Pitching Shines as Team Ricketts Holds Off Team Netz in Rosemont
Opening Duel in Rosemont
Today Team Ricketts and Team Netz would do battle in day two of Series 3 in Rosemont. This game had turned into a pretty good pitching duel, highlighted by Keilani Ricketts and Lexi Kilfoyl. Let’s get the details.
Early Trouble for Ricketts
After a quick and quiet first inning, Ricketts returned to the circle but struggled to find her command. Captain Devyn Netz drew a leadoff walk and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. After Taylor Edwards flied out, Cori McMillan jumped on the first pitch and beat out an infield single to put runners on the corners. Ricketts then hit Anissa Urtez on the shoulder to load the bases.
That brought up Bella Dayton in a pressure spot, and she delivered a gritty 12 pitch at bat before lining an RBI single to center to bring home Netz for a 1-0 lead. Ricketts managed to limit the damage there, escaping the inning with just one run allowed.
Romero Answers Back
In the bottom half, Faraimo had her own test to deal with. After Nickles-Camarena and Palacios reached, she froze Aliyah Binford with a beautiful changeup for strike three. Both runners advanced on a Caroline Jacobsen groundout, putting pressure on.
With Paige Sinicki at the plate, Nickles-Camarena came in to score on what looked like a wild pitch, but review overturned the run as the ball had actually hit Sinicki’s back foot. That loaded the bases instead, and Sierra Sacco drew a walk to officially tie the game 1-1.
Sydney Romero then came through with a laser down the third base line, plating two runs and giving Team Ricketts a 3-1 lead.
Kilfoyl Enters in Relief
Team Ricketts kept the pressure on in the third. Long at bats wore down Faraimo, as Nickles-Camarena singled and both Palacios and Binford reached on walks to load the bases with one out. That forced a pitching change, bringing in Lexi Kilfoyl to try and stop the rally.
Kilfoyl entered with the bases loaded and one out, facing a tough spot right away. She went right at Caroline Jacobsen, eventually winning a seven pitch battle with a swinging strikeout. Paige Sinicki then jumped ahead in the count 3-0, but Kilfoyl worked her way back and forced a routine groundout to short to end the inning. A big moment for Kilfoyl, who kept all three runners stranded and held the deficit right where it was.
Pitching Duel Develops
Ricketts stayed sharp in the fourth, needing just ten pitches to get through the frame, giving up only a bunt single to Bella Dayton.
Kilfoyl answered with a clean bottom half, retiring the side in order. She looked more settled in the circle, and with both pitchers finding rhythm, the game started to take on the feel of a pitching duel heading into the fifth.
Ricketts was locked in during the fifth, retiring the side in order and finishing the frame with a strikeout of Tiare Jennings. The game had shifted fully into pitching mode, with the second inning standing as the lone frame that produced any runs.
Netz & McMillan Helps Team Netz
After Kilfoyl and Team Netz rolled through the bottom of the fifth, Devyn Netz sparked the offense in the sixth with a leadoff double after Caroline Jacobsen came up just short on a diving attempt in right. Netz advanced to third on a deep flyout to center from Taylor Edwards, setting the table for Cori McMillan.
McMillan delivered with a sharp RBI single up the middle that bounced off Keilani Ricketts, cutting the deficit to 3-2 and ending a stretch of three straight scoreless innings. With the momentum shifting, Ricketts handed the ball over to Emma Lemley out of the bullpen.
Lemley came in and steadied things in the top half of the sixth, ending the frame with a strikeout of Bella Dayton to keep Team Ricketts in front.
Kilfoyl Stays Strong
Lexi Kilfoyl was outstanding for Team Netz, retiring 11 of the 12 batters she faced. The only blemish came in the bottom of the sixth when she issued a walk to Paige Sinicki, but she quickly bounced back by striking out Sierra Sacco to end the inning and hold the one run deficit.
Fouts Shuts the Door
Montana Fouts came on to close it out for Team Ricketts in the seventh. With one out, she gave up a single to Sydney McKinney, who advanced to second on a wild pitch to put the tying run in scoring position. Team Netz threatened to even things up late, but after retiring Tori Vidales, Fouts faced Tiare Jennings. Jennings, hitless on the day, grounded out to Hannah Flippen at short to end the game at 3-2.
Final Takeaway
This one came down to the arms. Ricketts set the tone early and Kilfoyl kept Team Netz in it with a fantastic relief outing. Lemley and Fouts chipped in to hold it for Team Ricketts late. Offensively, Romero’s two RBI hit in the second and McMillan’s clutch knock in the sixth stood as the biggest swings of the game. Yesterday we saw big offensive numbers, this matchup showed that timely pitching can still steal the spotlight.
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