAS 2nd baseman moved in to make the easy catch for the 2nd out. Rachel came up next. The pitcher struggled a bit on Rachel and threw 2 ball pitches in a row and got behind early. Then, she found her rhythm and threw in a strike pitch that sailed past Rachel. On the next pitch, Rachel took a swing and connected. Rachel hit a grounder down the 1st base line and the PANDAS 1st baseman stepped in front of the ball, collected it and stepped on 1st base for the 3rd out. The NINJAS played right into the PANDAS ready defense in the 3rd and were denied.
Giving the PANDAS a different look, Hylah was brought in to pitch in the 3rd. Hylah started off slow and, after splitting the difference with the batter on the 1st 2 pitches, threw 2 ball pitches in a row before hitting the batter to put a PANDAS runner on base. The next PANDAS batter came up to the plate. On Hylah’s 1st pitch, the ball got past Katrina and the runner stole 2nd. Hylah followed it up with another ball. On the 2-0 pitch, the runner advanced safely to 3rd on another passed ball. The batter connected on Hylah’s next pitch and hit a hard grounder straight up the middle of the infield. Hylah scooped up the ball and, when she threw to Rebecca for the out at 1st, the runner on 3rd took off. Reacting quickly, Rebecca fired the ball in to Katrina for the out on the runner coming in from 3rd, turning the double play and clearing the bases. A walk on the next batter put another PANDAS runner on base. The next batter connected on Hylah’s 1st pitch and sent a grounder down the 1st base line. Rebecca moved out of position to make the stop and rushed back to tag 1st, beating the batter to the base and getting the 3rd defensive out of the inning.
SKIPPING NINJAS 2 – FLAMING PANDAS 1
4th Inning
With both defenses on point and making quick work of each other in the 3rd inning, the SKIPPING NINJAS offense came up to bat. Erika was up 1st. Erika came out swinging. Unfortunately, she traded shots with the PANDAS pitcher until she was struck out. Hylah was up next and, after watching a strike go by, she hit the next pitch and popped it up over the infield. The PANDAS defense got under the ball for the easy out on Hylah. With 2 down, it looked like the inning was going to be another scoreless one for the NINJAS offense. Natalie came up to the plate and put the 1st pitch in play. She popped it up as well and the PANDAS short stop moved in to make the catch. Thinking that that was it, Natalie slowly jogged up the base path, but, when the ball bounced out of the short stop’s glove and hit the ground, she had to gun it for 1st to beat the throw to the bag. Katrina was up next. Quickly collecting 2 strikes in the count with a foul ball and a missed swing, Katrina got behind in the count early as Natalie stole her way to 2nd base. Katrina kept swinging aggressively and fouled the next pitch off. She put the next ball in play, sending a hard grounder toward the PANDAS short stop. When the short stop came up with the ball, Natalie took a couple of steps off of 2nd base and the short stop checked her to hold her in place. The short stop tried to take Natalie out on the way back to 2nd, but the throw went wide and got past the PANDAS 2nd baseman. Natalie was able to advance on the error and, given the opening, Katrina was able to stretch the single into a double. Our guest NINJA was up to bat. She took a swing on the 1st pitch and sent the ball for a ride, bouncing in the right center field grass before hitting the wall. Allie brought Natalie and Katrina home with a triple and the NINJAS extended their lead on the play. The PANDAS pitcher reset to face off against Rebecca. She struggled against Rebecca and put her on base with a walk on 5 pitches. Elise was up next. On the 1st pitch, Rebecca stole 2nd on a passed ball and the NINJAS were threatening to score. The pitcher finally found her groove and, after Elise watched 2 pitches go by for 2 strikes, she took a swing at the next pitch and struck out.
