Bandits edge Charge 3-2
"It's not us no more, it's just you and me."
The lyrics to "You & Me" by Marc E. Bassy, the song that Sahvanna Jaquish walks up to, helped describe Thursday night's game day atmosphere as three Bandits found themselves going up against former teammates on the Texas Charge.
One of the friendly faces on the Charge, Bailey Landry, was just playing alongside Jaquish on June 5 for their Women's College World Series elimination game against Oregon.
"Sahvanna is a great hitter and a great athlete," Landry said. "I miss her being my teammate, but I knew that coming out here that it would be fun to watch her compete at this level."
With summer camp starting up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, seemingly audible cheers could be heard from the LSU Tigers' fan base as Jaquish joined Emily Carosone with 2-out first inning single. She later came around to score a crucial early run when Megan Blank tagged Texas starter Lauren Haeger (L, 0-2) for a two-RBI single.
Kristen Brown led off the second with a monstrous home run over the party deck in left field, her second hit and long ball of the season.
"Anyone that's up there is going to get the job done," Brown said. "We all look to each other to pick each other up when we're down and whoever's up at the plate, whoever's out on defense, they're going to do the best they can for the team.
Landry attempted to outdo her former LSU teammate later in the game, smacking a triple to the right-center field gap. As she raced to third, Texas' Renada Davis scored the first run of the game for the Charge against Bandits' starter Lacey Waldrop.
Waldrop (W, 1-0) earned the win in her second start of the season after receiving a no-decision on the road in her 2017 debut against the USSSA Pride. Against the Charge, she was in control, spinning a complete game while surrendering just two runs.
Lacey Waldrop's complete game locked up a narrow 3-2 win for the Bandits on Thursday night. Photo credit: Marina Mantas, courtesy of National Pro Fastpitch.
"(Waldrop) looked great in Florida and I thought her stuff was pretty good," Chicago head coach Sharonda McDonald said. "We had all the confidence in the world in her. It's hard in this league to throw a complete game and to go through a lineup three times."
Thursday night's win also marked the first for McDonald as the head coach of the Bandits after she joined the team in Tallahassee, Florida over the past weekend. She noted that scoring early on in the game allowed for Waldrop to settle into a groove in the circle.
"You want to score early, and you want to take a little pressure off your pitcher so they can go out there and feel a little bit looser off the mound and she looked great," McDonald said.
The Bandits improve to 7-4 on the season, including a 7-1 mark at home.