Having come up short in their bid for 1st place in the last game and snapping their winning streak, the SKIPPING NINJAS were forced to regroup. The loss also locked up 1st place for the FLAMING PANDAS. The NINJAS were set to face off against INTENSITY for their final matchup in the regulation season. A win in this game would determine a clear 2nd place team. Once again, the NINJAS were short a player. So we recruited Allie, from BLUE DYNAMITE and Olivia from AFTERSHOCKS in the Majors Division, to round out our roster again. When the umpire called a start to the game, the fight for 2nd place was underway.
1st Inning
As the visiting team in this game, the NINJAS offense took to the field first. INTENSITY selected their ace pitcher to start things off. Rachel was up 1st. The pitcher wasn’t playing around. She started off strong against Rachel and got her to swing at the 1st pitch for a strike. Rachel held her bat on the next pitch, but the pitch was on the mark and Rachel collected another strike in the count. After a ball, Rachel fouled the next pitch off. On the next pitch, Rachel put the ball in play and sent a grounder right up the 1st base line. With everyone, including the NINJAS, thinking that it was rolling foul, the defense left the ball alone. Luckily, the grounder held the line and stayed in fair territory and Rachel got a single. Erika came out swinging. She missed the 1st pitch and Rachel successfully stole 2nd. Erika watched the next pitch go by for strike 2 and Rachel was able to make her way to 3rd. After a ball, Erika fouled one off. Then, she took a poke at the next pitch and struck out swinging. Lexie was up next. Anxious to bring Rachel home and draw 1st blood in the game, Lexie attacked the 1st pitch and missed for strike 1. She hit the next pitch into foul territory for strike 2. On the next pitch, she took a swing. She barely missed the pitch and went down swinging. Hylah had a little better luck during her at bat. She connected on the 1st pitch, but it rolled foul. Hylah connected again and put the ball in play, but the grounder went straight back to the pitcher and the pitcher made the throw to 1st for the out on Hylah, leaving Rachel stranded on 3rd.
The NINJAS offense set the tone early, in the 1st half-inning, by swinging aggressively and eventually getting a hit against the tough INTENSITY pitcher. Erika started the NINJAS off at the rubber to see if the NINJAS could fight fire with fire as the 1st INTENSITY batter took her position at the plate. Showing a lack of respect for Erika’s pitching, the batter took a swing at the 1st pitch and put the ball in play. The grounder went straight back to Erika and she made the easy throw to 1st. Lexie made the catch and got the 1st out. Erika lost her rhythm on the next batter and a walk put an INTENSITY runner on base. The next batter came up to bat. She watched Erika’s 1st pitch go by for a strike. She took a swing and popped up Erika’s next pitch. The fly ball drifted over the infield on the 3rd base side of the field. The ball drifted out to left field and Olivia moved in and made the catch for the 2nd out. The next INTENSITY batter came up to bat. Erika’s 1st pitch was wild and the runner on 1st stole 2nd. Trying to keep the runner moving, the batter took a swing at the next pitch for a strike. When she missed on her next swing, collecting another strike, the runner took a chance and stole her way safely to 3rd. On the next 2 pitches, Erika brought up full count. The batter got a hit on the next pitch and sent a line drive tearing through the infield on it’s way to right center, but Rachel got in front of the ball and, on the fly, made the catch on the line drive, putting an end to the 1st inning.
SKIPPING NINJAS 0 – INTENSITY 0
2nd Inning
With both defenses effectively shutting down the other team, which has been a pattern whenever these 2 teams faced off this season, the NINJAS came up to bat to see if either offense could break through. As Natalie came up to bat, he NINJAS were hoping to be the 1st to do so in this game. Natalie took a swing at the INTENSITY pitcher’s 1st pitch for a strike. She put the ball in play on the next pitch, but, once again, the grounder went straight back to the pitcher. Moving off the rubber to collect the ball, the pitcher scooped it up and made the throw to 1st for the out on Natalie. Olivia was up next. She took a swing at the 1st pitch for a strike. After 2 balls, she took another swing and missed. After 2 more balls, Olivia found herself on 1st base after a walk. On the 1st pitch, the ball got past the INTENSITY catcher and Olivia took off for 2nd. The catcher recovered and tried to take Olivia out at 2nd, but the ball got past the INTENSITY 2nd baseman and, with INTENSITY still scrambling for the ball, Olivia turned the corner at 3rd and scored. On the next pitch, Rebecca hit a hard grounder past the INTENSITY 1st baseman for a single. Allie was up next. The 1st pitch got away from the catcher and Rebecca made her way to 2nd on a passed ball. The next pitch was outside, bringing up ball 2, and Rebecca took off for 3rd. The catcher fired one to 3rd in an attempt to catch Rebecca stealing, but the 3rd baseman couldn’t get a handle on the ball and it hit the grass in the outfield. Rebecca took advantage of the opening and scored on the error. Shaking it off, the pitcher got back to work on Allie. A bit rattled, she threw a ball on her next pitch. On the next pitch, Allie, hoping for another ball, held her bat and struck out looking. Aale’a was up next and swung her bat aggressively. Unfortunately, it didn’t pay off as Aale’a struck out on 3 pitches, ending the offensive half for the NINJAS.