Hylah was back in to pitch in the 4th. Starting off slow, she walked the 1st PANDAS batter with 5 pitches. Finding her rhythm, Hylah got the 2nd batter to swing. The 1st pitch came in and the batter missed for strike 1. Hylah followed it up with a ball, but quickly regained control and squeezed one past the batter to bring the count to 1-2. Hylah got reset. She stepped forward and brought her arm around to deliver the pitch. She fired it in and the batter took a swing. The batter swung too early and missed, giving Hylah the strikeout. Hylah returned to the rubber as the next PANDAS batter came up to bat. After a ball on Hylah’s 1st pitch, the batter started to swing. She fouled off Hylah’s next pitch to even up the count. Then, Hylah was able to get one past the batter for strike 2. On the next pitch, the batter took a swing and struck out. After the 2nd strikeout in a row, Hylah started to struggle against the next batter. The batter was able to ride it out until Hylah put her on base with a walk. With PANDAS runners now on 1st and 2nd, Hylah got ready for the next batter. Hylah continued to struggle, but was able to alternate strikes and balls on her 1st 3 pitches, bringing up 2-1. With a passed ball on Hylah’s next pitch, the runners were able to advance safely. Finally, after reaching full count, a walk loaded the bases for the PANDAS. The next batter came out, ready to get a big hit and put the PANDAS back in the game. She watched Hylah’s 1st pitch go by for a strike. Hylah followed it up with 2 ball pitches, bringing up 2-1. The batter connected on Hylah’s next pitch and sent a hard grounder through the 1st base side of the infield. Rachel charged the ball and picked it up. She made the easy toss to Rebecca for the 3rd out, thwarting the PANDAS efforts in the 4th inning.
SKIPPING NINJAS 4 – FLAMING PANDAS 1
5th Inning
With the SKIPPING NINJAS effectively shutting down the PANDAS so far in the game, the NINJAS needed to get the their offense to produce runs in order to solidify what was potentially another victory. Kas was up 1st. She split the difference with the pitcher on the 1st 2 pitches. On the 3rd pitch, Kas connected and sent a slow roller right back to the PANDAS pitcher. The pitcher collected the ball and, taking her time, made the easy throw to 1st for the out on Kas. Rachel was up next. After fouling off the 1st pitch and with a strike mixed in to the count, Rachel got on base with a walk. Erika was up next. Erika swung at a high pitch for a strike and the catcher couldn’t control the ball. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Rachel stole 2nd base. She over ran the base and stayed off of the bag when the catcher threw the ball back to the pitcher. When the pitcher entered the circle in possession of the ball, Rachel needed to either advance or return to base. She did neither and the umpire halted the action to call her out. The pitcher got back to work on Erika. With the count at 0-1, the pitcher threw a ball to even up the count. On the next pitch, Erika took a swing and connected. She sent the ball right back to the pitcher and, again, the pitcher made the easy throw to 1st for the out. Once again, the PANDAS defense was able to stand their ground and retire the side with no damage.
Erika was set to take over pitching duties in the 5th inning. The 1st batter came up to bat. Warming up, Erika’s 1st pitch was a ball. The batter fouled off the 2nd pitch and evened up the count. Erika followed it up with another ball. On the next pitch the batter made contact and sent a fast grounder through the infield. Kas, playing short stop, moved in to scoop up the ball. She threw the ball to Rebecca. Rebecca caught the ball just as the batter ran through the bag, but the base umpire called the batter out at 1st. The next batter came up to bat. Continuing to warm up, Erika traded shots with the batter until reaching 2-2. On the next pitch, the batter connected and sent a fly ball out into center field. Katrina rushed in to make the catch, but couldn’t quite get there and the ball hit the grass, giving the batter a single. The NINJAS defense reset for the next batter. Erika’s 1st pitch missed its mark and the runner on base stole 2nd on a passed ball. After fouling off Erika’s next pitch, the batter put the follow-up in play. It was another fly ball to center field. This time, Katrina was able to reach it and she snatched the ball out of the air for the 2nd out. On the hit, the runner on 2nd gambled that Katrina would miss the catch and took off for 3rd without tagging up. When Katrina caught it, the runner scrambled to return to 2nd. Katrina attempted to throw the runner out, but she missed the throw to 2nd base and the runner was able to turn around and reach 3rd safely. Erika resumed her position on the rubber as the next PANDAS batter came up to the plate. After a ball on her 1st pitch, Erika got the batter to swing at her next 2 pitches for strikes. She lost her groove on the next 3 pitches and eventually walked the batter. Erika continued her skid by throwing balls on the 1st 2 pitches against the next batter. Regrouping, Erika was able to get the batter to swing at her next 2 pitches to even up the count. The batter fouled the next one off to stay alive. On the next pitch, the batter connected and put the ball in play. The ball popped up over the infield and drifted into foul territory. Hylah got up and moved into place. She reached out her glove and made the catch for the 3rd out.
