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Stripes’ Valerie Perez goes 3-for-4 en route to downing Stars, 6-5, at Siebert Field at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- As in games prior, Stripes drew first blood after back-to-back singles by Olivia Pichardo and Perez gave the home team an early 2-0 advantage.
- Stars halved the deficit not long after, as Anna Kimbrell sent a sac fly deep to right, plating Sophia Broderick.
- Team Stripes gained a two-run lead right back, as a fly ball to left field landed Amanda Gianelloni on second base, handing her team a 3-1 lead.
- The back-and-forth affair continued in the third thanks to Naomi Ryan’s single to shallow center field, scoring Alex Hugo and making it 3-2.
- Stripes started to separate in their half of the inning, however, as a line drive to right resulted in an RBI-triple for Pichardo. Perez followed up with an RBI base knock to score Pichardo and produce a 5-2 lead.
- A productive at-bat by Gianelloni in the fourth frame scored Sarah Edwards and made it 6-2, Stripes' advantage.
- A hiatus ensued until the sixth inning, as a double steal plated Ashton Lansdell while a defensive miscue allowed Luciana Moreno to score, chipping the deficit away by a pair of runs.
- Despite Alana Martinez scoring off a wild pitch to make it 6-5 and having the bases loaded, Pichardo shut the door for Stars in the seventh and struck out back-to-back batters to secure the series win.
NOTABLE STATS
- Four Stripes players notch multi-hit performances, as Jillian Albayat, Maggie Paulovich, and Pichardo each went 2-for-3.
- Gianelloni, Pichardo, and Perez each drove in a pair and accounted for all six of Stripes’ runs.
- Albayati and Paloma Benach did their due diligence from the mound and held opponents scoreless, each allowing only one hit in their outings.
- In her series debut, Hugo posted a stellar performance at the plate; going 3-for-4 with two extra-base hits.
- Lansdell was the only other Stars player to tally a multi-hit outing, as she went 2-for-3 with a triple.
- On the other side of the ball, Cameron Ely shut down the Stripes offense with a clean inning of work while Olivia Bricker and Maggie Foxx also held opponents scoreless.