Kowalik’s Grit and Garcia’s Dominance Highlight 7-6 Battle
The night cap between Team Coffey and Team Kowalik began shortly after Team Ricketts’ 3-2 win over Team Netz. In this matchup we got to see a valiant effort from Kayla Kowalik, as well as lights out pitching in relief from Rachel Garcia. Let’s get to it!
Ocasio came out solid for Team Kowalik, giving up only a double to Danielle Gibson Whorton in the first and recording her first strikeout against Sierra Romero.
With one out in the bottom of the first, Kayla Kowalik fouled a pitch off her own leg. It was painful to say the least, but she stayed in the box and sent a shot off the foul pole in right for a home run that gave her team a 1-0 lead. What an effort for Kowalik, and she wasn’t done by any means.
Erin Coffel reached on an error, followed by Aubrey Leach beating out an infield single to put runners on the corners with one out. Delanie Wisz kept the rally going with an RBI-single to make it 2-0. Team Coffey escaped without further damage, but Sarah Willis and her squad were already under heavy pressure.
Early Damage by Team Kowalik
In the second, Ocasio’s changeup was working. She froze Dejah Mulipola for strike three and then finished off the inning with another strikeout to Kalei Harding, her third in two frames.
Jessi Warren, who has been swinging a hot bat, doubled to lead off the bottom of the second. Ocasio then helped herself with a single to put runners at the corners and no outs. That forced Willis out of the game as Payton Gottshall entered.
On Gottshall’s first chance, Jessi Warren was tagged out between third and home on an Amanda Lorenz fielder’s choice, but runners advanced to second and third to set up Kowalik again. The captain delivered a two RBI-single to stretch the lead to 4-0.
After a Coffel out, Aubrey Leach doubled off her Tennessee Lady Vol sister to bring in another run, and then Wisz blasted a two-run homer to make it 7-0 Team Kowalik. Gottshall was quickly pulled for Rachel Garcia, who struck out Korbe Otis to finally end the inning.
This lineup that Kowalik drafted is something else. From top to bottom it is loaded and it all starts with her at the top.
Coffey’s Response
Team Coffey finally struck back in the third. After Danieca Coffey singled with one out, Sierra Romero drilled a two-run homer to left center to cut the deficit to 7-2.
Rachel Garcia settled things down in the circle. She worked through the bottom of the third with two strikeouts, giving up only a single to Warren. If Team Coffey wanted to mount a comeback, Garcia had to keep Team Kowalik in check.
Garcia Changes the Game
Team Coffey continued to chip away in the fourth. After Ana Gold was erased on a fielder’s choice, Mulipola reached and Aaliyah Andrews followed with an RBI-double to left. That brought the score to 7-3. Garcia kept momentum rolling by striking out Aubrey Leach looking to end the bottom half, giving her four strikeouts in 2.1 innings.
Sam Landry replaced Ocasio in the fifth and immediately ran into trouble. Romero singled hard to first and Gibson Whorton walked, putting two on with no outs. Garcia then helped her own cause with a single down the third base line to load the bases.
Gold was hit by a pitch to force in a run, a call that was reviewed and upheld. That made it 7-4 with the bases still loaded and nobody out. Alana Vawter was summoned to take over in a tense spot.
Mulipola jumped on the very first pitch and lined an RBI-single to trim it to 7-5. Vawter buckled down from there. She struck out Sahvanna Jaquish and then Erin Coffel turned a huge double play, fielding it herself at short for a six unassisted play to shut the door.
Coffel is really that good.
Rachel Garcia mowed through the bottom of the fifth, finishing it off with a strikeout of McKenzie Clark for her eighth consecutive retired batter. The story of the game had quickly shifted to the change in momentum sparked by Garcia’s entrance for Team Coffey. Since she took over, Team Kowalik’s bats had been silenced, and the energy was tilting in favor of Coffey’s squad.
Closing the Gap
Heading into the sixth inning, Team Coffey trailed by only two runs, and the most important detail was that they had managed to score in every frame since the third. With Garcia locked in and her team finding ways to chip away, the pressure was now firmly on Team Kowalik to respond.
Captain Danieca Coffey put her stamp on the game in the top of the sixth with a one out no-doubter to right field. The swing was pure, the ball left no doubt, and just like that Team Coffey had trimmed the deficit all the way down to a single run at 7-6.
Rachel Garcia once again dominated another inning, retiring Team Kowalik in order, finishing with her sixth strikeout by getting Aleshia Ocasio and then inducing a flyout from Amanda Lorenz. Garcia had now retired 11 straight batters and completely changed the game.
Final Push
Now after all the work put in to get back within one, Team Coffey would have one last shot to overtake this game in the seventh. After Garcia flew out, Ana Gold continued her strong day by reaching on an error as Delanie Wisz could not handle a tough hop from Jessi Warren’s throw at third. After a gritty battle with Aliyah Andrews, Alana Vawter and Team Kowalik escaped with the 7-6 victory.
Game Takeaways
The two big stories in this game were clear. Rachel Garcia’s dominant relief performance kept Team Coffey alive and gave them every chance to win. She was amazing and flat out untouchable. On the other side, Kayla Kowalik stayed in the game and fought through pain from the first inning on, finishing it out to help her team secure the victory. With that effort, she pulled away even more in the leaderboard points. Below are the top five after tonight’s games.
- Kayla Kowalik – 1200
- Rachel Garcia – 924
- Keilani Ricketts – 846
- Erin Coffel – 828
- Danieca Coffey – 780
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