International & NPF

Chicago Bandits Take Series against PA Rebellion

Chicago Bandits NPF

ROSEMONT – (By: Jason Lowenthal) A sixth-inning, two-out, RBI-triple from center fielder Sammy Marshall gave the Bandits a 4-3 lead on Saturday night and Michelle Gascoigne did the rest.

Marshall (2-for-3, 2 RBI, 3B) drove in pinch-runner Alaynie Page with her first extra-base hit of the 2016 season. Her heroics, along with Gascoigne’s relief effort, powered the Bandits to a series win over the Pennsylvania Rebellion. Gascoigne delivered a solid performance out of the bullpen, striking out the first four batters she faced and five of seven overall.

“Coming in like that is my favorite thing to do, that was my role in college,” Gascoigne said. “I really appreciate going in late in games and I just was positive in getting ahead and once I got ahead I was just trusting [catcher] Taylor [Edwards].”

The Rebellion (11-18) opened the game’s scoring in the first, scraping across a run without recording a hit. Some self-inflicted damage by the Bandits, which included an error, hit by pitch and a pair of walks, put them in an early hole in the series finale.

The Bandits (12-16) threatened to blow the game open in the second when they loaded the bases with no outs thanks to back-to-back hits from left fielder Natalie Hernandez (1-for-3, R, 3B) and second baseman Danielle Zymkowitz (1-for-3, R), plus a hit by pitch from designated player Emily Carosone (1-for-1, BB, HBP). Marshall and third baseman Megan Blank (1-for-2, RBI) provided consecutive RBI-singles to put the Bandits up 2-1.

Despite not allowing a hit in 2.1 innings of work, Bandits’ starting pitcher Shelby Turnier was pulled after her fourth walk of the game. She finished the game allowing just one unearned run. She was replaced by Sara Moulton, who entered the game with a 0.54 ERA against the Rebellion in 2016. The Bandits would work via committee for the rest of the night, ultimately utilizing four pitchers.

“Shelby gave us a good start,” Gascoigne said. “Then it’s just one right after the other and we’re all ready in the bullpen when [head coach Mike] Steuerwald says.”

Catcher Taylor Edwards furthered the lead with a first-pitch swinging mentality, leading the third off with a line drive home run that tucked inside the left field foul pole. The Bandits threatened again to add on to the lead as Zymkowitz and Carosone again reached base, but Emily Weiman (L, 2-7)– who entered the game for starter Miranda Kramer with one out in the third – worked out of the jam.

The Rebellion rallied in the fifth to tie the game at three as shortstop Chaley Brickey and third baseman Cheyenne Cordes led off the inning with a triple and RBI-double, respectively. Catcher Kristyn Sandberg added the tying run with a sacrifice fly, but a heads-up play by Blank at third resulted in a double play. It took a combined effort of Moulton, Morgan Foley and Gascoigne to get out of the fifth with the game tied.

Gascoigne said the team showed fight in scratching out the win after the Rebellion tied it.

“We have all the right pieces, some days they’re just not clicking at the same time so when we’re fighting we’re figuring out how to get that clicking going on because we know it’s there,” Gascoigne said. “That’s the big factor, in that we know it’s there and we just have to keep working until it’s there consistently.”

The Bandits won the series after the Rebellion took game two on Friday, 3-2. It was the Bandits’ first series win since a sweep of the Akron Racers from June 14-15.

“[Winning the series] means a lot, especially going into game three trying to get that series win with the rubber match going on,” Gascoigne said. “Especially the way we did it with one run late in the game, it just shows how much we’re fighting for this and I think that we’re starting to figure things out.”

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