Hall of Fame Huddle: Bandits Sweep Offense Dominant Doubleheader

Nicole Pauly makes one of her two home run trots

     Game 1 started Thursday but didn't last but an inning and a half. The Thursday Hillary Bach struggled, giving up 5 runs in 2 innings. The Saturday Hillary Bach was strong and focused, giving up only 2 runs in the remaining innings. To some it may have been hard to sit on some tough innings for 48 hours and come back as strong as ever. On more than one occasion this year Hillary has proven she can recover and come back stronger. Her resilience and resolve are things that make her a great pitcher and a valuable piece for the Racers in the future. All in all Hillary gave up 7 runs and 15 hits.
     Monica Abbott earned her 12th win of the year after stifling the Racers. Monica struck out 9, gave up only 1 run on 3 hits. Sam Marder, Kaylyn Castilla and Kelley Montalvo tallied hits for the Racers, with Marder collecting 2 RBI's.
     The Bandits bats were hot, every player that stepped to the plate got a hit. Goler, Butler, Tammi Williams and Vicki Galindo all collected a pair of hits and Megan Wiggins piled up 3 hits. Williams and Wiggins both also hit in a pair of runs and Butler led the game with 3 RBI's.

     Game 2 started fast and furious. Lisa Norris was coming off of several quality starts in a row but ran into trouble early. Megan Wiggins' went deep with Galindo on to start the party. The Racers answered immediately in the top of the 1st. Sharonda McDonald started with a single and Lisa Modglin cleared her with a triple. Sam Marder then scored Lisa on a sac fly. Before the inning was over Nicole Pauly went yard to take a 3-2 lead into the 2nd.
     The Bandits came back in the 2nd and got an RBI hit from Rhea Taylor, who was starting her first ever NPF game. Galindo followed up with a two run single. The Racers had a big 3rd inning, getting 2-run bombs from both Nicole Pauly and Alicia Herron. It was Pauly's second of the game. "I feel pretty good, honestly I'm just trying to see the ball, hit the ball." explains Nicole, "Keep it as simple as possible. Chicago has some good pitchers so any time I can simplify anything they give me, I hope to get a few hits out of it."
     While Pauly has seen many home runs, today's home run was the first of many for Alicia Herron! She got behind 0-2, looked a t couple balls, then on a 2-2 pitch she laid some lumber on a ball and it wasn't coming back! "I was just really happy, I was really happy. A weights been lifted." Herron, a rookie shortstop from Thee Ohio State University, batted over .360 for her career and hit 49 homers along with 176 RBI's. It is a safe bet we will be seeing lots more hits similar to tonight's in the future.
While the big 3rd inning gave the Racers a 7-5 lead the momentum was shattered within minutes when Megan Wiggins stepped to the plate and slammed her 2nd homer of the game. It was also Megan's 3rd of the day and 9th on the season. "It feels good, I mean I'm seeing the ball really well." Explains Wiggins, "Just carrying over BP from all morning. I'm feeling more comfortable than I have in recent games." The scoring stalled until the 6th inning when Alisa Goler singled in the tying run, then Tammy Williams singled in the go-ahead run.
The 9th provided a wild finish with the Bandits plating 6 runs. An Amber Patton bases loaded triple with an error cleared the bases before the Racers could get the final out. The Racers added an unearned run off of Abbott, who earned the save, in the 7th.
It's encouraging to see the Racers bats come alive late in the season. Everyone in the starting lineup tallied a hit with the exception of Sam Marder, Kelley Montalvo and Nicole Pauly recorded a pair of hits. Homers from Pauly and Herron gave them 3 and 2 RBI's respectively, with Modglin and Marder also getting a run batted in. On the mound we seen a night of the likes we'll never see again from Lisa Norris. She gave up 11 runs, all earned, on 12 hits, walking 5, hitting 2 and striking out 8 in 6.2 innings.
For the Bandits Chanda Bell got the win, the first of her career, in 4 relief innings of the injured Nikki Nemitz. Chanda gave up 4 runs on 5 hits. At the plate the Bandits for led by Vicky Galindo's 3 hits, Megan Wiggins 2 homers and 3 RBI's. Amber Patton also had 3 RBI's. Alisa Goler also recorded a pair of RBI's.
The series concluded today with another doubleheader, at 12 PM and 2 PM.