SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS: There’s nothing better in sports than when two teams face off, and there’s a head to head competition within. Every game Denae Benites and Kelsie Whitmore play independently and together is a proverbial cat and mouse game of, “whatever you can do, I can do better.”
Coming into tonight the Firebells were riding high on a four game win streak, while the Heights, determined to dig out of an 0-3 hole, took an early five-run lead in the top of the first.
Liz Gilder got the start for SF. Benites, with Natsuki Yonetani in scoring position, put NY on the board with an RBI base hit to left. Val Perez, London Studer, Kylee Lahners and Elodie Ciamarro had a back-to-back-to-back-to-back party – while some fans were still sipping their first beer – presumably a can of “She’s On First” brewed by Springfield Brewing Co.
San Francisco answered with six runs in the bottom frame in identical fashion off NY’s Keira Izumi. Whitmore, batting second – the same as Benites – brought Amanda Gianelloni home on a two run tater to the furthest part of the park, tying Benites for total home runs this season.
Andréanne LeBlanc roped a rocket up the middle and Skylar Kaplan crushed a three-run homer to right – her first as a pro. Joely Leguizamon jacked a double to center and Jua Park’s two-bagger put the Firebells in front, 6-5. At this point you might have found yourself wondering if this was going to be bad deja vu all over again. Well, maybe, but the night was still very young.
The Heights tied the score in the second on the crafty baserunning of Yonetani. She walked, stole third and raced home on a wild throw. Then, showcased her great defense in the bottom half hauling in a deep fly ball at the wall. An inning and a third in, Izumi lost control of the situation, surrendering a single to Whitmore – a wild pitch that put Kelsie on second – and was sent to the dugout after a four pitch walk to Jill Albayati. Claire O’Sullivan took the reins. Off a series of errors, two runs scored, but none were earned, maintaining O’Sullivan’s impressive record.
In the fifth, Firebell Ela Day-Bedard took the bump and NY went to town. Raykung Kim dumped an opposite field single to right, came close to being picked off at first, then took second on a wild pitch. That fortuitous call in Kim’s favor brought the Heights one run closer one pitch later on Claire Eccles’ stand up RBI double down the right field line.
Yonetani got another free pass and another wild pitch brought Eccles to third. Benites strutted to the plate with two runners on base, motioning three fingers. With the confidence of a lion circling its prey, she belted a three run homer, her eighth, to pull back ahead of Whitmore’s total by one. In addition to New York’s now-iconic tunnel celebration, we got a first look at the long ball Timb’s around Benites’ neck.
NY tacked on an insurance run in the sixth from Kim’s walk, Ciamarro’s line drive down the first baseline and a convergence of Firebells unable to make a play on Eccles fly to short left center.
In the bottom of the sixth, Whitmore beat out an infield ground ball. And with one away and LeBlanc at the plate, the game was delayed on account of lightning, then called due to weather.
Denae Benites was Player of the Game, and a big shout out to O’Sullivan for four innings of big time relief.
Folks, we are in the middle of the season and it just gets better and better.