Inning as a Tiger
Mid 1 | The transfer pitcher Ashley Vallejo retires the Bears in order in her first inning as a Tiger, but for many, the moment carries a heavy weight of sorrow.
For fans of her former team, this was the nightmare they never wanted to witness. Vallejo, once the heart and soul of the Bears’ pitching staff, stood on the mound in a different uniform, delivering the same dominance—but now against the very team that once embraced her.
Three batters, three outs. A clean inning. A statement. But not the kind Bears fans had hoped for.
The moment her first strike landed in the catcher’s glove, a wave of silence fell over the visiting crowd. Those who once cheered her name now watched in stunned disbelief as she dismantled their lineup with ruthless precision. Each pitch was a reminder of what they had lost. Each out, a painful echo of what once was.
For Vallejo, the emotions had to be pushed aside. There was no room for sentiment on the mound. But deep down, she knew—this wasn’t just any game. It was a severed connection, a chapter closed with brutal finality.
The Bears, a team she once bled for, were now just another opponent. And as she walked off the field, unfazed and unshaken, the reality set in.
She was no longer theirs. And that, more than anything, hurt the most.
