Wednesday evening brought the second and final game for the Carolina Blaze and Oklahoma City Spark. After Monday’s win for the Blaze, the Spark came out with a simplified approach and took the finale 9-3.
“It was a great dub for us,” Spark head coach Amber Flores said. “We needed that. We’ve been working hard for it. We felt it was coming. We felt close. I thought we did some great jobs. Credit to Penta tonight to come out. She gave up two early, and then just really bounced back and settled us in.
“I thought the offense did a great job tonight. Two-out RBIs were huge. We were really locked in and dialed in tonight. We took the right approach and competed hard, got after it. I felt like we simplified a lot of things as a team. I think that was really beneficial for us.”
Reese Atwood wasted no time putting the Blaze on the board to begin the game. After Aubrey Leach led off with a single and moved to third, Atwood ambushed Maddie Penta for a first-pitch two-run homer to left. The Blaze have generated a lot of success this season when swinging early in counts.
Penta bounced back with a strikeout of Dakota Kennedy, en route to retiring the side. Aleshia Ocasio started for the Blaze and ran into a bases-loaded situation with two outs. Sydney Romero and Bubba Nickles-Camarena each recorded singles, with Amari Harper reaching via hit by pitch.
Then, Sydney Sherrill took advantage of a 1-0 pitch for a two RBI single to tie the game. Ocasio suffered no further damage in the inning, but that was an important response for OKC.
Penta began to settle into the game in her second frame. Jenna Laird led off, reaching on a hit by pitch, but Penta answered by striking out Alyssa Brito on a drop ball low in the zone. She finished the inning without damage.
Ocasio won a seven-pitch battle with a strikeout of Haley Lee to begin the bottom of the second. Then, rookie Grace Jenkins took an Ocasio curveball to left field for her first career home run. Jenkins got the pitch she wanted on the outer half of the plate and went the opposite direction.
“It was awesome, you know,” Jenkins said. “I think, just gotta keep going in moments of toughness. And I think, looking at my past couple of games, it’s been hard at the plate. But I think I’m just in such a great spot with this team and these coaches. And really, I was just looking to do something simple, and it just happened to go over the fence.”
The Spark were smart at the plate and made Ocasio work with two outs. Romero singled and Delanie Wisz followed with a double to put two in scoring position. Then, Harper cleared them all with a three-run home run to left field to make it 6-2 OKC.
That was the last inning for Ocasio in the circle, and Jala Wright took the ball in the bottom of the third inning. Atwood also took her position behind the dish after Jordyn Rudd-Lee got the start. After an initial walk, Wright recorded back-to-back strikeouts and went on to finish the inning clean with just a couple of walks issued.
Penta continued, and with a four-run lead, cruised through the fourth inning. After that first inning, she didn’t allow a run. The Blaze were only able to scatter a hit here and there, but were unable to finish the innings against her.
Wright fell behind in her counts in the bottom of the fourth, and the Spark were able to put runners on and apply pressure. Wisz recorded her second hit of the game with one out, before Wright fanned Harper for her third strikeout of the outing.
Then, with two outs, Sherrill hit a two RBI double to extend the Spark’s lead to 8-2, before Wright retired the side with her fourth strikeout. Sherrill was having a game and upped her RBI count to four.
Jailyn Ford took the mound for OKC to begin the fifth inning and opened with a strikeout of Ocasio, then retired the side in order. The Spark recorded a fourth-straight zero on the board.
Devyn Netz came on to pitch in the fifth for the Blaze, and the Spark remained hot. Lee broke through with a leadoff double. That was Lee’s first hit since June 16. Billie Andrews pinch ran for Lee and came home to score on a two-out Romero RBI single to make it 9-2.
Ford commanded the zone well, moved it around, and the Blaze were unable to build anything in her first couple of innings. However, Carolina generated a run in the top of the seventh. Brito reached via a hit by pitch, and a Val Cagle eight-pitch walk put two on. Then, Netz just missed a home run and hit a two-out RBI single to make it 9-3.
Ford finished the game with nothing more given up, and the Oklahoma City Spark snapped their five-game losing streak. After the game, Blaze head coach Kara Dill stated that Wednesday just wasn’t the night.
“I think this was just a tough night for us,” Blaze head coach Kara Dill said. “You know, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel or anything like that. We’re a great team, we have a great pitching staff, we have a great offense. You know, it just didn’t really show up the way it usually does for us tonight.”
