May 27, 2015 5 min read

Craig Montvidas got a good look at some of his players during a two-game exhibition series between the Pennsylvania Rebellion and Chicago Bandits over the Memorial Day weekend.

While the Rebellion lost two games – 2-0 in the opener and 17-5 in the Monday game – the first-year manager found some positives.

“It wasn’t as bad as it looked, especially the second game,” he said. “We pitched well, we had 10 hits. We just made a couple errors that led to big innings. I saw some people who are feeling their way around, same with the coaches. We were operating without defensive sets. The object was to get them out there hitting, and facing live pitching.”

Montvidas has little time remaining before the Rebellion open the season with an unusual five-game, three-day schedule at Consol Energy Park.

Tomorrow night is a single game against the Chicago Bandits with first pitch at 7:05 p.m.

The Rebellion play the Bandits and Akron Racers each on Saturday and Sunday.

The Rebellion are coming off a 9-39 record in the regular season and a first-round exit in the NPF championship series. This year the league expanded to five teams with the addition of the Dallas Charge and the top four make the playoffs.

“Our goal is to make the playoffs,” said Montvidas. “It’s basically a puzzle and some of the pieces are here and some are not. We will put those pieces together before playoff time. It’s like the light at the end of the tunnel. That’s what makes it difficult right now.”

Adding to Montvidas’ problems is that seven players on the roster have not arrived yet because of various reasons and only one draft pick, fifth-round pitcher Emma Johnson of Kent State, is in camp and ready to throw. The Rebellion’s first pick, left-handed power pitcher Miranda Kramer of Western Kentucky, arrived Tuesday, but Montvidas was unsure whether she would be ready to throw over the weekend.

Kramer suffered a cut on the index finger of her throwing hand and that resulted in a poor performance in the NCAA Division I Regional doubleheader against Georgia. The Bulldogs scored 29 runs in 10 combined innings, nearly twice as many as Kramer allowed this season. Kramer was coming off a 14-inning, 192-pitch effort in a win against Georgia just two days prior.

“For me, it’s a new experience (not having a full roster), after having worked with the national team, where it was very well structured from A to Z,” Montvidas said. “It’s a challenge and that’s why I think it will take a while for us to find our groove. We still have to make some cuts, but the good thing is that some people get more of an opportunity this weekend and on our trip to Dallas.”

Two of Montvidas’ players from the Dutch National Team – pitcher Dagmar Bloeming and infielder Virginnie Anneveld – have not arrived as visa problems are being worked out. Two players from Japan – infielders Haruna Sakamoto and Yuri Masuyama – won’t arrive for at least two weeks because their league’s season is not yet completed.

“We’ll have some plus points and minus points. The minus point is that we might not have our strongest team out there at first,” Montvidas said. “The plus point is that some of the players will get more chances to show what they can do. The season has to start eventually. It’s just a question of pitching right now.”

The weekend offers some interesting storylines. Akron is expected to use right-hander Sarah Pauly, who was the Rebellion’s best pitcher last season, going 4-11 with a 2.61 ERA and a team-high 55 strikeouts.

Chicago’s catcher is expected to be Taylor Edwards, who also was traded away by the Rebellion following a strong rookie season. The Bandits will be without pitcher Monica Abbott, who is playing in Japan but should return in a couple weeks.

Montvidas said he was not settled on his rotation for the weekend series but it is sure to include Dallas Escobedo, who was the top pick in the 2014 draft. Escobedo struggled in her rookie season, but came to camp in better shape.

“Sarah was the leader of the pitching staff so someone else will have to assume that role,” Montvidas said. “There are very few players who come into the league after college and, boom, pick up where they left off. There are a lot of adjustments that you need to make and (Escobedo) went through that last year. She’s done the work in the offseason, so yeah, I think we’ll see some improvement with her.”

Montvidas said he will judge the success of the season by more than wins and losses.

“That’s kind of a long way down the road,” he said. “I’m like every other coach. I want to win. That’s why you go on the field, but there are different elements to winning. I want people to look back and say we did the best we possibly could. Of course, our goals are to improve every day as the season goes along. Our goal is getting to the playoffs. Hopefully, we’ve figured it out by then and are playing good softball.”