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Fields finished the day 3-for-7. She had two hits and two runs in Game 2, but her shortstop defense was particularly impressive.
In the fourth inning of Game 1, she made a great play on a bad jump to catch Ashley Chu on first base. Fields had seven defensive chances in Game 2 and was tested on back-to-back strikeouts in the fourth inning.
The first was a Groundout from Audrey Hui which allowed Kennedy Ariail to advance to third base. Then, with two strikeouts, Fields knocked over a heavily touched ground ball, then shot first to take Ellie Balose out and end the threat, allowing the Raiders to maintain a one-point lead.
“I love to be a leader wherever I am, but last year I tried to start,” Fields said. “This year I’ve tried to be the captain of our team, to bring everyone together and pick someone up when they’re down and that sort of thing – take charge on the pitch.”
Fields was also responsible for North’s only mistake in the afternoon.
After circling a ground ball from Karly Casey with an impressive backhand, Fields first threw the ball past Lexie Durban, which allowed Casey to reach base.
But Casey never got past second base, and sure enough the ball found Fields four batters later. This time, Fields lined up the ball cleanly and shot accurately towards Durban first to save the final strikeout.
“More than half of the game is mental, and I tried not to be too hard on myself. But, naturally, you’re going to be tough on yourself,” Fields said. “So when I make a mistake, I do my best to put it aside, move on and find a way to catch up with my team. A lot of times we say the ball will find you. It’s super common. ‘I’m going to ruin a game, then the next ball comes to me and I have to redeem myself. It’s just doing what I can to stay in it. “
That mentality taps into the overall Raiders team mantra, according to North head coach Jim Cahill.
“We have a saying, ‘So what? Next launch’,” he said. “Like, ‘Oh, did you miss your seat? Everything’s fine. Next launch.’ Really with anything, offensively that’s kind of our approach, and defensively, if you make a mistake, so what? The next pitch.
North scored the first points of the afternoon in Game 1, when Addison Peck’s colons tackled Alexis Monroe and Ali Jones to give the Raiders a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning.
North added an insurance run in the sixth inning after Jones scored on a wild pitch from South pitcher Josie Crossman. Jones opened the frame with an infield single, then reached third place after Olivia Tyson’s sacrifice and Bunt de Fields’ single. Jones trotted home after Crossman’s throw failed to get Fields early and ricocheted into right field.
That run proved to be critical after South made a late inning comeback that fell 60 feet shorter to tie the game.
Ansley Chiang and Emme Souter hit back-to-back singles in the sixth inning, then came back to score on Karly Casey’s two-run double who made it 3-2.
Josie Crossman opened the bottom of the seventh inning with a single, which sparked Cahill’s call to relieve Tyson with Durban.
Durban pulled Sarah Quian out on sticks with an off-speed throw, then after Taylor Pipkins intercepted a line in center field, Durban stoked Chu to end the game.
Tyson took the win by pitching six innings of two-runners, striking out two strikes and walking only one batter.
“Yeah, she matured,” Cahill said. “She doesn’t let things get to her anymore. She would throw the first ball, then the next thing you know would be the fourth ball. She’s doing a good job.”
Tyson also had a sacrificial fly in Game 2 to explain North’s first inning. Logan Currie had his own fly sack in the fifth inning, then three batters later Alex Monroe’s RBI single tackled Taylor Pipkins to make it 3-0.
Currie delivered a three-run homer, without a doubt, in the sixth inning to open the game.
In total, the Raiders scored 12 hits in Game 2, led by Monroe’s 3-4 performance and Currie’s four RBIs. Bri Deleon was excellent in the nightcap, scattering six hits in seven one-run innings.
North is 11-1 this season, with his only loss coming early in the season to Central-Carrollton. The double sweep improves their record to an impeccable 4-0 mark.
“It’s amazing,” Fields said. “Coach [Travis] Jarrard told us that going into these games he said, “Go ahead, play our game, don’t get too high, don’t get too low.” And that’s so true, because it’s a different team that we play against, and we also had different girls on our team. So far this year, if we play the way we are and stay level – not too high or too low – we can handle any team. “
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