Erika was back at the rubber in the 2nd. Erika struggled against the batter after the 1st pitch was it into foul territory. A walk on the batter put an INTENSITY runner on base. Erika squeezed one past the next batter for a strike on the 1st pitch. With a ball on the 2nd pitch, the runner stole 2nd on a passed ball. Erika lost her touch a bit and missed on the next 2 pitches, bringing up 3-1. Counting on the ball, the batter held her swing and Erika hit Hylah’s glove for full count. On the next pitch, the batter took a swing and missed, striking out for the 1st out of the inning. The next batter came up and was determined to get the runner moving. She watched Erika’s 1st pitch go by for a strike. She took a swing and missed the next pitch for strike 2. The INTENSITY batter fouled the next pitch off and stayed alive. After a ball, Erika threw a nice one over the plate. The batter attacked the pitch, but came up short and struck out. The next batter came up to bat. After a ball on Erika’s 1st pitch, the batter connected and put the ball in play. She popped up the ball and, again, the fly ball drifted over the 3rd base side of the infield. This time, it stayed over the dirt and Natalie got herself under the ball and caught it for the 3rd out, ending the 2nd inning with a 2-point lead for the NINJAS.
SKIPPING NINJAS 2 – INTENSITY 0
3rd Inning
After going toe to toe against INTENSITY in the 1st inning and holding them scoreless while putting 2 points on the board, the SKIPPING NINJAS came to the plate to see if they could start pulling away in the game. Rachel was up 1st. Rachel took a swing on the INTENSITY pitcher’s 1st pitch. Rachel connected on the next pitch and sent the ball out to right field for a single. Erika was up next. She came out swinging and hit the 1st pitch into foul territory. She watched the next pitch fly by for strike 2. On the next pitch, Rachel stole 2nd on a passed ball. The INTENSITY catcher scrambled to collect the ball and threw to 2nd in an attempt to catch Rachel stealing, but the ball got away from he INTENSITY 2nd baseman and Rachel was able to reach 3rd. As the INTENSITY defense tried to recover the ball, Rachel took off for home and scored. The pitcher got back to work against Erika, but Erika kept fighting and fouled the next pitch off to stay alive. After a ball brought the count to 2-2, Erika took a swing at the next pitch and struck out. Getting hits on the INTENSITY ace pitcher seemed to light a fire under the NINJAS and Lexie came out swinging. She put the ball in play, but the grounder went straight to the INTENSITY 2nd baseman, who scooped up the ball and tossed it to 1st for the 2nd out. Hylah was up next. Hylah watched one go by for strike 1. On the next pitch, Hylah connected and sent a fly ball into right field for a single. With a NINJAS runner on base, Natalie came up to bat. She took a swing at the 1st pitch for a strike and Hylah advanced to 2nd on a steal. Natalie hit the next pitch into foul territory for strike 2. On the next pitch, Natalie hit the ball and, again, sent a grounder toward the INTENSITY 2nd baseman. She picked up he ball and tossed it to 1st for the out on Natalie, ending the inning and holding the NINJAS to 1 point in the inning and 3 overall.
Erika was back in to pitch. Erika got one past the 1st batter, but she started to struggle and, on the next 4 pitches, couldn’t find her strike and the batter walked. The next batter came out swinging and put Erika’s 1st pitch in play. She hit a fly ball to right field for a single. With runners on 1st and 2nd, the next INTENSITY batter came up to bat. Erika continued to struggle and couldn’t find her strike on the 1st 3 pitches. Holding her bat on the next pitch, the batter watch the ball hit the mark for a strike. Erika hit the batter with her next pitch and loaded the bases. Continuing to struggle, Erika started off against the next batter with 2 straight ball pitches. On the next pitch, Erika found her strike, but the batter was ready. She got a hit and sent a fly ball over the infield. On the fly, Rebecca moved off of 3rd base to make the catch for the out, freezing the runners on their respective bases. The INTENSITY next batter came up to bat. The batter watched Erika’s 1st pitch fly by for strike 1. She took a swing on the next pitch and connected. Erika moved in to pick up the ball. Instead of taking out the lead runner and preventing the score, Erika decided to go for the out at 1st. She got the ball to Lexie for the out, but one INTENSITY runner was able to cross the plate. Trying to keep the runners moving, the next batter came up to the plate and started swinging. She connected on the 1st pitch and sent a grounder up the 1st base line. Lexie scooped up the ball and tagged the bag for the 3rd out.
