Joey Payeur
She who hits first hits best.
Shae Smith tripled to lead off the game, then added two more extra-base hits, to spark Team Darcy Smith’s 15-7 victory over Team Kayla Windigo in the Rainy River District Women’s Fastball League’s annual all-star game Monday evening at Oltsher Field in Barwick.
The Northwest Bay Beavers’ catcher, the league’s co-leader in home runs, belted a bullet to the gap in the first inning and promptly scored on an RBI single by Janelle Andy (Emo Renegades).
Smith then opened the third with another triple that she rocketed over the head of left-fielder Shannon Stone (Dawson Tigers).
As before, she came home on another single by Andy to break a 2-2 tie.
That ignited a seven-run inning for the squad selected by team captain and starting pitcher Darcy Smith (Northwest Bay).
Fittingly, it was Shae Smith who capped the offensive explosion later in the frame with a two-run double to right to extend the lead to 9-2.
Team Darcy added four more runs in the fourth—the last two coming on a three-base error when Jess Woodgate (Fort Frances Her-icanes) hit a sinking fly ball into right that Star Tom (Emo) had go off her glove and roll away.
Kayla Windigo (Red Gut Babes) tried to rally her team back with three runs in the fifth—none of them scoring in conventional fashion.
Courtney Easton (Couchiching Lady Raiders) and Stone both scored on wild pitches by Karma Andy.
In between that, Rachelle Yeo (Fort Frances Mud Dogs) came home when Stone successfully drew a throw to first—and made it there safely—after striking out on a pitch that got away from catcher Rylee Redford (Fort Frances Angels).
Andy got the win in relief—pitching the final four innings while giving up three runs on four hits, along with three walks and four strikeouts.
Starter Darcy Smith gave up two runs on four hits in her three innings of work.
With Big Grassy Lynx hurler Nancy Indian absent due to work commitments, Yeo went the distance for Team Kayla—allowing 11 hits to go with two walks and four strikeouts.
With the all-star game in the books, the opening round of the double-elimination RRDWFL playoffs gets underway tonight at 7 p.m. on four fronts.
Fifth-place Couchiching (11-5 during the regular season) will host the 12th-place Manitou T-Birdies (0-16) at the Rodrick and Telford Bruyere Ball Field.
The winner advances to play the fourth-place Lynx (11-5) in Big Grassy on Monday.
In Red Gut, the sixth-place Babes (9-7) will entertain the 11th-place Angels (2-14), with defending champion Northwest Bay (11-5) awaiting the survivor.
Meanwhile, the seventh-place Dawson Tigers (9-7) will welcome the 10th-place Big Island Wildcats (5-11) to their home park in Pinewood, with a second-round date against the Mud Dogs (12-4) on tap for the victor.
Finally, the eighth-place expansion Renegades (7-9) will play their first home playoff game in franchise history when they take on the ninth-place Sabaskong Tebinaak (6-10) in Emo.
The top-ranked Her-icanes (14-2) will host the victor in a second-round clash Monday night at VanJura here.
