Jul 27, 2015 4 min read

Every loss stings, but this one might have inflicted more than pain to the Pennsylvania Rebellion. It might have ended any hope for a postseason berth in the National Pro Fastpitch Championship Series.

Nadia Taylor had two crucial hits, including a mammoth home run to left field off starter Dallas Escobedo in the top of the ninth inning, to rally the Dallas Charge to a 3-2 victory over the Rebellion in front of 782 fans at Consol Energy Park Monday night.

The loss, the fourth in a row for the Rebellion, drops them five games back of fourth-place Dallas with 10 to play and makes today’s 7 p.m. start a must-win situation. Only the top four of the five-team league earn playoff spots.

“It’s a dagger in my heart,” said manager Craig Montvidas after the Rebellion fell to 9-28 after their ninth one-run loss.

“It’s like ‘Groundhog Day’ for us. It keeps happening over and over.”

The Rebellion still have a suspended game against Akron to make up, tentatively set for Aug. 7. They lead the Racers 3-0 in the third inning. The Rebellion play Akron Wednesday morning – 10:30 a.m. first pitch – before a baseball doubleheader between the Wild Things and River City.

The Rebellion have three away games remaining with the Chicago Bandits, a team they have not beaten in nine tries this season, and six with Akron, counting the completion of the suspended game.

Taylor, in her second NPF season after spending last year with Akron, drove in all three of the Charge’s runs, erasing a 2-0 lead by the Rebellion heading into the sixth inning. The home run was her third of the season.

“I was looking in and (Escobedo) came in,” said Taylor. “The contact was solid. I kept my hands above the ball.”

Jolene Henderson, who threw 128 pitches, retired the Rebellion in order in the bottom of the ninth for her third win of the season against seven losses. Escobedo fell to 2-8 and is 3-19 in her two seasons with the Rebellion.

“We showed a lot of character out there,” said Dallas manager Jen McFalls. “Two times Nadia had clutch hits for us. That home run – there was no doubt.”

The most bizarre inning of this game came in the seventh with the score tied 2-2. The Rebellion managed to put four different runners on base and none reached third. First baseman Alisa Goler singled to center field but was forced at second base when shortstop Maddie O’Brien bunted the ball back to Henderson on an attempted sacrifice. But third baseman Brittney Lindley singled through the middle, sending O’Brien to second.

Center fielder Courtney Senas then hit a soft liner that second baseman Taylor Thom appeared to have a play on. But the ball went just out of her reach and a charging Eri Yamada gathered in the ball and fired to third base forcing out O’Brien. Henderson struck out left fielder Cheyenne Cordes to end the threat.

“Maddie did the right thing,” said Montvidas. “She could have taken a chance and ran but if (Thom) catches the ball, it’s a double play. (Yamada) made a great play.”

Cruising through the lineup and staked to a 2-0 lead, Escobedo committed one of the cardinal sins of softball, walking the leadoff batter, Renada Davis, in the sixth inning. Yamada beat out a nubber to third base to put two on and one out later, Taylor brought both runners home with a gap shot to right centerfield. The ball bounced over the fence for a book-rule double or Taylor would have made it to third base.

The Rebellion scored single runs in the first and fourth, taking advantages of Dallas errors in each of those innings. In the first inning, second baseman Haruna Sakamoto beat out an infield single and went to second when the throw from Davis got away from first baseman Kaitlyn Richardson. Right fielder Alexa Peterson singled home Sakamoto.

In the fourth inning, Peterson lashed a shot just inside the first-base bag and raced to second as right fielder Bri Cherry chased it down. Cherry kicked it away, allowing Peterson to go to third base on the error. One out later, Goler singled to center to drive in Peterson.