Wisz Walks It Off as Bandits Outlast Blaze in a Much-Needed Win
Slumps Happen
Coming into today, the Bandits were looking for answers. After dropping three straight and watching the Blaze take two of those, things were starting to tilt. Sitting at 9-5, the once hottest team in the league needed to get right.
Lexi Kilfoyl got the start and brought her usual steadiness. She entered 3-0 with a 2.59 ERA and an 18-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio, consistent and reliable, just what they needed.
The Blaze came in feeling confident and loose. They had nothing to lose and were clearly playing that way. You could tell the Bandits were pressing a little, trying to shake out of their funk.
A Back-and-Forth Battle
Both teams left runners on in the first, which always makes things tighter in a game like this. In the end, each side stranded seven. One side paid a little more for it.
Ali Newland struck first, blasting a solo shot to center in the second to put the Blaze up 1-0. That was really the only blemish on Kilfoyl through three innings. She stayed in control and didn’t let it snowball.
The Bandits offense didn’t start fast, but they began to chip away. Bella Dayton led off the third with a single. Then Morgan Zerkle followed with a hot shot past first base to move Dayton to third. A Skylar Wallace groundout brought in Dayton to tie it up at 1-1.
Blaze Keep Punching
McKenzie Clark extended the top of the fourth with a two-out single, and Newland stepped in again. This time it was a two-RBI double, giving the Blaze the lead right back at 2-1. She’s been a real boost to this lineup since joining.
But the Bandits had an answer. Aliyah Binford came in for the Blaze in the bottom of the fourth, and the Bandits immediately got to work. Dayton delivered again with a two-RBI double, scoring Wisz and McKinney to push the Bandits back in front, 3-2.
Kilfoyl followed that with a clean fifth, only the second 1-2-3 inning of the game for the Bandits defense, and then Erin Coffel came through. Her no-doubt home run in the bottom of the fifth gave the Bandits a 4-2 cushion.
Coffel’s been a monster all season. She came into today’s game hitting .517 with a slugging percentage over 1.200. Just ridiculous.
Postgame, Bruce Miles, Bandits’ beat writer, asked Coach Stacey Nuveman-Deniz about Erin Coffel’s case for MVP. Nuveman-Deniz responded, “Give me a name who deserves it more than she does. I would put her numbers up against anybody’s.” She added that there are other great players in the league, but Coffel is making a strong case for herself.
Harding Ties It in the Seventh
Kilfoyl stayed locked in for six innings, but after a Clark single in the seventh, Odicci Alexander came on in relief.
One out later, Kalei Harding stepped in and sent a rocket over the fence. Two-run homer. Game tied 4-4. Her first of the season, and a big one.
Alexander settled in, got out of it, and the game moved into extras.
Wisz Wins It
Alexander held it down in the top of the eighth. After a walk, she picked up two strikeouts and a foul out to keep it scoreless.
The response to adversity for Alexander had completed, and Coach Nuveman-Deniz loved the way she did it. “She’s a pro, she’s been in those moments. She’s has success in those moments, she’s had struggles in those moments, and that just builds character. So, I love how she responded, and the offense came through.”
The offense did come through and they used the small ball approach to set it all up.
In the bottom half, Bubba Nickles-Camarena was placed on second. Sydney McKinney dropped a perfect bunt to move her up, and Delanie Wisz did the rest, a clean single to left to bring her in.
Walk-off. Ballgame. The Bandits survive 5-4 in a game they had to have.
On to Omaha
This was a big one. The Bandits snapped their losing streak and moved to 10-5 on the season. Now it’s on to Omaha for a weekend set with the Talons.
Game one is Friday night at Connie Claussen Field. First pitch is at 6 PM CDT and will air on ESPNU.