SKIPPING NINJAS 3 – INTENSITY 1
4th Inning
In the lead by 3 points, the SKIPPING NINJAS offense took to the field. Olivia, returning guest NINJA from AFTERSHOCK in the Majors, was up 1st. INTENSITY decided to rest their ace pitcher. The new pitcher needed some time to warm up. She couldn’t find her pitch against Olivia. After 4 pitches, Olivia got on base with a walk. Rebecca was up next. The pitcher was able to get the 1st pitch past Rebecca for a strike. On the next pitch, Olivia stole 2nd on a passed ball. The pitcher continued to slump on the next 2 pitches. Rebecca took the next pitch, hoping for another ball, but the pitch was on the mark and the count was full. The INTENSITY pitcher fired the next one in. Rebecca, reading ball, held her bat again, but the umpire saw it differently and Rebecca struck out looking. Allie, our 2nd guest NINJA, from the BLUE DYNAMITE team in the Majors, was up next. The pitcher started to struggle against Allie and started off with a ball on the 1st pitch. On the next pitch, Olivia stole 3rd on a passed ball. Allie watched the next pitch for a strike. Then, on the next pitch, Allie took a swing and connected. She sent a grounder right back to the INTENSITY pitcher. The pitcher picked up the ball and threw the ball to 1st for the out on Allie. On the throw, Olivia took off for home and scored. Aale’a was up next. Aale’a attacked the 1st 2 pitches and missed both for strikes 1 and 2. Calming herself down, Aale’a held her bat on the next pitch. Unfortunately, the pitcher found her strike and got the pitch to the catcher for the strikeout on Aale’a, retiring the side.
With Erika’s arm fading a bit in the 3rd, Hylah was selected to take over pitching duties in the 4th. Hylah started off struggling against the 1st batter. She threw a ball on her 1st pitch. She was able to follow it up with a strike pitch and the batter fouled it off. After a ball, Hylah hit the batter and put n INTENSITY runner on base. Hylah continued having problems at the rubber. She started off with a ball against the next batter. She got the batter to swing at the next pitch for a strike. She got the batter to swing again, but this time the batter fouled it off for strike 2. Hylah started to struggle again and lost her strike. Finally, after reaching full count, Hylah gave up 1st base with a walk on the batter. The next INTENSITY batter came up to bat. The batter connected on Hylah’s 1st pitch, but she hit the ball into foul territory. On the next pitch, the runners stole their way into scoring position on a passed ball. Once again, Hylah lost her strike on the next 3 pitches. On the 3rd pitch, Hylah hit the batter and loaded the bases for INTENSITY. With Hylah having a difficult go of it, she was asked if she wanted out, but she asked for another chance. She got back to work as the next batter approached the plate. It seemed like the threat of a switch recharged Hylah and she started throwing strikes. The batter swung aggressively. She hit the 1st 2 pitches into foul territory. Then she attacked Hylah’s next pitch and struck out swinging. Feeling more confident, Hylah got ready for the next INTENSITY batter. The batter swung aggressively as well and put Hylah’s 1st pitch in play. She hit a low fly ball over the 1st base line. Lexie stepped in front of it and made the catch for the 2nd out. Hylah’s strike left almost as soon as it appeared. On 4 pitches, a walk on the batter kept the bases loaded and brought an INTENSITY runner home. Hylah asked for 1 more chance, but, after a short battle that filled up the count, she walked another batter, bringing another runner across the plate. Allie, who had been asking to pitch since the previous game, was given a shot. She started off slow against her 1st batter and threw balls on her 1st 3 pitches, which saw an INTENSITY runner steal home on a passed ball to tie up the game. On the next pitch, she found her groove, but the batter connected. She sent a grounder right back to Allie. Allie reeled it in and made the easy throw to 1st for the final out of the inning.
