After 3 innings of dominant Chameleon pitching to start the game, the Sand Sharks bats exploded for 5 runs in the top of the fourth. The 5 run inning gave the Sand Sharks a commanding 6-3 lead, putting the Chameleons tails, and season, on the line.
“I thought I cost us the game.” Said coach Mike after the game referring to his decision to send Kainan out to pitch the 4th inning. “Kainan threw a dominant 3rd inning striking out the side on 12 pitches. So, with only 8 pitches left in his pitch count I gambled and sent him out for 1 more inning knowing he would have to get through the first 2 batters on 7 pitches. The veteran Sand Sharks coaches knew this also and they did a great job telling their kids to be very disciplined with the strike zone. Kainan did an excellent job in both innings, he had 4 strike outs. It’s just that getting through 2 innings at any level with 20 pitches is really really hard and still, he nearly did it.“
With Kainan reaching his pitch count, the Sand Sharks could now move forward with coach pitch. And with coach pitch, comes more hitting, and that is just what the Sand Sharks did, scoring 5 runs and taking a 6-3 lead.
But, the pressure to overcome the 6-3 deficit bounced right off of the thick skinned lizards as they relished the chance to rally back. And rally back they did.
Demonstrating their own plate discipline, Chameleons Hudson, Harper, and Ben started the bottom of the fourth with three straight walks, loading the bases for the hot hitting Sam. With a 2-0 count, Sam smacked a fast ball in the air up the middle of the field. The Sand Shark second baseman raced to his right chasing Sam‘s hit and camped under the ball. Looking like he was easily going to make the play, every Chameleon player stayed put, avoiding a potential doubled up play. But the second baseman dropped the ball right next to second base, where Harper was. The Sand shark second baseman tagged second forcing out Ben who was racing over from first for the first out of the inning. He then dared Harper to make a run for third, knowing he could easily tag her out for a double play.
But, they don’t call her grassHarper on the bases for nothing. With confusion coming from all different directions, Harper knew what to do, and calmly stayed at second, giving the Chameleons runners on first and second with 1 out and Ellie and the top of the order coming up to bat.
“If Harper didn’t stay at second on that play, we probably wouldn’t be playing for the championship Thursday. That was just really good baserunning, especially at this level.“ said coach Mike after the game.
With Harper and Sam on base Ellie came to the plate to face the hard throwing and wild Sand Shark pitcher. Ellie was subsequently hit (twice) by the Sand Shark pitcher, loading the bases and chasing the pitcher with the pitch count. Moving to coach pitch Victor laced a ball to left field for a two run single, tying the game. The Chameleons added on 2 more runs in the inning to take the lead.
But the Sand Sharks would not go quietly. In the top of the fifth inning, the first two Sand Shark batters reached base against the new Chameleon pitcher, Ellie. Keeping her composure and trusting her defense, Ellie continued to throw the ball over the plate, almost daring the Sand Sharks batters to beat her and her defense with their bats. The next batter hit a solid ground ball to Hudson at 3rd base, and Hudson easily tagged third base for the 1st out of the inning. Ellie made quick work of the next batter, striking him out on three straight pitches. The next batter hit a ground ball to Olivia at SS and she made a great play, flipping the ball to Victor covering second base for the third out of the inning.
The Chameleons were unable to muster any runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend their lead, but that was okay, because they knew that they had their closer coming to the mound in the sixth inning.
The sixth Inning belongs to the Chameleons closer, Jace. Closers are a special breed. They have to have composure in high pressure situations, they have to be able to throw strikes, and they have to have that look in their eye that makes the batter think twice about getting too comfortable in the batters box. In typical closer fashion, Jace made the Sand Shark batters uncomfortable, and struck out the side to send the Chameleons to the AAA championship game.
The Chameleons utilized dominant pitching to put them in position to win it all Thursday night. In all, the Chameleon pitchers mowed down 14 Sand Shark batters with strike outs. Starting pitcher Victor finished with 6 strike outs, striking out every Sand Shark batter he faced. Kainan had 4 strike outs, Ellie had 1, and Chameleon closer Jace had 3.
The Chameleons (9-2-1) will face the Dingers (10-1-1) for the AAA championship on Thursday night on TSC7 at 6pm.
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