In an exciting contest between the Peaches and the Belles, the Downtown Little League Moms played a follow-up game to last months’ win by the Peaches.
Pam Keefer led off for the Peaches, grounding out to Marijo Russell-O’Grady on the mound for out one. Brooke Thomas singled, but Mary Beth Wallis caught Diane Rohan’s liner with an up-stretched glove at third base. Leah Singer succumbed to strikes to end the scoreless inning for the Peaches.
Ruth Habbouch garnered the first single for the Belles, and Wallis advanced to first on an infield grounder when the Peaches had no defensive play. Russell-O’Grady also singled, and Maggie Marino reached first as Wallis was forced out at third. Karen Barwick hit a pop fly, which was gloved nicely by Samantha Singh for out two. Miriam Wysoker grounded out to Rohan at first for out three.
Amy Strassler-Goldstein led off for the Peaches, grounding out to the mound. Sandra Yip singled, but was forced out at second when Kim Bryan grounded to Barwick at short. Singh’s grounder to Wallis at third made for out three, when the throw to second was covered by Barwick to nail Bryan.
In the bottom of the second, Zabby Hovey grounded out to Strassler at second, but Tracy Opheim and Chisato Harding both singled. Linda Ortega grounded out to Keefer on the mound or out two, but Habbouch cranked the ball again for an RBI single. Wallis continued her hitting streak with an RBI single as well, but Russell-O’Grady’s grounder to Thomas at short forced out Wallis for out three.
Now down 4-0, the Peaches led off with Roya Sullivan, who never had a chance to play defense due to coaching obligations on the adjacent field. Sullivan grounded out to Harding at second for out one. Keefer, recovering from an emergency C-section just four weeks ago, managed to eek out a single, but was forced out at second by Thomas’ grounder. Thomas was forced out at second for out three by Rohan’s hard smack to Wallis, who had no problem fielding it to hold the Peaches scoreless again.
Marino singled in the bottom of the third inning. When Barwick’s pop fly was tracked and caught by Thomas, however, Marino ran wildly to second. Thomas was close enough to touch her with the ball, but Marino headed back to first, with Thomas hot on her heels. Marino, sensing that she was cornered, ran out of the base path and into foul territory in a desperate and unsuccessful attempt to reach first before Thomas.
The Peaches were rejoicing over Thomas’ unassisted double play when Thomas came down with her, wrenching her knee and prompting solace from the moms. Dr. Jack Mantione, a DLL dad watching the game at the adjacent field, rushed over to help the injured player.
There were no broken bones, but she most likely tore a ligament and will be on bed rest for a week. With the Peaches already short two defensive players, three members of the DLL Majors’ team were asked to step in to help balance the contest, and they did happily. Wysoker had a long at-bat, waiting for the perfect pitch and reaching first, but Hovey grounded out to Keefer for out three, bringing the first scoreless inning for the Belles.
In the top of the fourth, which ended up being the last licks for the Peaches, Singer grounded out to the mound. Strassler singled, but Yip’s liner to left field was perfectly fielded by Habbouch, who sent the ball to second for out two. Bryan reached first on a rare error by the Belles’ defense, but Singh grounded out to Hovey at first, stranding the fifth runner in scoring position for the Peaches.
With ten minutes left, despite the Belles having already won the game, the Moms agreed to play to the end. Now facing Bryan on the mound, the Belles led off with back-to-back singles from Opheim and Harding. Ortega grounded out, but Habbouch’s single loaded the bases for the powerhouse Wallis who sent the ball sailing over the centerfielder’s head. The game ended 7-0 in Belles’ favor.
