It's the last day of the second round, with just three series on. If there's time, we'll play preseason cricket after the series. We begin with...
Princess v. Katelynn v. Oreo at Cisco Arena, Tysini. Princess struck hard in game 1 with three positive turns. Her second turn spelled the end of Katelynn's game rather quickly, and she beat Oreo on her third turn with a three-ball run-out after Oreo failed to launch a counterattack. Princess challenged Oreo well in game 2, as Oreo had a five-ball run on her first turn. Princess managed to take a few shots away from Oreo, but after Katelynn was bumped again, Oreo held on and made the final two shots of the game for her first win. Princess left no doubt as to the dominant player in game 3, as she went on a ten-ball run-out after Oreo couldn't make anything on the break. The long run forced Oreo to split this point with Katelynn. Game 4 returned power to Oreo, who led a balanced battle with her four-ball run-out on her second turn. Each player got some good shots in, but Oreo closed out by beating Princess and Katelynn on the final two shots of her run for her second win. Oreo looked like she could get a late push to topple Katelynn despite devoting most of her attention to destroying Princess in game 5. Instead, Oreo pulled her third shot on her third turn out of position, and she couldn't make the combination after eliminating Princess. Katelynn made the cut for her first win of the series. Oreo went unchallenged for three turns, making a seven-ball run and a three-ball run to leave just one low on the table against her highs after some collateral damage. Princess countered on a three-ball run, and then won game 6 a turn later when Oreo missed again and Princess cut the 15 to the bottom right for her third victory. Game 7 saw a strong performance from Princess at the start in defense of the mediums. Combined with Katelynn, they put Oreo on the edge, and Katelynn knocked her out on the second turn before setting up good defense. Katelynn would best Princess at the end for her second win of the series as her defense held up on Princess' turn. Game 8 saw Katelynn pick up the pace again, taking the lows to defend first. Princess' mediums were an easy target, as Oreo attacked them and Katelynn knocked the host out of the game before dueling closely with Oreo. Katelynn got the edge late and took the win, her third, to keep the series close. Princess reasserted herself on her first and only turn of game 9, answering a short run by Oreo with an eight-ball run-out for the win, her fourth in the series. The stunning play saw her take out Katelynn's mediums before beating Oreo's highs. Game 10 saw a weak start from Princess, and her aggression toward Oreo would be her demise. Oreo shot back on a three-ball run to beat Princess, but she came up short against Katelynn, who made a single shot to pick up her fourth win at the end. Game 11 saw Katelynn and Princess combine to quickly eliminate Oreo, setting up the finale. Katelynn battled but couldn't solve Princess' defense, which lasted long enough for her to take the win, her fifth, to advance to the third round.
Tigerette v. Lize v. Caitlin Woode at Nike Field Events Center, Commerce. Lize will be hoping for quick games to save her shoulder, and she had a decent one in game 1, claiming the highs quickly. Caitlin followed up with the mediums, and Lize knocked Tigerette out on her second turn before challenging Caitlin to a gritty battle. Lize won it for her first win in the series. Game 2 started slowly, with Tigerette striking first on a short run to claim the mediums. Lize followed up to take the highs on a run of her own, and Caitlin attacked with a longer run in defense of the lows. At the end, Lize knocked Tigerette out on one turn and beat Caitlin on the next for her second win of the series. Caitlin seemed to figure something out in game 3, attacking with a huge nine-ball run to wipe out Tigerette on her second turn of the game. Caitlin then left long shots for Lize, which have been her weakness so far. The strategy worked, giving Caitlin the time to overcome her collateral damage to get Lize out on the final shot. Caitlin earned her first win of the series. Game 4 saw Caitlin work a nine-ball run with collateral damage from the break, a massive attack to pace her offense. Lize also had collateral damage on a three-ball run to claim the lows and save herself a point. Caitlin took advantage of the generosity and picked up her second win on her second turn. Caitlin burst forward with a seven-ball run, again with collateral damage, to lead off in game 5. Tigerette would make a five-ball run, sparing Lize from a second turn, and then Tigerette beat Caitlin a turn later for her first win. Lize got back into gear in defense of the mediums in game 6, keeping herself in control with measured shots and a three-ball run-out to take out both opponents on her final turn of her third win. Caitlin stormed forward on a seven-ball run late in game 7, trying to salvage her slow start in defense of the mediums. The long run booted Lize from the game, but Tigerette made the last shot for her second win of the series. Tigerette couldn't get anything on the break, leaving a six-ball run to Caitlin instead. Lize made a small response, enough to claim the lows, and Tigerette defended the highs right up to the end after she knocked Caitlin out of the game. Tigerette made the final shot a turn later for her third win in the series. Game 9 saw Caitlin try a different strategy of attack to get her third win. Tigerette also had two scratches, the latter negating her knockout on Lize, who returned the favor immediately. Caitlin ground things out on a short run, winning with a single shot on her final turn. Lize remained calm as she defended the highs in game 10, her poise coming in handy as Caitlin challenged Tigerette viciously. Both players weakened each other, leaving Lize to earn her fourth win on a pair of shots at the end, with Tigerette getting the second place point for the first time. Lize sold out to end the series in game 11, unleashing her shot a bit more. She remained defensively sound, a necessary strategy to compete with Caitlin, whose hunger would go unresolved as Lize shut her down in the end for the clinching fifth win to advance.
Gradley v. Zach v. Strut at Coca-Cola Field Exhibition Center, Boston. Strut started slow but finished well in game 1, weathering the early storm before his five-ball run bumped Gradley from the game. He gave Zach a chance to get the win, but Zach failed, and Strut made the final shot for his first win. Strut had a nice run on his second turn in game 2, in defense of the mediums, but he got no reward from the game when Zach burst out with a five-ball run-out, gifting the second place point to Gradley in Zach's first win of the series. Gradley had a six-ball run on his first turn of game 3, and when Zach made a ball that Strut couldn't, Strut found himself out of the game. Gradley and Zach battled for quite awhile until Gradley pulled away on a three-ball run-out to earn his first win of the series. Gradley followed that up with a crisp effort in game 4, making a nice run at the start to protect the highs. Strut would bump the mediums and Zach off the table as he played with the lows, but Gradley had a four-ball run-out on his second turn for his second win. Strut had a nice first turn in game 5 after Gradley failed to pot anything on the break. Zach responded with a significant run to take Strut out of the game on his second turn, but he left Gradley with one ball up. Gradley made a pair of shots to close out a fortunate third win. Gradley again went empty on the break, leaving Zach to take the highs and Strut to pick up the lows. Strut and Gradley worked together to off Zach early, and then battled in close quarters before Strut made a four-ball run-out for his second win of the series. Gradley showed great determination to take the win in game 7, and he pulled through on that goal, with a seven-ball run-out on his second turn that saw Strut go down on the sixth shot before Zach fell on the final play. Game 8 saw a fierce six-ball run by Gradley take Strut out of action once again after his lows couldn't withstand the attack. Zach had to hold off Gradley, and nearly failed before turning the tide against the host. Zach took his second win of the series to keep things going for another game. Gradley finally completed the series in a tense game 9, once again watching Strut fall to Zach as the two visitors challenged each other. Gradley then won with a short run to finish Zach off for his fifth win, earning a trip to the third round.
That's all for the games today. We'll have five series of the third round tomorrow, and four more on Tuesday before the trifinals and finals on Wednesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment