Rebels Report Rebels vs. Tigers Tuesday, May 18th (6:30 pm) L 2-1

Welcome to the last Rebels Report for the 1999 season! It has certainly been my privilege to bring you the recap of all the Rebels games this year. And in the Rebels' final game of the season, they provided lots of highlights. On to the game report.

The Rebels faced the Tigers in the quarterfinals of the SLGSA 10-Under tournament. It was going to be a tough battle. Both teams knew each other well from previous meetings (Rebels won once and the Tigers won once). Allie led off the Rebels. Allie has been our leadoff hitter all year -- she sure knows how to spark rallies and provide outstanding leadership. All this talk must have gone to her head. She fell on 3 straight strikes! Alyssa followed with a pop fly single over the first baseman's head. Of course she stole second base. That gave us a scoring threat. Kaiti tried to plate Alyssa, but with a 1-2 count, the pitcher let loose with a perfect change-up. It barely cleared the plate and the ump called "Strike!". Kaiti was out on a good pitch. Ashley took her hacks as well but struck out. Rats! The Rebels stranded a runner.

In the bottom of the first, the Rebels looked invincible. Alyssa struck out the first two batters in convincing fashion. Then she handled a come-backer from the tough third hitter, throwing on to Allie for the third out. It was a scoreless game after one inning. In the top of the second, Lisa led off. After a bunt attempt and a fake bunt attempt, Lisa was in an 0-2 hole. She bravely fought off the next pitch, ripping a grounder off the pitcher towards second base. It was right at the second baseman, who threw out Lisa at first. Deneé followed with a strikeout. Brittany stepped to the plate with two outs. After working the count full, she lashed a hit off Coach Bob into right center field. Then she took third on the wild throw! All right! Another scoring threat. Mary Cameron stepped in. After falling behind 0-2 (just like Lisa), Mary Cameron hit a grounder to second (just like Lisa), and got thrown out at first (just like Lisa). No runs score.

In the bottom of the second, the meat of the Tigers lineup came to the plate. And they hit the ball hard! Allie made the first out. The next batter hit a smash-o-rama to right field. Elizabeth jumped on the ball and tried to make the throw to first. Great idea!! The throw was a little wide and the runner moved up. The coach's daughter was up next. She loves to smash line drives up the middle. Of course, she did it again -- a triple to center field that Deneé hustled in. Another hit plated a second run and Alyssa got two more strikeouts. The Rebels were down 2-0 after two innings.

Nothing really exciting happened in the third inning, unless you count good pitching. The Tigers pitcher was tough, coaxing a ground ball out from Kristen, and striking out Elizabeth and Kathryn. Alyssa was equally tough, striking out all the Tigers batters! On to the fourth inning, where the Rebels really needed to score. Allie led us off with an infield hit to shortstop. Way to start us, Allie! Alyssa stepped in, sporting the highest batting average on the team. And Alyssa delivered, a double to center field! Allie scores!! And Alyssa is sitting on second with nobody out, with Kaiti and Ashley due up next. In a very sad development, the Tigers pitcher bore down and struck out both Kaiti and Ashley. Boo hoo! That brought Lisa to the plate. She's had her share of clutch hits this year, including the game-winner in the first game of the season. Could she do it again? Down in the count 1-2, Lisa fouled off a pitch to stay alive. Then she absolutely creamed a ball to right field! In the saddest development of all, the ball was hit so hard and perfect that it went directly to the right fielder. She had enough time to throw Lisa out at first. BOO HOO!! Only one run scores for the Rebels.

We need some big-time defense to give us one more shot at 'em! Alyssa fielded an opening grounder and zipped it to Allie for the putout. The big third hitter cracked a hit to the outfield. Deneé's hustle prevented extra bases! The next batter got hit by the pitch and Alyssa struck out another. The situation was two outs, runners at first and second, and the very-hard-hitting coach's daughter due up. And she tagged one down the first base line! That'll be trouble if it gets by Allie. But Allie stayed low and snagged the rocket hit. She calmly stepped on first to make the out. Big time defensive play, Allie!!

One last hurrah for the Rebels. The pitching was tough. Deneé and Brittany went down on strikes. That brought Mary Cameron to the plate. She came ready to hit! Mary Cameron crushed the second pitch way, way over the left fielder's head! Mary Cameron eased into second with a stand-up double!! WOW! Kristen stepped in to try and pull off another miracle comeback for the Rebels. But it wasn't meant to be. The pitcher overpowered her, striking her out. Ballgame! Rebels fall 2-1 in a very good game.

Even though the Rebels lost, they can hold their heads high. They committed absolutely no errors in the game! In fact, both teams played excellent defense. The Tigers just got one or two more hits than the Rebels. Tonight's Homer's Hero goes to Allie, who sparked the fourth-inning rally (you can call her by her nickname "Rally Allie"). She also made an outstanding defensive stop in the bottom of the fourth that gave us once more chance. A steady contributor all year, Allie deserved tonight's Homer's Hero! Way to go!

Your faithful Rebel Reporter,
Major Homer K. Fielding

P.S. I want to take this time to once again thank Alyssa's mom & dad for keeping the gritty details of the scorebook all season long. Without their help, these Rebel Reports would be pretty bland. You are Homer's Heroes to me!!