ST. PAUL, MINN. -- Growing up as a pitcher in the Tampa Bay area, Kristin Kopp was naturally drawn to former Rays hurler Chris Archer.
For years, Archer was one of the top starters in the American League and the most charismatic figure on Kopp's hometown team. On Tuesday, she had a chance to meet and get a picture with her idol at Target Field as Archer, now with the Pirates, was in town for a two-game series vs. the Twins.
"It was the best thing ever. I just love him," Kopp said. "He gave me a fist-bump for being a pitcher, too."
On Wednesday afternoon, with her Tampa Bay Rays RBI squad on the brink of elimination, Kopp buckled down and did her best to emulate Archer as she and her teammates battled their way to a semifinal win in the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) World Series.
The Rays topped Los Angeles Dodgers RBI, 7-5, at the Dunning Sports Complex to cap off a roller coaster of an afternoon in which they had to win two games to earn a spot in Thursday's Championship Game.
Kopp tossed a complete game and held an explosive Dodgers offense to a single run over the first six innings. After Los Angeles took an early 1-0 lead, Kopp got plenty of support -- Armana Ware went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and Brianna Duggins went 3-for-5 and scored twice -- as she worked her way out of jams in the third, fourth and sixth innings to extinguish several scoring chances for Los Angeles.
Down to their final two outs, the Dodgers staged a two-out rally and scored four runs in the seventh inning. But with the potential game-winning run at the plate, Kopp forced a popup to third base to finish off the win.
"We had to fight until the very end, and we understood that," Rays coach Kristina Ravenel said. "We kept telling ourselves, 'Just keep going.' Because we knew what [Los Angeles] could do."
In order to reach Wednesday's afternoon semifinal, the Rays had to produce a series of late-game dramatics in their 10:30 a.m. quarterfinal matchup vs. Cincinnati RBI. The Rays scored with one out in the seventh inning to send the game to extras, then Alexis Smith-Ewing scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth to keep Tampa's tournament hopes alive.
"They never give up and they fight until the very end," Ravenel said of her team. "No matter what's happened before this game, they fight to the very end and don't give up on themselves."
Earlier this week, it was hard for Kopp to imagine her team locking up a spot in the title game. Tampa won its tournament opener on Sunday but dropped its next three games, two of which Kopp was on the mound for.
"I actually cried to my mom yesterday," Kopp said. "Nothing was working. I was like, 'I can't do it.' She just told me to take it one pitch at a time and calm down. That's what I had to do today."
When Alexis Duff smashed a two-run single in the third inning vs. the Dodgers, Kopp was confident that things would be okay from that point.
"It's not like I can strike out everybody," Kopp said. "So knowing that I have a strong team and a strong defense behind me really helps."
While talking with Archer on Tuesday, Tampa RBI's players tried to convince him to watch them play, but unfortunately, there was a bit of a schedule conflict on Wednesday -- Archer was busy pitching in his own game, 10 miles down I-94 at Target Field.
Tampa will have a chance to capture its first ever RBI softball championship on Thursday, when it faces Houston Astros RBI at the University of Minnesota's Jane Sage Cowles Stadium at 9:30 a.m.
Houston Astros RBI 10, Harrisburg RBI 0
The Astros knocked off No. 1-seed Puerto Rico RBI Wednesday morning to earn a spot in the semifinal, and then put on an offensive display against Harrisburg. Houston scored three runs in the second and five in the fourth, and Mariana Vazquez tossed a shutout while striking out seven. Alyssa Woods went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and Tauryn Cummings was 3-for-4 and scored three times.
When the Astros face the Rays on Thursday, they will also be vying for the first RBI softball title in program history.