Weather and a questionable call from the umpiring crew combined to douse the SF Firebells three game winning streak, as the “visiting” NY Heights prevailed 11-8 in a rain-shortened contest. Kelsie Whitmore and Denae Benites both left the yard in spectacular fashion, continuing their highly entertaining home run race. Benites gets the opportunity to extend her lead Thursday night against the Boston Hunters while Whitmore and the Firebells have the night off.
The Heights started the scoring early. Natsuki Yonetani drew a lead-off walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch, coming home three pitches later on a Benites single. The hit train continued: Val Perez single, London Studer single scoring Benites, and a Kylee Lahners double that scored Perez and Studer. Lahners would later score on a Elodie Ciamarro two-out single. Ninth batter Claire Eccles flied out to center to end the inning.
The red-hot Firebells were not going to let something like a five-run deficit ruin their evening. Amanda Gianelloni drew a four pitch walk. Kelsie Whitmore came to the plate one homer behind Benites in the home run chase and quickly evened things up with an absolute moon shot to straightaway center. Jill Albayati walked and Andreanne Leblanc singled to put runners at the corners with nobody out.
This set the table for Alexia Jorge to notch an RBI by hitting the ball pretty much anywhere but the left side of the infield. So of course Jorge hits a worm burner right to Heights 3B Alyssa Zettlemoyer, who looked the runner back to third and threw to second to get Leblanc. Riding a wave of torrid hitting, Skylar Kaplan picked up her teammate by working the count full and then yanking a ball out to right to tie the ballgame with her first league home run.
Joely Leguizamon doubled into the gap and then advanced to third on a wild pitch to Jua Park. Again, with only one out Park just needed to put the ball in play anywhere but the left side of the infield to score Leguizamon. Leguizamon decided to leave nothing to chance, so when Park hit a slow bouncer to 3B Leguizamon was already most of the way to home plate, giving Zettlemoyer no choice but to record the out at first while the run scored. Good outcome, but Firebells manager Matt Williams may have something to say to his team about situational hitting. Ninth batter Ela Day-Bedard tapped back to the mound to end the inning with the Firebells now on top 6-5.
Unfortunately, the Firebells let the lead slip away in the top of the second. Once again Yonetani walked. She advanced to second when Benites hit into a fielder’s choice. After Perez flied out in foul territory, it looked like the Firebells might get out of the inning with no damage. With London Studer at the plate, Yonetani forced the action by stealing third. Catcher Alexia Jorge’s throw to third was offline and the ball rolled into the outfield. Yonetani got a great read and scampered home to tie the ballgame. Studer would eventually tap back to the mound, but the damage was done.
The relentless Firebells came back in their half of the second. Gianelloni ripped a hot shot to the center field wall, but was robbed by a highlight reel over the shoulder catch by Claire Eccles. Whitmore settled for a single and Albayati walked. Leblanc hit a ground ball to Heights 1B Rakyung Kim, who kicked the ball around for a bit before gloving the ball and stepping on the bag while both base runners advanced. Jorge singled in Whitmore and Kaplan singled in Albayati. Leguizamon flied to center to end the inning with the Firebells back on top 8-6.
The third and fourth innings passed with base runners aplenty but no scoring. Firebells reliever Ela Day-Bedard had come on to get the final out of the 4th inning and remained on the hill for the Heights 5th inning. Zettlemoyer grounded to second, Kim singled, and Ciamarro flied out to center. Eccles came to the plate and missed the bunt on the first pitch. Noting that Kim had strayed too far off first, Firebells catcher Jorge threw a laser to Leblanc at first who clearly applied the tag to Kim as she slid back into the bag. Unfortunately the umpire didn’t see it that way and Kim was ruled safe. Jorge and Leblanc protested strongly, but with no video review in the league, the on field call had to stand, prolonging in inning.
The extra out was pivotal, as Eccles doubled and Yonetani drew her third walk of the night to put two base runners on in front of Benites. Benites is such a dead pull hitter that the Firebells had been employing a defensive shift on her all night. So of course she hits an absolute missile to the opposite field on the second pitch she saw, her first opposite field home run this season to put her back on top as the league leader in home runs. You run out of superlatives to describe Benites’ hitting at the moment.
Day-Bedard plunked Perez but then got Studer to ground out to second to end the inning. The Firebells went quietly in the bottom of the fifth. Peyton Coria was the third reliever of the night for the Firebells and opened the top of the sixth inning striking out both Lahners and Zettlemoyer looking. But Kim walked and scored on back-to-back singles by Ciamarro and Eccles. Yonetani lined out to short to end the threat.
The Firebells may have had something cooking in their half of the sixth when Whitmore reached on an error to lead off the inning. Albayati flied out to right. Before Leblanc could come to the plate, the umpiring crew cleared the field due to lightning in the area. The lightning delay turned into a rain delay as the tarp came out. Eventually the game was called with the final score 11-8, leaving the Firebells wondering what might have happened had Kim been called out at first to end the fifth or if they had managed to get their at-bats in the sixth and seventh innings.
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