Rockford needed a win Wednesday night, and they got it - with a few runs to spare.
July 23, 2008 - National Pro Fastpitch (NPF)
Rockford Thunder News Release
Solid hitting from everywhere in the batting order, as well as outstanding pitching from starter Allison Kime (6-4) and Cassidy Scoggins, helped earn the 5-0 win. The game was the first home tilt for the Thunder (13-16) in 32 days, which included 12 road games at New England, Philadelphia and Washington.
The visiting Akron Racers (14-15) put ace Angela Tincher (9-5) on the mound against Kime a day after pitching four innings against Team USA in an exhibition, but found that Tincher may have been just a little tired, and lasted only two and two-thirds innings despite allowing just one run to the Thunders. Even after the lackluster performance, however, Tincher is still second in the league in wins (9), strikeouts (96), and earned run average (1.74).
Rockford drew first blood in the game, when Lindsay Gardner crushed a line drive home run to left field with two outs in the third inning. The long ball was Gardner's fourth of the season.
After a benign Racer fourth, Rockford came back and put two more runs on the board in their half of the fourth. Stephanie Best walked and Sandy Vojik doubled with one out in the inning to put runners on second and third. Audrey Rendon then doubled to left field to drive in Best. After Erin Evans was called out on batter's interference and Gardner walked to load the bases. Tonya Callahan came up next and walked to drive Vojik in, which brought the score to 3-0.
Akron had their best chance to score in the top of the fifth inning. With one out in the inning, the Racers had loaded the bases by way of a single, a walk and an infield error. Kime stepped up big, though, and quickly struck out one Racer, and catcher Savannah Brown picked off a Racer baserunner off of second base.
The Thunder tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Vojik reached on an error, and was bunted over to second by Rendon. Evans attempted to bunt Vojik to third, but some infield confusion led to another Akron error, which ended up plating Vojik. Evans next came around to score from second via a Gardner single.
Kime pitched into a second bases-loaded, one-out situation in the top of the seventh. That led to Jav Vela to call to the bullpen, bringing in Cassidy Scoggins to close out the game. She drew a fielder's choice, and pitched a strikeout to end the game harmlessly, earning her second save of the season.
Vojik went 1-for-2 on the night, scoring two runs. Evans scored her team-leading 11th run of the season. For the Racers, Veronica Wootson went 2-for-4, and Kellie Middleton batted 2-for-3.
The Racers and Thunder will play three more games this week, including a special day game matchup on Thursday at 1:05 pm. Three exciting promotions will take place Friday: Kids' Day, Ladies' Day, and Businesspeople's Day. Kids can get in free with a paid adult, all ladies in attendance will receive a voucher for a free ticket for any Thunder home game, and all businesspeople will get in two-for-one. All tickets are $5, and can be purchased at the gate at Players Park in Roscoe.
• Discuss this story on the National Pro Fastpitch message board...
National Pro Fastpitch Stories from July 23, 2008
- NPF Battle of the Bats - NPF
- Rockford needed a win Wednesday night, and they got it - with a few runs to spare. - Rockford Thunder
- Bandits ppd. due to weather - Chicago Bandits
- Force-Bandits fall to rain - Chicago Bandits
- Glory Slug, Pitch Their Way to the Top - Washington Glory
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
