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Chameleons and Sharks tie, 14-14

The highly anticipated matchup between the Chameleons and Sharks Monday night at TSLL ended up in a 14-14 tie, bringing both teams records to 4-1-1.

Before the game started the Sharks tried to get into the heads of the visiting Chameleons, staking claim to the Chameleons first base dugout. Several of the Sharks players could also be over heard during pre game warmups talking about all the girls on the Chameleons team.

The visiting Chameleons started off the top of the first inning showing off their power at the plate. Ted launched a deep opposite field homerun that wowed the crowd. Similar to the last game however, Gia stepped to the plate just two batters later and launched a homerun of her own to the power alley in left center field. Ted, wanting to enjoy the home run chain for more than just one minute, was seen avoiding Gia and a game of Homerun chain tag ensued. The Sharks proceeded to make 3 outs in the inning though, letting the Chameleons know their defense is one to be reckoned with in the TSLL AAA division.

In the bottom of the first inning the Chameleons starting defensive lineup showed the Sharks why they should be considered the standard in TSLL AAA. The first Shark batter of the inning shot a slicing line drive down the third base line that Ted (3b) surveyed and made a sliding catch, again wowing the crowd with his play. The second batter shot a ball right back up the middle that Ellie (P) quickly snagged for the second out of the inning. Kainan (1b) proceeded to field a ground ball off the next batter’s bat for the third out in as many batters. Ellie and Zen (2b) combined for a nice force out and Ellie and Kainan combined for another out bringing the Chameleon first inning total to 5. The applause from the Chameleon faithful was defeaning as it looked like the Chameleon defense was poised to secure their third game in a row of more than 18 outs.

The second inning saw Hudson, Harper, and Ben hit loud singles to load the bases for Chameleon lead off hitter, Ellie. Ellie launched a drive deep into right center field for a triple as she cleared the bases, once again sending the Chameleon crowd into a frenzy. In the bottom of the second inning, former Chameleon player Asher smashed a homerun that ignited the Sharks bench which ultimately proved as a turning in the ball game. At the end of 2, the Chameleons led, 6-4.

The third, forth, and fifth innings were a back and forth battle that saw the Chameleons take a 13-9 lead heading into the 6th, and final inning. The Sharks seemed to save their best play for the final inning as they silenced the Chameleon crowd with 5 outs, to take a narrow 14-13 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.

The ball seemed to bounce the Sharks way in the Chameleons defensive

side of the inning until, with only two batters left, Victor (P) and Ted (1b) made an excellent play under pressure to secure the Chameleons 14th out of the contest, thus securing the tie. The Chameleons were unable to get the last batter of the night out, ending the contest in a 14-14 tie.

Much like tonight’s contest, many baseball games are won in the trenches. The boring plays that don’t seem to matter. Beating out a ground ball. Stopping a ball so the other teams runner cannot advance. Making the routine play. Getting on base. It’s these plays that win games. That save games. It‘s this type of play that led to the theme behind the famous baseball movie, Moneyball. Harper demonstrated this type of Moneyball style on the field tonight and really throughout the entire season. She saved tonight’s game. Harper beat out 2 very close plays on the base paths tonight that without her hustle, would have resulted in a different outcome in the contest. She continues to get on base and make the routine play. While her nickname up until this point has been grassHarper, it seems a more fitting nickname might just be, Harper Hustle. Harper Hustle is the well-deserved, Chameleons player of the game.

Both teams will see each other on Wednesday as the coaches scheduled a scrimmage to help prepare the players for the upcoming AAA tournament that will feature player pitchers. The Chameleons will start Victor on the mound Wednesday night at 5:30 back on TSC4.

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