Whew -- another really tight, low-scoring, kinda ugly win. We were rusty after three weeks without a game, but we overcame a lot to get the win and we should be happy. But there was a bit of unnecessary stress on the way to the win. So before the hoorays, let's get that stuff out of the way. Leave a comment if you have any thoughts on this stuff:
- There was too much bad blood on the field for a freakin' kickball game. This was not all our fault, but we should take a slightly higher road. Yes, the umpires tend to doze off and get things wrong, but then only the player involved in a play and the manager (me) should be arguing vocally with the umps. But gently. I just want to have more good, clean fun wins and less scary, ugly ones.
- Some blamed all this on the attitudes of some of the Blue Balls, who were pretty loud hecklers and complainers. I like all of our opponents (even the Ball Stars), but this seemed to be our most contentious match since we tied the Dusty Balls in June. Said Amy, "There you go, any team with 'balls' in their name is not gonna have class." Maybe since Blue Balls were drunker than us, they didn't really care anyway.
- We have a slight female attendance problem this season. In week one, we had the four-girl minimum only at the last second. In week two, I had to draft Amanda and extort an ill Amy to keep us legal. This week, poor Jennifer, who only came to cheer because of a sprained ankle, was forced to play catcher. I mean, geez! What a trooper! But geez. We'll have to figure this out.
- Some of us could still use to go over the rules and the Kickball Ten Commandments.
- There were a lot of frustrations early on, when we should have been blowing the game open. They scored two runs in the first three innings while we stumbled around. I hit a potential double or triple down the right-field line, but it ricocheted off of Patrik's knee while he was standing on first. (It was a reflex action so I understand, but runners should always avoid touching a kicked ball.) Jenny had a potential RBI taken away because she crossed the plate before kicking. I flied out to short with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth. (Bad Simon!)
Okay, that's all in the past. Heal, poor Muskies, heal. Now for the good stuff:
Out of this adversity, we finally settled down and got it going. In the fifth, Dave and Scotty led off with singles. I'm a little foggy on what happened next (feel free to correct me), but I think Mike moved Dave and Scotty over to second and third on a sacrifice grounder. Then Jenny must have hit a liner to shortstop for the second out. Dave alertly tagged up on third and slid into home safely as the catcher bobbled the ball above him.
Scotty moved to third, and when the Blue Balls catcher let the ball roll gently away, Scotty super-alertly came home. Beautiful execution by Dave, Scotty, Mike and Jenny to tie the game 2-2!
Blue Balls made it 3-2 in the fifth or sixth inning, courtesy of a hard line drive that I took off of my face. (It didn't hurt, but it was kind of tingly for a while.)
So we had to get it done in the 7th and final inning, and we did, with more great teamwork. Patrik led off with a single, and I moved him over to second by grounding to the pitcher. Then Dave finally delivered the lethal blow: a soaring high liner that dropped into center field. It took a lot of screaming to get Patrik home, but he finally came around to make it 3-3 as the pitcher fumbled the throw to the plate and Dave pulled into third. That's what I'm talking about!
To cap it off, Scotty hit a nice-and-easy sacrifice to the pitcher, who played right into our hands by throwing to first for the out -- allowing Dave to run home and make it 4-3. In the bottom of the seventh Blue Balls got to second and third with two outs before we shut them down.
So there you have it: Four runs on four hits and four sacrifices, with some excellent baserunning. That's the kind of stuff you have to do to win a close game.
Play/Player of the Game
In the second inning, with Blue Balls leading 2-0, shortstop Scotty chased down a baserunner between third and home and drilled him in the back just in time, for the third out. It was the perfect time to throw at a runner in accordance with the ninth commandment, because he had good point-blank aim, he had no other out options, and we really needed to prevent that run. Scotty also scored a run, got the winning sacrifice RBI, and made a running catch of the final out of the game. Thanks, Scotty!
Hits: 14-for-35 (.400)
Left on base: 10 (ouch)
RBIs: Jenny, Dave, Scotty
Runs: Dave (2), Scotty, Patrik
Next game: 7 p.m. Tuesday 9/28 vs. our spring rivals Ctrl/Alt/Del, previously known as Dangerous Machines. We have to umpire the 8 p.m. game.
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