Tourney 7

     In pool-play "warm-ups", the Thunder won one and lost one, losing 5-2 to the Carolina Fire and beating the Carolina Breeze 6-1. The "luck of the draw" had the Thunder playing a very strong Palmetto Rage team in the opening game of double-elimination. The Thunder battled the Rage to a 1-1 tie through 4 innings before giving up 2 in the top of the final inning to move to the loser's bracket. Shannon A pitched 5 strong innings in the loss while the Rage pitcher allowed only 2 Thunder hits. The Thunder would need to win 4 straight to get to the finals.
     The Thunder got one under their belt with a 6-1 victory over the West Chatman Bears. The Thunder jumped on top 3-0 in the 1st and then added insurance runs in last 3 innings to post the win. Shannon A and Kelsie B led the Thunder bats, both with 2 hits and 2 RBI. Kelsie B was the star of the game on the mound - allowing only 1 run while recording strike-outs for 12 of the 15 outs in the game (with no walks). The win set-up an intense game with the Carolina Slappers with both teams coming out to score 2 in the 1st inning. The Thunder added 1 each in the 2nd and 3rd innings to take a 4-2 lead only to have it cut to 1 in the top of the 4th. Strong defense in the final 2 innings sealed the Thunder win. Shannon A and Kelsie B combined to allow only 6 hits and did not surrender an earned run in the game. Ashley B (3 for 3) with 2 doubles and Lindsay W (2 for 3) had key hits in contributing to the Thunder win.
     Next up was the Carolina Fire -- in another intense game, the Thunder jumped up early 5-0 in the 1st inning only to surrender 4 in the bottom of the 3rd to close the score to 5-4. In the 4th - the Thunder recorded outs on a strikeout, flyout to right, and a ground ball to 2nd base. In the 6th, Kelsie B struck out the side (10 total strikeouts) -- Thunder 'D' saved the win with outstanding defensive ground put-outs by Shannon A, Maura, and Shawna K. After the win, only 3 teams remained in the tournament. The Palmetto Rage, who beat the Thunder earlier, remained undefeated in the winners bracket and the Thunder faced the Impact for a chance to go to the championship. In what turned out to be the final game for the Thunder, the resiliency and "never-say-die" attitude of the Thunder came through -- trailing 3-0 in the top of the final inning, the Thunder, on hits by Lindsay W, Maura, Ashley B, and Shawna K, were able to tie the game at 3 a-piece. However, in the bottom of the final inning, with 1 runner on base, the hard-hitting Impact team got a home run to go up 5-3. After 2 quick strike-outs, the umpires called the game without allowing the Thunder another at-bat. The Impact went on to beat the Rage twice to claim the title.

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