Wonderly has rough start, but Bandits sweep Beijing
After rookie backstop Sahvanna Jaquish, in her first professional game, threw out a Beijing Shougang Eagles baserunner trying to steal third, veteran third baseman Stacy May-Johnson pointed back to Jaquish as if to say, 'nice job, kid.'
"It's calming when they [Bandits veterans] know that you're nervous and when they know what to do to calm you down when you make a good play like that," Jaquish said. "It's like we're speaking the same language."
Sahvanna Jaquish's first career at-bat was only one chapter in a night of firsts for the Bandits. Photo credit: Andrew Rosenthal, courtesy of National Pro Fastpitch.
Jaquish's appearance behind the plate was just one of several firsts during Friday's 13-3 win at The Ballpark at Rosemont. Rookie pitcher Breanna Wonderly made her first professional start in the circle and Australian second baseman Stacey McManus recorded her first career hit and home run in the contest.
The Bandits jumped all over Beijing starter Lan Wang early, scoring in the first inning for the third straight game. Shortstop Abby Ramirez and right fielder Emily Crane both smashed triples in the frame and designated player Emily Carosone blasted a two-run opposite-field shot into the left field party deck to put the Bandits on top 3-0 early. It was just the start of a mammoth night for Carosone, who finished with four hits and five RBI.
Wonderly, who signed with the Bandits as an undrafted free agent earlier in the week, got the nod for Chicago after last night's relief appearance marked her NPF debut. Things did not go as planned for the right-hander, however, as her outing lasted just 1.2 innings, spoiled in part by defensive miscues. Wonderly allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits, but did hurl 23 of her 28 pitches for strikes.
The Bandits committed two errors in the top of the second inning behind Wonderly, putting a blemish into the team's .994 fielding percentage entering the game.
"(Wonderly's) ground balls are hit a little harder than some of the other ones, and they just need to read that," assistant coach Kyla Holas said.
The offense added four runs in the second and three more in the third to put the Bandits up big, 10-3. Stacey McManus, a rookie from Australia, hit her first career home run in the bottom of the third, a two-run bomb just inside the left field foul pole.
"I'm so happy for her," Holas said. "I was really excited for her to get that chance out there and shine like she did. You can't write a script better than that."
The offensive onslaught continued for the Bandits in the fifth as they piled on three more. The 13-3 score would hold for the rest of the game. Center fielder Sammy Marshall finished 3-for-3 hitting in the leadoff spot, and Abby Ramirez and Stacy May-Johnson each added two hits in the winning effort.
A trio of Bandits pitchers logged innings in relief of Wonderly, led by southpaw Haylie Wagner tossing 2.1 frames of no-hit ball, helping her earn win No. 5 of the season.