Bounces go against Rebellion; Bandits sweep
The Rebellion’s Whitney Arion looks for the ball as she slides safely back to second base during Wednesday’s game against Chicago.
The Rebellion’s Maddie O’Brien tags out Chicago’s Danielle Zymkowitz as she tries to heads to home during Wednesday’s game.
The Rebellion’s Lara Andrews runs to first after a hit in the fifth inning.
The three games played between the Chicago Bandits and Pennsylvania Rebellion this week never approached a typical softball game.
None of this run, throw, hit and catch stuff decided the games between these two teams.
Game 1 Monday was interrupted by rain and shortened to five innings. Game 2 ended in controversy as the umpires apparently forgot the rules about using the International Tiebreaker in an 11-inning game, resulting in the Rebellion protesting the game. And Game 3 Wednesday night at Consol Energy Park had one of the more bizarre plays someone will see in the National Pro Fastpitch league.
The one common thread in these games was the Rebellion were on the losing end of each, the latest 5-0 in front of a crowd of 667.
The Rebellion fell to 2-9 and had their losing streak extended to five games as they head into a 15-game road trip. The next home game is July 10 against the USSSA Pride.
“We seem to have one little meltdown per game,” said Rebellion manager Craig Montvidas. “It’s just what we’re going through right now.”
This blip happened in the fourth inning, the second time through the batting order for Rebellion starter Dallas Escobedo.
Center fielder Emily Allard and second baseman Danielle Zymkowitz had back-to-back bunts for singles. Shortstop Tammy Williams lashed a single to left field that scored Allard. Zymkowitz rounded third and tried to score, too. The throw from Brittney Lindley was off line and took an odd bounce that allowed it to get past catcher Kristyn Sandberg and Escobedo, who was backing up the play.
The ball then rolled to where Natalie Hernandez was standing about 10 feet in front of the on-deck circle. The softball hit Hernandez’s bat and ricocheted back toward the plate. Zymkowitz got in before the tag.
“She’s the on-deck batter and she’s there to tell (Zymkowitz) whether to slide or not,” said Sandberg. “The ball took a funny hop and hit her.”
“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” said Escobedo.
The umpires gathered at the mound to discuss the play. They ruled the ball was dead when it hit Hernandez’s bat, so Zymkowitz was sent back to third base and Williams, who made it to third, was sent back to second base.
“You see something new every night here,” said Chicago manager Mike Steuerwald. “It was a bad throw (by Lindley) and it was tough for (Hernandez) to react.”
Escobedo seemed like she might get out of the jam when she got Hernandez to pop out and Zymkowitz was thrown out at the plate on a grounder to third base. But Megan Blank doubled in two runs to make it 3-0.
That was all Michelle Gascoigne needed. The Bandits’ left-hander held the Rebellion without a hit until Lara Andrews singled to right with two outs in the fifth inning.
“Just 89 pitches and a complete game. You can’t ask for much more from her,” said Steuerwald. “She has had a few games where she has flirted with a no-hitter but it’s usually the bloop hit that does her in.”
Besides Andrews’ single, Gascoigne gave up a single to first baseman Alisa Goler in the sixth inning.
“She tied us up,” said Montvidas. “She pitched a real good game, no doubt about it. We hit the ball hard just four times and you aren’t going to win that way.”
Chicago added two more runs in the top of the seventh on a single by Allard and a heads-up play by Sammy Marshall, who got on by an error, stole second and scored when the Rebellion were slow getting the ball back into the infield after a single by Williams.
The Rebellion protested Tuesday night’s game against Chicago because the umpires failed to use the International Tiebreaker in the 10th inning of the tied game. Chicago went on to win 7-3 in 11 innings. National Pro Fastpitch commissioner Cheri Kempf said the protest will be heard by a designated NPF committee and a ruling could come as soon as today. Kempf admitted the umpires made a mistake but that neither team gained an advantage from the mistake.