Woooooo! (Spoiler Alert: We Won.)

RECAP: Monday 6/16 vs. South Philly Tap Room

There was point early in the game when I started to regret my not-so-bold claim in the last blog post that we were “mostly competitive” in the league. It was after I popped up a lazy fly-ball out in top of the first inning, where TGT scored two runs but could have threatened for more. I think it occurred just before I misread a fly ball that fell for a single late in the bottom of the same inning, where SPTR scored ten runs and it seemed like they were never going to let us hit again.  In the hindsight of that particular moment, it occurred to me that perhaps even with such a mildly positive statement I might have been guilty of hyperbolic overreach, or at least extremely poor timing prior to a scheduled game against one of the league’s perennial contenders (SPTR lost in the CCSL Championship Game last year to Catahoula). As it happened I had nothing to worry about. 

TEAM	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	TOTAL
TGT	2	7	3	0	6	0	0	18
SPTR	10	0	0	2	0	0	0	12

 Our lineup and production on the evening:

• Dusty : 3 for 5, 3 runs
• Rafter: 4 for 5, four runs (didn’t make an out until the sixth inning!)
• Adam P: 3 for 5, run
• Special Sauce: 4 for 5, 2 runs
• TGTfan: 2 for 5, run, strikeout
•  Adam F: 3 for 5
• Grace: 2 for 5, 2 runs (first game played for TGT!)
• Paul: 2 for 5, run
• Max: 2 for 4, 2 runs
• Cassie: 4 for 4, 2 runs  

The top of our order was phenomenal at getting on base and driving in runs. Dusty and Rafter were essentially unstoppable at the 1-2 slots, with both scoring in each of the first three innings as we clawed back from the early deficit. Our scorekeeper doesn’t record RBIs, but Special Sauce knocked in at least a handful. 

The bottom of our order just kept starting rallies. Cassie found her stroke with an incredible 4-for-4 night, crushing line drives to right field and even going opposite field once. Newcomer Grace had to dash home before the game just to get shoes in order to play, swung a bat for the first time in who-knows-how-long during a brief BP session 5 minutes before the game, and then knocked out a couple hits and scored twice.

Our saving Grace. Amazing Grace?

On the other hand we had TGTFan in the middle of the order… Christ, who invited that guy? Even casual observers (We had one! Shout-out to Papa Schwartz!) probably noticed that both of his “hits” were weak infield ground balls that should have been turned into outs by a less-than-sharp SPTR defense. I hear he even dropped a routine fly in the outfield in the fifth inning. A swinging strike-out in the sixth inning? Quite frankly: embarrassing. I think we all know who’s bringing the beer next week, because he owes the rest of the team for carrying his dead weight in the lineup all night.

Paul doesn't think I deserve that beer. He's probably right.

The story of the game: a terrible defensive first inning, followed by six innings of inspired softball where we outscored the Tappers 16 – 2 and won relatively easily, holding them scoreless over the final three frames. SPTR had some defensive struggles that helped us out, but we also did our part to create them, with quality ABs and far fewer lazy fly balls than we've been used to. It was a nice way to break out of a five-game losing streak and pick up some momentum heading into the final stretch of the season.

Victory Photo!

Various Notes and Observations:

• Walk-up music was in full effect, and went smoother than the trial run against P&P. Love it!
• Big defensive stand in the bottom of the seventh after an error allowed SPTR to turn the lineup over with two outs and subsequently load the bases. Paul snagged the hot shot at third and won the footrace to the bag (I’m not sure but I think his hat even stayed on his head.) to close out the game...
• Thanks to Rafter for providing the game beers, and thanks to Kyle from the Nomads for fueling the post-game celebration by unexpectedly showing up with a cooler of booze left over from their loss to Catahoula. Condolences on losing the bid for an undefeated season, but appropriate that last year's undefeated champion took it from you.
• Our Russian surveillance expert went missing for the second straight contest. We’re hoping he hasn’t been “picked up for questioning." Please report any tips, leads, or reported sightings to the blog. 

FINAL SCORE: TGT 18, SPTR 12

NEXT GAME: Wednesday, June 25th at Edgeley #3 vs. NCC