We're not even a week into the Women's Pro Baseball League and I'm more amped than ever. Tonight we'll see the West Coast teams (San Francisco Firebells vs Los Angeles Queens) go head to head; it's the game I've been most excited to watch. Both teams are impressive and after the first three games, I thought it would be a pretty even match up. HOWEVER! I'm now leaning towards thinking the Queens will take it, though I might be biased as a former Angeleno.
Here's my thinking: While the rain on opening night was obviously a huge factor in game play, the Queens had an insane comeback that night. Both the Queens and the Heights were fierce competitors but it was tough to see all of their true strengths in such shit weather. Then on Wednesday, they dominated the Boston Hunters, with Sarah Edwards giving us first grand slam of the league. Roche pitched a great game, defense was clutch, and it feels like the team has really meshed. The Queens are 2-0 after beating Boston 12-4.
As for the Firebells, on Sunday, they came out strong against the Boston Hunters, scoring seven runs in the third inning. Boston's Raine Padgham was replaced by relief pitcher Maïka Dumais and it turned out we were sitting right behind her family! She's from Quebec and hearing them all cheering in English and French, we couldn't help rooting for her too. She's already a strong pitcher and a joy to watch. Despite some good defensive plays by Denver Bryant and Sabrina Robinson (who did the splits at first base for an out), the Hunters lost 11-3.
It was last night's game between the Firebells and the New York Heights that has me shuffling team rankings a bit. They fought hard and the teams felt evenly matched defensively, especially at the start of the game. Things started to slip in the third; New York's Denae Benites drove in one RBI and then Kylee Lahners sent in two more. They followed with another four runs in the next inning. In the sixth, both Benites and Keira Izumi homered, and while San Francisco came back to rally with five runs right after this, it just wasn't enough. The Firebells lost 13-8.
I like the Firebells and think they have some really exciting players – Andréanne Leblanc, a power hitter who plays first base and pitches, is a favorite of mine; I love watching Jill Albayati and Jua Park bat; and I'm such a fan of Amanda Gianelloni, who is the first player we met and super humble for being such a badass. But...I think the Queens have an edge tonight. We'll see! Remember, anything can happen in baseball.
Anyhow, while I'm super excited to my SoCal vs Norcal matchup, the hottest matchup on my calendar right now is the Los Angeles Queens vs the New York Heights rematch on August 22. How about you?