It is no secret that the Athletes Unlimited Softball League season is rapidly heading towards its final stretch. Positioning for the chance to play in College Station, Texas, is as tight as it gets. One of the teams fighting for that chance is the Portland Cascade.
Portland came into Sunday evening with an 8-7 record and in fourth place. After a seven-run third inning against the Oklahoma City Spark, the Cascade finished the deal with an 8-4 win and improved to 9-7.
The game went into the third inning tied at 1. Korbe Otis led off the game with a monstrous solo home run to set the tone. Then in the bottom of the second, Oklahoma pulled off a double steal to tie the game, with Amari Harper coming home.
Then came that seven-run third inning, and the Cascade took what they were given and more. Otis reached on a one-out single, Megan Grant walked, and with two outs, Kennedy Powell reached on a hit by pitch. Then, things ramped up. Sis Bates struck out, which should have retired the side, but a wild pitch allowed her to reach, and Otis scored to make it 2-1 Portland.
Kendra Falby then stepped to the plate and ambushed the first pitch for a three-RBI triple. She came home next on a Sydney Stewart RBI single, and Mia Davidson wrapped up the scoring with a two-run homer before OKC could get out of the inning. Seven runs were scored all on two outs.
Cascade head coach Tairia Flowers spoke of the team’s ability to stretch that inning into a huge result, and make the most of anything.
“We talk about a lot of hitting, contagious, and this team did a really good job of just back-to-back-to-back, and obviously Kendra coming up with the big hit and clearing the bases,” Flowers said. “It’s nice to see, and it started with even just the strikeout, the ball just getting away from them and hustling out, and I think that’s something our team does well of just going hard.”
Falby had a great game and finished 2-for-4 with that three-RBI triple and a run scored. After the last few games, she was able to reset and play with a free mindset.
“Recently I’ve been thinking a lot up to bat, which is not usually like me,” Falby said. “So just kind of going up with a free mind, not thinking of anything and just trying to hit the ball hard and not making the situation bigger than what it is. Like, Coach [Tairia] said, at this point it felt like, what do we really have to lose after the past couple of games? So just going up almost free swinging and just getting a pitch over the plate and making it as simple as possible.”
Carley Hoover turned in a complete game in the circle to help Portland close out the win. She looked forward to facing a Spark lineup that gave the Cascade trouble on Saturday. She was efficient, and even though she gave up four runs, OKC was kept off balance with six strikeouts and one walk. When the Spark adjusted, Hoover adjusted.
“Yeah, it makes me feel good,” Hoover said of her confidence and the way her stuff moved. “I even told the coaches tonight, I was going to attack a little more, and I might give up something big, but I’m going to punch too. So, my objective today was just changing the tone, changing the pace a little bit, and getting in their face.
“They are good enough to hit balls on the plate. Every ball that was hit tonight was on the plate. So they did their job, got to tip my cap to that, and I also learned more about them tonight, and I’m someone that’s better the more I know. So I don’t know, if I see you five, six, seven times, I like that even better. It’s more information for me.”
With the win, the Cascade will look to build on this momentum. Falby put things into perfect perspective of how the team’s mindset is. They came into Sunday night on a three-game losing streak that was all by run-rule, but they didn’t waver.
“I think just relaying the message and just not giving up on each other,” Falby said. “We started this team back in spring training camp and we knew what we were, and just continuing that and not falling stray of that even when we lose, and just continuously believing in each other, regardless of how hard the times get.
“Because this is a really hard game, and if we turn on each other, we’re not going to be successful. So, I think just how we’ve been playing, even our last outings weren’t the best, but we still had each other’s backs, and then today that really showed, and now it can only go up from here.”
Now, with the Blaze series coming up and playoff positioning tightening, Flowers’ message is simple.
“I think every win is important,” Flowers said. “That’s the conversation with our team right now, that we’re on the second part of the season and everything’s important. Every team is a big win. Every team is capable of taking a win here and there. Every inning is important, every pitch is important, and that’s what we’re trying to get across to our team. The details matter.”
Portland returns home to host Carolina on Tuesday night at Hillsboro Ballpark. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. EDT/5:00 p.m. PDT, and will be televised on ESPN2.
