Butler at North Meck, A 14 Inning Classic

The Starting and finishing pitchers, Kelsey Spurrier (Butler) ad Sara Allen (North).

 

Bottom of the Sixth, No Score

No score for 5 and a half innings but with two outs and a North runner on second Sarah "Boomer" Mooney hit a rope to the left center fence. It was hit so hard she was easily thrown out at second to end the inning. Three outs and North has beaten #1 ranked Butler.

 

Top of the Seventh

Butler isn't ranked #1 for no reason. Butler player (#9) Willa Folmar gets a walk. I will now identify the Butler players by their uniform numbers because after asking the Butler coaches, umpires and North for a Butler roster no one could come up with one for me (I also went to the Butler softball web site and although they have a schedule, no roster). Back to Willa, she gets to second on a fielders choice. Two outs and to everyones surprise she steals third safely. Still two outs and two strikes on the batter there is a passed ball and the game is now tied one to one.

 

Top of the Ninth

Butler player (#17) Chelsea Ingersol reaches first base, a walk or hit I don't remember but she's on first. Actually, every time I looked up at a Butler base runner all I remember seeing was Chelsea, she was constantly on base. Two fielder choice's by Butler and with two outs Chelsea is on third. Then a hit by (#11) Allyson Rispoli just out of the reach on North's Second baseman Daniela Torres and Butler has the lead with North coming to bat.

 

More Tomorrow

I'm having fun with this, but I'm done for today. So if I have your interest check this out again tomorrow. There are still more game photos and two are a must see.

 

Bottom of the Ninth

Welcome back my friends to the game that never ends... It's the bottom of the ninth with two outs. Kelsey Spurrier still pitching and Sarah "Boomer" Mooney at bat. I'm not sure how Sarah got the nickname "Boomer", but after watching her launch a rocket to left center, this probably wasn't her first launch. The minute the ball left the bat everyone knew it was gone but I was surprised that the Butler left fielder (#6) Melinda Collins had a chance to catch the ball. There was a wind blowing in from right center that must have kept it close because I thought the ball was going into the football stadium behind the softball field. Game tied 2-2.

 

Close Call

I only have one question to ponder regarding some of the coaching decisions in this game. You are Butler, and you are winning 2 - 1 in bottom of 9th. You've gotten the first two North Meck hitters out, so you only need one more out to wrap up the game. Sarah Mooney strides to the plate. Her nickname is "Boomer" for obivous reasons. The first two pitches to her are balls, so she is ahead in the count 2 - 0. What in the world are you doing throwing anything even close to the plate for her to hit (or boom out of the ballpark)? Boomer is really the only batter in the lineup that has consistent ability to take a ball yard, so why not just throw a couple more "waste" pitiches to see if she will fish, and if not, just let her walk to first base.

Butler eventually came back to overcome the game tieing homerun, but it easily could have been a different story, and there would have been a huge amount of second guessing on the decision to "groove" a pitch to Boomer.

 

Sometimes !!

Life is full of decisions, and sometimes you have to take a chance, I would probably have put her on, but I wasn't coaching that game !!

Guru

 

Top of the Fourteenth

The score is still tied at two and both starting pitchers still in the game. With a runner on first for Butler, and (#1) Ashton Williams at bat. She hits a ball over the head of the North second baseman Daniella Torres and the runner on first held at second by centerfielder Sam Strahan. Runner on fist and second and (#7) Erin Standley for Butler at bat with two outs. Erin hits a ball to shallow center and North's Strahan dives to make a shoestring catch but just misses the ball and two runs score and Erin reaches third but doesn't score. Butler 4 North 2.

 

No way I am walking the tying run to first and allowing the go ahead run to the plate. I don't care who it is!