In their second meeting in three days, the SF Firebells blasted LA Queens pitching, scoring 10 unanswered runs in the first three innings on their way to a 17-3 romp. Every Firebells starter either scored a run or collected an RBI. In a worrying development for every other team in the league, franchise player Kelsie Whitmore went yard with a two-run homer and a grand slam, bringing her two game HR total to five and tying the otherworldly Denae Benites for the league lead in homers.
After scoring three runs in the first via two walks and three straight two out hits from the middle of the order, the Firebells sent nine batters to the plate in the second inning, scoring five and putting the game out of reach.
Jua Park (2-5, run scored) flied out to center on one pitch to start the inning. Leadoff hitter Amanda Gianelloni (1-1 with a walk and two HPB, 4 runs scored) was up next and singled. Kelsie Whitmore (3-4, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 runs) grounded sharply to the left side and Queens shortstop Caitlin Eynon stopped the ball but failed to come up with it cleanly, allowing Whitmore to reach. Jill Albayati (1-2 with 2 walks, 2 runs) collected her second walk in as many innings to load the bases. Dangerous cleanup hitter Andreanne Leblanc (1-5, RBI, run) singled in Gianelloni from third. Catcher Alexia George (3-4 with a walk, HR, 4 RBI, 4 runs) followed with a single to short. Eynon made an ill advised throw to first, that went offline allowing an extra runner to score and the runners to advance to second and third. That was the end of the night for Queens starter Suzu Narasaki in her first outing on the mound.
She was relieved by Queens workhorse Jamie Mackay, who had started the night in the DH slot and ended up recording the Queens first RBI in the 4th. Right fielder Skyler Kaplan (4-4 with 2 2B and a walk, 3 RBI, run scored) greeted Mackay with a no doubt double, scoring inherited runners Leblanc and Jorge. Mackay then got Firebells shortstop Joely Leguizamon (1-4 with a walk and an RBI) to tap back to the mound, and center fielder Jordan Eyster (1-3 with two walks, RBI, run) to fly out to left. But the Firebells had a commanding 8-0 lead at that point.
Mackay seems to have become the go-to innings eater for the Queens, which was particularly important Friday night with the Queens facing Boston in the nightcap of the WPBL Saturday double-header. Mackay would go on to finish the fifth inning, giving up a two-run homer to Whitmore in the third, and five runs in the fourth on an Eyster RBI single and the Whitmore grand slam. Giving up a solo shot to Jorge in the fifth and escaping with no other damage may have felt like a victory for Mackay at that point.
In the sixth, Queens reliever Adelaide frank gave up a leadoff walk, which was erased on a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Leblanc. Frank then walked the next four batters, giving the Firebells their last run of the contest, before finally getting Jua Park to pop out to second to end the inning.
In addition to making noise at the plate, Kelsie Whitmore started for the Firebells on the mound. She faced only one batter over the minimum for the first three innings, including a five pitch third inning– first pitch flyout to right, three pitch strikeout looking, and a first pitch roller to right with Whitmore covering first base.
Whitmore got into a bit of trouble in the fourth with a leadoff walk followed by a double from Queens 3B Ashton Lansdell, one of the few offensive bright spots for the Queens on the night. A wild pitch to reliever Jamie Mackay brought the runner in from third, and then Mackay’s single scored Lansdell. After a two out single from Caitlin Eynon, Whitmore got left fielder Thaima Maximilliana to ground out to the right side. Whitmore beat Maximilliana to the bag in a bang-bang play for the final out of the inning.
With the Firebells holding a commanding 10-2 lead coming into the 5th inning, the Firebells’ veteran manager Matt Williams made the curious decision to allow Whitmore to start the inning. Yes, Whitmore had been efficient, throwing only 55 pitches through four innings. But she had also been exploding offensively and had to come off the mound cover first base to end both the 3rd and 4th innings. Given that Whitmore would be in the starting lineup for the day game of the Saturday double header, it would seem to make sense to give her the rest of the night off.
Whatever the reasoning, Whitmore gave up a leadoff single and a walk to start the 5th before Williams came and got her. Firebells reliever Ela Day-Bedard got Mo’ne Davis to ground into a 4-6-3 double play and Ashton Lansdell to fly out to left to end the threat, the only time Lansdell failed to record a hit on the night. Day-Bedard would go on to give up a run in the sixth after Queens catcher Maggie Foxx doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Sarah Edwards ground out to the right.
Runs Hits Errors - A Baseball Blog 
Leave a comment