Hall of Fame Huddle: Bandits Sweep High Scoring Doubleheader; Series

Lisa Modglin's first inning home run

What a day at the ballpark! There definitely wasn't a shortage of excitement! In both games the Racers played extremely hard, fought, and challenged only to come up short. Game 1 was such a fun game to watch, the ball was leaving the park left and right, kids were racing for home run balls. (I even got one!) First inning started fast and furious with Kristen Butler and Tammy Williams collecting RBI's, followed by Amanda Williams 2-run single. When the Racers got out of the inning they were ready to play! They batted around and Lisa Modglin and Sam Marder went back-to-back to draw within a run. However the Racers left the bases loaded and stranded 3 very costly runs.
The Racers took a 5-4 lead into the 3rd inning after blanking the Bandits and getting RBI's from Bri Hesson and Nicole Trimboli in the 2nd inning. The third inning was a struggle, and kind of hard to watch. Two errors in the inning kept the Racers on the field. An RBI from Amber Patton, 2 RBI single from Amanda Williams and a grand slam from Megan Wiggins plated 7 runs for the Bandits, only 2 were earned! With the Bandits up two Aja Paculba made up for the sloppy defense by sending one yard..
Any momentum the Racers took back was short lived when they again committed 2 errors in the 4th, one Bill Buckner style at first that allowed a run to score. Shannon Doepking took full advantage the next at-bat and belted a 3-run homer giving the Bandits a 13-6 lead. After a goose egg in the 4th for the Racers, the Bandits tacked 2 more runs on in the 5th. Tammy and Amanda Williams both batted in a run on their multiple RBI days. This time in the 5th the Racers fought back! A day after collecting her first ever home run, Alicia Herron hit her second! "It's relieving that I can finally show that I can do it," Alicia said last night when I asked her how that first home run felt, "and that I'm capable, and I'm hear for a reason. I just want to help contribute to my team." Her insurgence has been noticed, she stayed on the field and started in the second game today, giving more of the great range and stellar arm power she possesses at short. Megan Bush also got in the game and took advantage of her opportunity, getting an RBI single in her only official at bat and also recording a walk
Down 17-8 in the 6th the Racers weren't about to give up! Walks to Herron and Schlopy and a Montalvo single loaded the bases when Sharonda McDonald scored Schlopy on an infield single. With McDonald, Herron and Montalvo crowding the bases Marder had nowhere to go, so she cleared them with her second homer of the day! Sam got the Racer within 4 but that as close as it was to be as the Bandits brought in Monica Abbott to slam the door on the Racers in the 7th.
On one hand its exciting to see the racers bats come alive for the second day in a row, but on the other hand it's discouraging to not get wins when you put 8 and 13 runs on the board. Either way the amount of fight the Racers possess is extremely high and encouraging. Sam Marder led the Racers with 3 hits and 5 RBI's. McDonald and Montalvo both added a pair of hits. Lisa Modglin added a couple RBI's for the home team. Jen Mineau was a bright spot on the rubber, pitching the final 3 innings giving up no runs and only 1 hit.
The Bandits were led by Amanda Williams with her 2 hits and 5 RBI's. Megan Wiggins drove in 4 runs. Tammy Williams contributed a pair of hits and RBI's, while Shannon Doepking hit a 3 run homer. Kristen Butler also had 3 hits and 3 runs scored.

Game 2 was the polar opposite of Game 1 for much of the evening, instead of fireworks we got superb pitching and stingy defense. I give Erin Arevalo a ton of credit, for most of more than 5 innings she matched one of the best pitchers ever pitch for pitch! Through 5 innings Arevalo only allowed 3 hits, one of which was an absolute bomb solo homer to Brittany Cervantes, which hit 2-3 feet from the top of the men's fence! The problem was that through 5 innings the Racers only managed 3 hits as well; a Nicole Trimboli double and Marder and Pauly singles.
The Bandits busted the game wide open in the 6th with an Amber Patton double plus an error that scored Rhea Taylor. After that the dominoes started falling. Tammy Williams followed with an RBI single, then a 2-run homer by Amanda Williams gave the Bandits plenty of run support, but they weren't done! Alisa Goler put the finishing touches on a 8-0 Bandits victory with a 3-run blast in the 7th inning. Trimboli, Marder and Pauly had the Racers hits while Arevalo gave up 8 runs on 9 hits, striking out 6 and only walking 1.
Monica Abbott was the same old pitcher we all know, going the distance only allowing 3 hits, striking out 8 and only walking 1. Abbott got support from Goler who had 3 RBI's and Amanda Williams who had a pair of runs batted in. Amber Patton was the only Bandit with multiple hits.
After the sweep the Bandits remain in 2nd at 23-17 and the Racers in 4th at 14-26. The Diamonds will finish the season against the Diamonds and the Racers finish up at home next week against the Pride.