SKIPPING NINJAS 4 – INTENSITY 4
5th Inning
With both teams asserting themselves in this game, a clear victor had yet to emerge in this battle for 2nd place in the division. Rachel came out to see if she could begin a rally that would help the NINJAS to add to their steadily decreasing lead. She came out swinging and connected on the 1st toss from the INTENSIY pitcher. She hit a grounder that rolled through the 1st base side of the infield. The INTENSITY 2nd baseman got in front of the ball and picked it up. She tossed the ball to 1st for the out and Rachel was sent back to the NINJAS dugout empty handed. Erika was up next. Erika was up next. Swinging on the 1st pitch, Erika missed and collected a strike for her efforts. Fouling off the next pitch, Erika put herself further behind in the count with a 2nd strike. When the pitcher delivered her next pitch, Erika started to swing, but thought better of it as she saw the pitch drift off target for a ball. When the pitcher threw her next pitch, Erika went after it and struck out swinging. With the door closing quickly on the NINJAS offense, Lexie came out to see if she could break through in the 5th. The pitcher had other plans as her confidence was building with her success against the 1st 2 NINJAS batters. The strike pitches started to come easier. Lexie took a swing on the 1st pitch for a strike. The next pitch was on target again and Lexie came up short in her 2nd attempt. With 2 strikes, Lexie started to get anxious as her window of opportunity began to close. On the next pitch, she tried again. Once again, the pitcher was able to squeeze the pitch past Lexie and Lexie struck out swinging.
Having only faced 1 batter as she completed the last inning, Allie was given another shot to pitch in the 5th inning. She started off slow against the 1st batter and threw balls on the 1st 2 pitches. She found her strike on the next 2 and got the batter to swing to even up the count at 2-2. The batter connected on Allie’s next pitch and put the ball in play. She sent a grounder up the 3rd base line. Hylah came off of 3rd to make the stop and threw the ball to 1st for the out on the batter. The next batter came up to the plate. Allie got to work and delivered her 1st pitch. The batter took a swing and hit the ball into foul territory. The batter got a hold of Allie’s next pitch and sent a hard grounder through the infield out into the center field grass for a single. Regrouping, Allie returned to the rubber to take on the next INTENSITY batter. On the 1st pitch, the batter watched the pitch go by for a strike and the runner stole 2nd base when the ball got past Erika. The batter attacked Allie’s next pitch and collected a swinging strike for her efforts. On the pitch, the runner made her way to 3rd on a steal as another pitch got away from Erika again. The batter fouled the next pitch off to stay alive. After a ball, the batter tried again and struck out swinging for the 2nd out. Allie started off with a swinging strike against the next batter. Suddenly, Allie lost her strike pitch. She threw balls on the next 2 pitches and got behind in the count. On the next pitch, Allie missed the mark and Erika let it get past her once again and the runner on 3rd saw an opening. As Erika slowly went after the ball, the runner on 3rd took off and scored, putting INTENSITY in the lead for the 1st time in the game. Eventually, a walk on the batter put another runner on base for INENSITY. With 2 down, Allie got ready to take on the next batter. She fought hard in a battle against the batter. The batter fouled the 1st pitch off for strike 1. On the next pitch, the runner aggressively stole 2nd on a passed ball. Erika let another pitch get past her and the runner reached 3rd on yet another passed ball. Allie drew the swing on the next pitch and put another strike in the count. A ball on the next pitch brought up full count. With 2 down and 2 strikes on the batter, Allie dug deep and found her mark on the next pitch. The batter saw it as well. She took a swing and Allie’s pitch flew just under the bat. Reaching Erika’s glove, the pitch found its mark and the batter struck out.
