On their third try in three weeks, the Sidewinders and Flash were finally able to square off in LGFPA 14U competition.

A volleyball camp prevented the two teams from playing the first time and a miscommunication derailed the second meeting. But it turned out to be well worth the wait for the Flash as they blazed to an 11-5 victory at Broken Arrow on June 27.

“They’re a bunch of athletic girls,” Flash coach Mark Green said. “When they put their minds to it, they can accomplish things.”

The Sidewinders who controlled the game early on. Sidewinder Brenna Eaton got the start at pitcher and made quick work of the Flash in the first inning, facing only five batters.

Eaton’s counterpart on the mound for the Flash was McKenzie Dever. Dever struck out the Sidewinders’ leadoff hitter, but a dropped third strike allowed the batter to reach first. Dever recorded two more strikeouts in the inning, but also allowed three Sidewinders including the leadoff hitter to cross the plate. The final Sidewinder run of the inning came on a Krista Diedel double that drove in Catrin Jacobson

Five was the magic number for the Flash in the top of the second. Five batters reached base on walks, five different players stole at least one base and the team scored the five-run maximum in the inning to take the lead. Kieley Mosiman led off the inning for the Flash with a walk and eventually stole home for the Flash’s first run. The Flash scored their fifth run of the inning on a Morgan Green single to right that drove in Kendall Severa.

“We all got pumped up and were excited to start hitting and getting the runs in,” Dever said.

The Sidewinders had the opportunity to blow right back past the Flash in the second, but a gutsy performance by Dever kept them at bay. Dever walked the first four batters of the inning, allowing Kailey Kingert to score, but found the strike zone just in time. With the bases loaded, Dever got a strikeout and induced a pop out and ground out all in a row to get out of the jam.

“Normally it takes me a little bit to make sure I know the strike zone,” Dever said. “After an inning it gets easier.”

The Flash didn’t record a single out in the third on their way to reaching the five-run max again. Marley Sutter led the inning off with a walk for the Flash and scored on a double by the next batter, Mosiman. The scoring run ended in exciting fashion for the Flash. Dever stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and helped her cause. With one swing of the bat, Dever was rounding the bases. Unofficially, Dever hit a grand slam. Due to the five-run max, she was officially credited with a one-RBI single.

Dever took the momentum from her at-bat to the mound in the bottom of the inning and retired three of the four batters she faced. Only Jacobson reached base for the Sidewinders in the inning, but she managed to score. With the run, the Sidewinders were within one perfect inning of the Flash, 10-5.

However, Flash player Cliffa Jones wasted no time putting the game out of reach. Jones led the inning off with a single and stole her way home. With the time limit reached, the umpire called the game because even a five-run inning wouldn’t have been enough for the Sidewinders.

“We are a slow-starting team,” Green said. “Sometimes we never start, but we started today after the second inning.”