SKIPPING NINJAS 4 – FLAMING PANDAS 1
6th Inning
With both defenses on full display in this game and the low-scoring game only determined by 3 points so far, it was still anyone’s game. Both defenses continuing to be very effective and greedy in their execution, a clear victor had yet to emerge. But as time was ticking on the game, the SKIPPING NINJAS needed to start to pull away and the FLAMING PANDAS needed to get their improve their offensive production. It was the SKIPPING NINAS turn at bat and Hylah was up 1st. The PANDAS pitcher missed on her 1st try. On the 2nd pitch, Hylah watched the ball go by for a strike. After another ball, Hylah fouled one off and the count reached 2-2. Hylah swung on the next pitch and connected, sending a fly ball over the infield toward 2nd base. The PANDAS 2nd baseman moved herself under the ball for the catch, but dropped it. She was able to quickly recover and get the throw to 1st off. The ball beat Hylah to the bag and she was out. Natalie was up next. Natalie watched the 1st pitch fly by for a strike. The next pitch was a ball. Natalie took a swing on the next pitch and put it in play. The grounder rolled right into the pitcher’s glove and she made the throw to 1st for the out on Natalie. With 2 down, Katrina took her turn at the plate. Katrina took the 1st pitch and it was a strike. Katrina swung at the next pitch and fouled it off. The next pitch was a ball. Then, Katrina fouled the next 2 pitches off and stayed alive. The pitcher dug deep and fired one in toward the catcher’s glove. Katrina released her bat and took a hard swing at the pitch. Katrina’s bat missed the ball and the catcher caught it for the strikeout on Katrina. Once again, the FLAMING PANDAS defense made quick work of the SKIPPING NINJAS.
Erika was back in to pitch. With a sense of urgency, the PANDAS offense came out swinging. After a ball on the 1st pitch, the batter put the ball in play and sent a grounder toward Allie, now playing short stop. The ball took a bad hop right as Allie reached the ball and it got past her, giving the batter enough time to reach 1st. The next batter also took a ball on Erika’s 1st pitch before connecting and sending another grounder straight at Allie. This time, Allie got the ball, but came up and made the throw to 2nd, but the runners reached their respective bases safely. The next PANDAS batter came up to the plate. Erika’s 1st pitch was a ball and the runner on 2nd safely stole 3rd on the passed ball. Erika began to struggle and threw balls on the next 2 pitches. The batter fouled off the next pitch, bringing the count to 3-1. The batter connected on Erika’s next pitch and sent a line drive roaring through the infield down the 3rd base line. Natalie reached out her glove and made the catch for the out on the batter. Then, Natalie threw the ball to 2nd and turned the double play. With 1 remaining runner on base, the next batter took her position at the plate. The batter was aggressive and tenacious. She took a swing at Erika’s 1st pitch for a strike. Then, she fouled off the next pitch. After a ball, the batter fouled off the next 2 pitches to stay alive. But Erika was able to come out on top with a strike pitch. The batter missed and was sent back to the dugout, ending the 6th inning.
