September 2, 2026 | Springfield, IL: The Firebells and the Hunters: two ballclubs whose records mirrored each other in opposite directions. San Francisco (8-4), fresh from their epic comeback, had their sights on being the number one seed, while Boston (4-8) aimed to avoid a regular season sweep heading into the playoffs.
The Hunter’s Kate Blunt may not have been as good as her last outing – but man, the woman has a mean breaking ball in her toolbox. In a pair of innings, she gave up five hits and five runs, all unearned – which has been the bane of Boston’s existence.
Firebells captain Kelsie Whitmore kept a tight ship – four innings of one run on four hits, in a frame-closing sliding catch in center field that was to dive for. The three-way player broke her home run race tie with Denae Benites, getting into double digits on a solo three-run shot in the third, extending her hitting streak to 11.
Skylar Kaplan continues to crush it – 2-4 tonight and 10-16 against Beantown. Andréanne Leblanc picked up where she left off on Sunday with a pair of singles, and Ayaka Yamamoto’s timecard clocked out at 3-4. San Francisco Manager Matt Williams’ lineup is not out to offend anyone with their relentless offense—they just can’t help being that good.
Boston had some bright spots. Denver Bryant put the Hunters on the board first, in the top of the first with her first long ball of the season. Alli Schroder 2-3, drove in a run in the 5th, then made a sick over-the-shoulder catch just fair at first. And Suzuka, the other Yamamoto, caught a line drive and stepped on second for an inning-ending double play.
In the sixth, with the score 8-2, Lexi Hastings led off with her second home run of the season. The Hunters may have tacked on more, but Raine Padgham was called out on a close call at first before getting a bit of redemption in the seventh on a two-out RBI double during a rally run that, unfortunately for the Hunters, fell short.
Boston outhit SF 11-10, but it’s the runs that count. The best Jemile Weeks can hope for is third seed at the end of the regular season, and that assumes that Boston wins its final two games while New York loses both of theirs – a tall order, to say the least.
PLAYOFF SEEDING SCENARIOS:
SAN FRANCISCO
Has clinched the #1 seed.
LOS ANGELES
LA can clinch the #2 seed if they beat NY on Thursday OR if they beat Boston on Saturday and NY loses to San Francisco on Friday.
NEW YORK
NY can clinch the #2 seed by winning their final two games OR if they beat LA on Thursday and LA loses to Boston on Saturday.
BOSTON
Boston can clinch the #3 seed if they win their final two games AND New York loses both of its remaining games.