Rebellion forge two-game winning streak
The Rebellion’s Brittney Lindley slides safely into home while Dallas’ Eri Yamada waits for the throw during the third inning of Tuesday night’s game at Consol Energy Park.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter The Rebellion’s Emily Weiman pitches during the Tuesday’s game against the Dallas Charge.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter The Rebellion’s Whitney Arion laughs with Samie Garcia after Arion slid safely into home during the bottom of the fourth inning Tuesday against the Dallas Charge.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter The Rebellion’s Samie Garcia runs home with Whitney Arion right behind her during the bottom of the third inning against the Dallas Charge on Tuesday, July 14.
Making a diving catch or throwing out a runner does not get Rebellion center fielder Courtney Senas excited.
Sure, it’s always refreshing to save a run or prevent an opponent from an extra-base hit, but Senas’ mood goes up and down based on her performance at the plate. And a slump this season frustrated the former Florida State standout to no end.
Despite having other players to turn to, Pennsylvania manager Craig Montvidas stuck with Senas. He knew what Senas, who finished her career as a Seminole with 36 home runs and 158 RBI, is capable of at the plate.
Senas showed everyone that Tuesday night. The 5-6 native Hawaiian saved a run by throwing out Dallas’ Victoria Vallos at home plate and hit the eventual game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning to lift the Rebellion past the Charge, 5-4, in an NPF game.
Pennsylvania (7-23) won its second consecutive game, its first winning streak since May 31 and June 2 of last season, while Dallas (9-18) has lost four of its last five games.
The Rebellion and Charge were tied, 4-4, in the bottom of the eight when Senas stepped to the plate with two outs and a runner on second base. She hit the first pitch she saw over Dallas center fielder Eria Yamada’s head, scoring Mandy Ogle from second base for the lead.
Haylie Wagner (1-3) thre a scoreless seventh inning to earn the win in relief.
“I was just trying to relax because that’s my biggest problem,” Senas, who leads the Rebellion with a .271 average, said. “I put too much pressure on myself. I was trying to feel myself through my hands.
“I’m just trying to find a groove, my strengths and weaknesses.”
The Rebellion led 4-1 entering the fourth inning when starting pitcher Emily Weiman ran into trouble. Ashley Burkhardt hit an RBI single to right-center field. Vallos took a long turn around third base and Senas gathered the ball, turned and fired to home plate to throw out Vallos, saving a run.
“It’s amazing the plays I’ve seen her make and when she wasn’t hitting, we still had her out there,” Montvidas said. “Even when she’s not scoring, she keeps the other team from scoring. You don’t see that very often. And she swings the bat as hard as anyone I’ve ever seen.”
After a thrilling, come-from-behind victory Monday night, Pennsylvania’s offense struggled early against Dallas pitcher Jolene Henderson. Henderson, a finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year as a senior at Cal Berkley in 2013, struck out five of the first six batters she faced.
It did not last. A little bit of patience went a long way for Pennsylvania, which forced Henderson to throw almost 40 pitchers during that span.
After Whitney Arion’s fielder’s choice scored Samie Garcia and tied the score tied the score 1-1 in the third inning, Haruna Sakamoto fought off an inside fastball to right-center field for a two-run single to give the Rebellion a 3-1 lead.
The Rebellion added another run two batters later when Kristyn Sanderg hit an RBI single to left field. The four runs in one inning are their most this season.
”They did a good job advancing runners early and executing when they needed to,” Dallas manager Jennifer McFalls said. “We didn’t do that until it was too late. We gave up four runs in one inning and it’s tough to win that way in this league.”
Dallas got to Weiman early, and for the second consecutive night, Nadia Taylor got the Charge started in the second inning with a lead-off single.
Kaitlyn Richardson added a one-out single and Kaylyn Castillo capitalized when she hit a line drive off Rebellion third baseman Brittney Lindley’s glove to score Richardson for a 1-0 lead.
Burkhardt and Taylor Thom hit RBI singles in the fourth inning to draw the Charge to within one.
”We definitely have a lot of fight, but Dallas is tough,” Montvidas said. “They’re like a bad cold that won’t go away. They hung in there, but finally, when we got a break, we took advantage of it and we haven’t done that most of the year.”
The Charge tied the score 4-4 in the fifth inning when Yamada reached on an infield single against Rebellion reliever Dagmar Bloeming and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Taylor.
Senas’ double in the sixth inning sent the Rebellion dugout into a frenzy. One of the top hitters in Florida State history, Senas, like many of her teammates, is trying to make the necessary adjustments to excel at the next level and reach the NPF postseason.
”The pitchers are smarter and the players are faster,” Senas said. “They play at the right spots so it’s hard to get hits here. The ones that fall in in college don’t fall in here. It’s luck and skill at the same time, but more luck. You can hit a long shot and they can still catch it.
”A lot of us are finding that out, but our goal is to make the playoffs. We are trying to come together as a team.”