SKIPPING NINJAS 4 – FLAMING PANDAS 1
7th Inning
With time running out in the game, this would be the last inning. Still, both defenses put on a great performance and it was essentially a stalemate for the duration. If either team were to make a statement, now was the time. Allie was up 1st. Throwing pitches in pairs, the PANDAS pitcher started off with 2 balls, followed up by 2 strikes. 2 balls later and Allie was on base. Rebecca was up next. On the 1st pitch, Rebecca took a swing and missed for a strike. The ball got past the catcher and Allie stole 2nd base on the passed ball. The next pitch was a ball. Another swing and Rebecca collected another strike. Again, Allie stole 3rd base on the passed ball. Rebecca went down swinging and struck out on the last pitch. Elise was up next. After throwing a strike on the 1st pitch, the pitcher lost her grove and Elise got on base with a walk. Kas was up next. Kas took a strike on her 1st pitch. After that, she started swinging and fouling balls off. It looked like she was headed for a strikeout, but, on the 4th pitch, Kas made contact and sent a hard ground ball through to deep right field for a single, bringing Allie home, ending the 2 inning drought, and putting Elise on 3rd base. Rachel was up next. Shaken, the PANDAS pitcher couldn’t throw a strike and a walk on Rachel loaded the bases for the NINJAS. With bases loaded, Erika came up to bat and the pitcher continued to slump. A walk on Erika brought Elise across the plate. Hylah was up. The pitcher could not throw a strike across the plate. A passed ball on the 2nd ball pitch in a row gave Kas the opening she needed to make it home on a steal from 3rd. On the play, Rachel and Erika advanced into scoring position. Hylah connected on the next pitch and sent a hard ground ball toward 3rd base. The PANDAS 3rd baseman turned to check 3 and Rachel froze. Quickly turning her attention to 1st base, the 3rd baseman tried to get the out on Hylah and Rachel took off. Hylah beat the ball to 1st base and Rachel scored. The NINJAS bats were coming alive and they started to pull away from the PANDAS. Natalie came up to bat. Unfortunately, the streak was snapped. After swinging at 2 pitches for strikes, Natalie put the ball in play, but the grounder went straight to the pitcher who got the out on Natalie at 1st as Erika and Hylah moved into scoring position. Katrina was up next. After 2 ball pitches, Katrina got hold of the next pitch and sent a fly ball deep into the left field grass for a double, bringing Erika and Hylah home. Allie was up next. On the 1st pitch, Allie held her bat for the ball. Katrina took off for 3rd on a steal. The PANDAS catcher was able to recover quickly and make the throw to 3rd. The PANDAS 3rd baseman made the catch and turned to tag Katrina for the 3rd out, putting a stop to the NINJAS late-game surge.
With the damage done, the PANDAS were staring down the barrel of a 9-point deficit. It was do or die time. Erika had trouble starting in the 7th. A walk on the 1st batter put a PANDAS runner on base. The next batter came up to bat. On the 1st pitch, the runner stole 2nd base on a passed ball. The batter connected on the next pitch and sent a grounder through the infield toward Allie, playing short stop. Allie moved in and picked up the ball. She made the throw to Rebecca for the out as the other runner reached 3rd. With 1 out and a runner in scoring position, Erika got back to work. Erika threw a strike on the 1st pitch. She followed it up with 3 ball pitches in a row. Each time, Hylah, at catcher, kept control of the runners. The batter took the next pitch for a strike. On the 3-2 pitch, the batter took a swing. She missed the ball and struck out. With 1 out left to go to solidify the win, Erika and the defense got back into position. The next PANDAS batter came up to the plate. Desperate to get the runners moving, the batter swung aggressively. She missed the 1st pitch. She missed the 2nd one as well. At 0-2, Erika’s next pitch was wide, but Hylah managed to catch the outside pitch. Now at 1-2, Erika prepared for the next pitch. She stepped forward and delivered the pitch. The ball was on target and the PANDAS batter knew that this was her last chance. The batter released the bat and took the swing. The bat traveled through the strike zone as the ball approached. The bat barely missed the ball and the ball landed in Hylah’s glove for strike 3 and the 3rd out. The SKIPPING NINJAS took home the victory!
Final Score
SKIPPING NINJAS 10 – FLAMING PANDAS 1
Game Ball
It was a very exciting day of softball with a lot of good action all over the field. Both defenses kept each other at bay for most of the game. Our guest NINJA, Allie, was a very welcome addition to our roster for the day and a big hit for a triple, early in the game, was very impressive. Katrina also had a great game. She kept control of the game from behind the plate and she made some great plays in the outfield. Not to mention the big hit for a double at the end of the game that brought home the game winning runs. For their efforts on the day, both Allie and Katrina took home a game ball. With the victory, the SKIPPING NINJAS were able to enjoy the day at the BBQ with a 2-game winning streak. Great job ladies!
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