Jul 15, 2015 5 min read

Dallas Escobedo finished her career at Arizona State as one of the top pitchers in program history with a 1.90 ERA and a 113-24 record. The results of games were rarely the same, but the one constant was her father, Rich, sitting above the visitor’s dugout of Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium – yelling commands and tips.

Since Escobedo became the first overall selection of the Pennsylvania Rebellion in last year’s National Pro Fastpitch Draft, it did not matter that Rich was more than 2,000 miles away. He listened to every game on webcast, listening for weaknesses and possible improvements.

Every start is followed by a phone call. The tips from her father and the kickboxing she did in the offseason has paid off for the Rebellion pitcher and who better to help the franchise make history Wednesday night at Consol Energy Park?

Escobedo tossed a complete game shutout, allowing just three hits and shutting down the Dallas Charge to lead Pennsylvania to a 1-0 win.

The victory extends the Rebellion’s winning streak to three games – the longest in franchise history – and Pennsylvania (8-23) clinched a series win over the Charge (9-19).

“My dad will let me know what he saw or heard,” Escobedo said with a laugh. “He’s there, he’s listening, so whatever I can do, he’s on it. He was at all of my games at Arizona State. It’s always been that way. He knows me best. He’s even my catcher in the offseason when I can’t find anyone else.”

Fortunately for Escobedo (2-6), she has found someone else in Washington – four-year NPF veteran catcher Kristyn Sandberg, who is in her first season with the Rebellion. Sandberg picked off a runner at first base in the fifth inning and helped Escobedo rebound from a mistake in the seventh that could have cost Pennsylvania the lead.

After Dallas second baseman Taylor Thom hit a lead-off double in the seventh, she was sacrificed to third base. The next batter, Ashley Burkhardt, hit a slow roller to Escobedo, who quickly threw the ball to third, but Thom beat the tag – allowing Burkhardt to reach first base safely.

With only one out, Escobedo threw the first pitch to Angeline Quiocho and Burkhardt dashed for second base. Sandberg threw to shortstop Maddie O’Brien, but the ball bounced off her glove.

Thom hesitated before breaking for home plate, but O’Brien quickly picked up the ball and threw it to Sandberg, who applied the tag for the second out. Four pitches later, Escobedo struck out Quicoho to clinch the win.

“We did what we needed to do to get ourselves in that situation,” Dallas manager Jennifer McFalls said. “I felt we didn’t make a very smart move running home. We should have had a better lead and taken advantage of the ball going through to second base and we didn’t.”

The Rebellion are currently last in the five-team league in batting average, home runs and runs scored, so manager Craig Montvidas has planned accordingly.

During the first three games of the series, Pennsylvania has laid down nine sacrifice bunts and two bunts for hits. They have been unable to capitalize with runners in scoring position all season – stranding six Wednesday.

Rebellion second baseman Haruna Sakamoto put down a quick bunt in the bottom of the fourth inning and dove head-first into first base for an infield single. Rebellion first baseman Alisa Goler hit a ground ball to shortstop, but Sakamoto beat the throw to second as both runners were safe.

Sandberg then hit a hard ground ball to Dallas first baseman Kaitlyn Richardson, but the throw was dropped at second by Renada Davis and Sakamoto quickly rounded third, scoring easily to give the Rebellion a 1-0 lead.

“I would much rather be cranking my arm to send people around third base, but the reality is we aren’t getting a lot of hits,” Montvidas, who was surprised to hear of the record winning streak, said. “We certainly aren’t getting them back-to-back, so we have to play small ball, and fortunately it’s been successful.”

Both runners advanced to second and third base on a sacrifice bunt when designated hitter Mandy Ogle came to the plate. Ogle attempted a suicide squeeze, but Charge pitcher Morgan Melloh (0-5) threw a pitch out.

Dallas catcher Kazuki Watanabe, who made a spectacular sliding catch on a foul ball in the first inning, threw the ball to third base, throwing out designated runner Samie Garcia for the second out. On the next pitch, Ogle grounded out to end the inning.

Missed opportunities have hurt the Rebellion, but Escobedo helped them overcome the offensive woes. After she made the mistake of throwing to third base in the seventh inning, it was Sandberg who walked to the mound to calm her down.

Her other catcher is far away, but with a reliable batterymate, Escobedo is slowly becoming the pitcher the Rebellion envisioned when they drafted her.

“A huge part of it is having Sandberg back there. She’s very knowledgeable of the hitters in the league and she’s been here much longer,” Escobedo said. “She knows what I like to throw in certain situations. Having her back there is big with her knowing where to place pitches.”

With a reliable, deep pitching staff, a strong defense and an offense that has inherited a small-ball mentality, the Rebellion are hoping the winning does not stop anytime soon.

“We just support eachother. We’re close as a team,” Escobedo said. “There’s no little conflicts or anything.We’re all in it. Now, when we finally get our rallies, that gets us on fire and we have to keep it going.”