SKIPPING NINJAS 4 – INTENSITY 5
6th Inning
Now down by 1 in what the umpire stated would be the last inning of the game. The SKIPPING NINJAS offense needed to come alive in order take back the lead. Hylah was up 1st. She came out swinging and put the ball in play on the 1st pitch. The grounder went straight back to the pitcher who got the out on Hylah with a quick throw to 1st. Natalie was up next. Following Hylah’s lead, she swung and connected with the 1st pitch. She managed a double on a big hit to right field. Olivia was next. She tried to keep things going on the 1st pitch, but missed and collected a strike as Natalie stole 3rd base. The INTENSITY pitcher started to lose her rhythm and threw balls on the next 2 pitches before hitting Olivia and putting her on base. The pitcher continued to struggle as Rebecca came to the plate. On the 1st pitch, Olivia stole 2nd on a passed ball. She managed to squeeze one past Rebecca to even up the count. But she wasn’t able to find it again and, 3 pitches later, the bases were loaded with the walk on Rebecca. Allie was up next. The pitcher started to regain her groove and managed to get Allie to swing. Allie missed on her 1st attempt for a strike. After a ball, Allie tried again, but missed the strike pitch on her second go. A ball on the next pitch evened things up at 2-2. On the next pitch, Rebecca got a hold of it and sent a hard grounder screaming through the INTENSITY infield for a single and the NINJAS runners were on the move. The ball got past the 3rd baseman and rolled far into the left field grass, which gave Natalie and Olivia time to reach home and put the NINJAS back in the lead. With runners now on 1st and 2nd, Aale’a came up to bat. Rattled, the pitcher lost her groove again. A walk on Aale’a loaded the bases again for the SKIPPING NINJAS. Rachel came up next. On the 1st pitch, Rachel hit the ball, but the ball died on the field as if she bunted. It was the INTENSITY catcher’s ball, but she was forced to get out of position to pick it up, giving Rebecca room to get past her and score. By the time, the catcher recovered, the NINJAS runners advanced safely. Now down by 3, the INTENSITY pitcher returned to the rubber as Erika approached the plate. Erika stared swinging aggressively. She fouled one off, then watched one get by her and got behind in the count early. She fouled one more off to stay alive. The pitcher tried her best to take her down, but, after a ball, Erika was able to foul one more off to extend her at bat. One more ball evened up the count at 2-2. On the next pitch, Erika tried again, but this time, it didn’t pay off and Erika struck out swinging. Lexie was up next. With the bases loaded, Lexie tried to get things moving. She got a hit on the 1st pitch, but the grounder rolled straight up the 1st base line and the INTENSITY 1st baseman picked up the ball and waited for Lexie to run into the tag to end the inning and the final appearance of the NINJAS offense.
Riding a 3-point lead, all the NINJAS had to do to take home the victory was hold INTENSITY. Allie, after a good performance in the 5th, was selected to close the show. She warmed up against the 1st batter, but missed on her 1st 2 pitches for balls 1 and 2. On the next pitch, the batter connected and sent a hard ground ball through the NINJAS infield for a single. Erika picked up the ball, but when she missed the throw to 2nd, in an attempt to hold the runner, the runner saw an opening and gunned it for 2nd. By the time the NINJAS recovered, the runner advanced safely. The next INTENSITY batter came up to bat. She tried to keep the runner moving. On the 1st pitch, the batter connected and sent a line drive screaming toward right field. Amazingly, Rachel reached out her glove and made the catch for the out. The next batter came up to face off against Allie. On Allie’s 1st pitch, the batter took a swing and missed. After a ball evened up the count, the batter connected on Allie’s next pitch. She sent a ground ball through the 3rd base side of the infield and the runner turned the corner at 3rd. Natalie moved in and made the stop on the ball. When she got up, the runner was on her way home. Natalie decided to let her go in favor of the out at 1st, but her throw was high and the batter reached 2nd on the error. As the dust settled, Allie returned to the rubber as the next INTENSITY batter came up to the plate. Allie’s 1st pitch got past Hylah and the runner stole 3rd on the passed ball. On the next pitch, the batter connected and sent a line drive straight up the middle. The runner on 3rd anxiously took a big lead counting on the ball to reach the outfield. Reacting quickly, Allie flipped out her glove and caught the line drive for the 2nd out, forcing the runner to scramble back to 3rd as she hadn’t tagged up. Allie tried to take her out, but she missed the connection when Rebecca lost control of the ball. The ball rolled into foul territory and the runner took off for home and scored, tying up the game. Having given up the tying run, the SKIPPING NINJAS now couldn’t take home the victory. They now had to play spoiler in INTENSITY’s attempt to steal the game. With 2 down and no runners on base, the game hinged on the next INTENSITY batter. Allie started off with a ball. The batter started swinging and fouled off Allie’s next 2 pitches. Allie threw one more across, but it was a little inside and the count was even at 2-2. Allie dug deep and delivered her next pitch. The batter, hoping for a ball, watched it hit Hylah’s glove. The umpire yelled, “Strike 3!” The game was over and the NINJAS and INTENSITY ended the game in a tie.
Final Score
SKIPPING NINJAS 7 – INTENSITY 7
Game Ball
In the fight for 2nd place, the tie created matching records for the NINJAS and INTENSITY. Unfortunately, going to the tiebreaker, which would be runs allowed, INTENSITY came out ahead and regained 2nd place. But, there was no reason for the NINJAS to hang their heads as both teams put in a great performance on both sides, which proved that these teams were very evenly matched. Both Allie and Erika put in some solid performances at pitcher in the game and, for that, they were awarded a game ball. Great job ladies!
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