On the strength of a timely 5-run mercy inning, the Wildcards came away with an 11-8 come-from-behind victory over the Down Home Blues on Sunday night. The win marks the first time the Wildcards have won their season opener against their competitive rivals.
The Blues rallied in the top of the 8th to break a tie and pull ahead 8-6. At that point, the hometown crowd were in shock. As tension filled the air, players and fans thought that the undefeated streak would come to an abrupt end.
Blues outfielder John Lu swings at a pitch as part of an 8th inning rally against the Wildcards.
But as they showed last week against the Warriors, the team found a way to dig deep and do what needed to be done. After scoring just one run in the previous four innings, they exploded for five in the eighth to take an 11-8 lead, one they would not relinquish.
"It shows the character of this team." said captain Voodoo Redoblado. "We find ways to win. Even when it looks like we're down and out, everybody on this team finds another level, and people start stepping up."
Although six Wildcards went hitless in this game, the team got big contributions from players who stepped up. Blue San Luis and Voodoo Redoblado were both 2-for-3, both hitting timely doubles and triples. Unknown Laurendeau continued her torrid hitting streak, going 3-for-4, including a triple in the bottom of the 6th. And in her second straight start, Ice ?ueen Reyes was sensational, giving up just four runs over seven innings. She contributed with the bat as well, and may have become the fourth Wildcard this season to hit a homerun, had the 5-run mercy rule not stopped her at third base in the bottom of the eighth.
Unknown Laurendeau settles in at first base after one of three hits on the day. Firstbase fielder/coach Nocks Sunga observes the play at the plate.
Despite the positivity, the atmosphere in the Wildcards locker room wasn't as jubilant as one may expect. Several teammates thought that, for the second straight game, they got complacent. One of those teammates happens to be the team leader in batting average, r3z Salehoun (2-for-3, 1 SAC).
"I think we got way too comfortable. We didn't take them as seriously as we should've and we nearly lost because of it. Hopefully we don't make the same mistake again."
r3z Salehoun gets comfortable as the attractive Blues third basegirl smiles in his presence.
Voodoo Redoblado acknowledged that the bats went AWOL temporarily, but nonetheless, was happy with the win. "Yeah, I don't know why we went into that mid-game slump. I'm not sure if we took them lightly. But at the end of the day, a win is a win, and I'll take it."
NOTES: Sinbad Sinclair was a late scratch for this game, citing a lower body injury. Co-captain El Saviour Bulos is now 1 for his last 8 plate appearances. Hollywood Fernando failed to achieve a hit from the left side for the first time this season. Franchise Fernando has now gone three games without an extra base hit, his longest streak ever.
On an unrelated note, I apologize for the lateness of this article. My source within the team lost his laptop and retrieving pictures and data were difficult. The stats will not be updated until full data is recovered. I apologize again for the inconvinience, but I'm working at rectifying the problem as you read this.
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