SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS: In the nightcap of the last twin-bill of the season, the Heights handed the Queens a dose of their own comeback medicine.
LA drew first blood in the bottom of the third off Ashton Lansdell’s 334’ three-run blast – an added gift for her fans on her bobblehead giveaway night. Aboard for the ride were Isabella Villarreal, the culprit in the season opener against NY, making her first appearance since her clutch pinch-hit game-winning double, and Caitlin Eynon, a reliable bat in manager Eric Young’s productive lineup.
In the top of the fourth, new “kid” on the block, Ayuri Shimano, capitalizing on last night’s impressive WPBL debut, tacked on another run, leading off with a base hit up the middle – scoring on Sarah Edwards’ bobbled single to right.
LA’s Amayi Sato cruised through the first four innings, surrendering one hit, while striking out three – feeling good with a commanding 4-0 lead.
If we’ve learned anything from the game of baseball, it’s that sometimes commanding leads are not what they’re cracked up to be and routine plays aren’t always routine.
In the top of the fifth, Alyssa Zettlemoyer reached base when a “routine” fly ball fell out of Brittany Apgar’s centerfield glove. Keira Izumi took the third baseman’s place at first, stole second, then third, and Emi Saiki, traded from LA, making her debut as a New Yorker, drove Izumi home on a base hit up the middle. Claire Eccles laid down a beauty of a sac bunt, Yonetani’s RBI double the other way made it a two-run game, and Denae Benites’ line drive over short cut the lead by one.
Maggie Foxx took the mound from Sato in the sixth. Benites swiped her league-leading ninth stolen base, and Claire O’Sullivan notched the tying run on a single to right-center field. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases and remained that way.
Heights reliever Jacqui Reynolds, who left her last outing early due to an injury, got a not-so-nice how do you do from Eynon’s lead-off double. Lansdell then greeted the righty with a go-head two run homer. After a five-pitch walk to Shimano, with one away, Adelaine Frank was the victim of a dubious interference call at the dish, deemed a strikeout, deflating any momentum to do further damage. Jaida Lee took the reins and retired Thaima Maximiliana on four pitches.
Meggie Meidlinger, the proud owner of the lowest ERA in the league, made quick work in the sixth, striking out two of the four batters, looking. Lee matched the Queens veteran, fanning two of the four she faced, swinging.
In the top of the seventh, Benites led off with a single to center. O’Sullivan drew a four-pitch walk, and a balk brought both runners into scoring position. London Studer legged out a slow roller, plating Benites, and just like that the Heights were within one with runners on the corners and none out. Lahners sac fly evened the score, and in the bottom frame, Lee mowed down Eynon and Lansdell with reverse K’s, taking us into extras.
Meidlinger, roughed up for the first time this season, got more headaches in the top of the eighth from a slew of the same old crowd. With Eccles on second, Yonetani sac bunted her to third, Benites intentionally walked, and stole her 10th, then Claire, clutch, O’Sullivan, ripped an RBI base hit through the hole for the go-ahead and with one away, runners on second and third, Studer slapped an RBI infield grounder, with no play at the plate, giving the Heights a two run cushion heading into the bottom frame.
The Queens, down by two, still had some comeback fight. With Mackay on second, Shimano smacked a base hit to left, and with runners on the corners, Adelaide Frank laced a liner off the glove of Lee, scoring Mackay. But with the tying run so close, yet so far, on second, Lee, in a strike zone of her own, fanned the final two batters. In 3.2 innings, she surrendered one run on one hit, punching out half a dozen, earning Player of the Game.
LA will try to dust off this disappointing loss on Sunday when they go up against a Boston team hungry for a victory of their own.