First Inning Loss, Late Rally in Season Opener

It was a beautiful day for some softball as TGT arrived at Edgeley #8 for the first official game of the season. The trees were in bloom, the jersees looked sharp, a full roster of players were present and accounted for, a full case of Silver Bullets were in the cooler. A dry field. An affable Zoo Crew in the opposing dugout. Nothing more could be asked for.

Things were looking good for us in the top of the first as co-captain, clean up hitter, and designated pitcher Matt Schwartz strode to the plate, with no outs and one run already home. No doubt some Tambourines were daring to dream that this could be a year to shake up the CCSL and make some noise. Alas, the day took a sharp turn for the worse as the at-bat ended with a weak groundout and a lead Tambo sprawled in the batter's box in obvious pain, with a dislocated kneecap (update below).

On the bright side, he did get an RBI on the play.

Lacking our fearless leader and a key middle-of-the-order hitter, we stumbled a bit in the ensuing innings. Although we got runners on base, the "big hit" eluded our bats, and despite loading the bases twice few managed to score. On the defensive side of the ball, we gave up runs in several innings but played solidly enough to stay within striking distance, getting stronger as the game went on. Brian proved a capable replacement on the mound (even improving after the Zoo asked him to move back and actually throw from the rubber) and even registered a strikeout or two.

OK, we'll admit, they might have been right.

And so it came down to the final innings. With the light fading and down by two runs, we retired the Zookeepers 1-2-3 in the bottom of the sixth on a series of pop-ups and fly-outs, and finally got the clutch hit we had been missing to drive in the equalizer in the seventh. It was 8-8 in the bottom seventh with two outs, a runner on third and the sun completely below the horizon. Lesser teams may have wilted, may have let the final sharply hit ground ball roll into center field and decide the game. But not the Tambos -- or at least not Adam, who made a diving stop at second base, hustled to his feet, and made the throw to maintain the tie.

And there was much rejoicing.

Nice socks!

After a day that started with much promise, we didn't win - but we didn't lose either. We bucked up with our backs to the wall and batted the ball, battled to a stall. Woo!

Nice game so far, folks. Officially it is suspended and will be resumed and completed prior to our next match-up with the Zoo.

Nuh - uh. We got this.

*Photos thanks to our Russian surveillance expert and utility bench player, A.B.

Medical update: Matt's patella is no longer located on the side of his knee and has been returned to its proper position and orientation. A morphine drip ensured it didn't hurt too much during the process, and X-rays didn't reveal any additional damage. Best wishes for a speedy recovery and return to the field.

That looks *much* sexier.

Next Game: Monday, 4/21 -- Belmont #4 vs. TFI

Pre-Season Recap!

What a beautiful evening it was yesterday! Perfect for a pre-season game with a very evenly matched NCC Team...

A huge Bald Eagle flew over the field during the first inning - what a sight!

Finally, after three or four lead changes, the sun set and we called it 12-10 after 6 innings.

Thanks to all who came out - it's gonna be a great season!

No game next week; we'll hold a team practice on one of the open fields, or maybe try to get another scrimmage in. Stay tuned!

Lastly, here's a preview of our new jersees!

Schedule!

Schedule:

Tues 3/25 - 7pm (tentative) batting practice @ Everybodyhitsphila

Tues 4/1 - 6pm @NCC field TBD

Mon 4/14 - 6pm @ZOO Edgeley 8

Mon 4/21 - 6pm @TFI Belmont 4

Mon 4/28 - 6pm vsSPTR Edgeley 4*

Tues 4/29 - 6pm vsP&P Edgeley 8*

Mon 5/5 - 6pm @NCC Edgeley 8

That's it for now!

CCSL 2014 Commences!

It's been a few weeks since pitchers & catchers reported, and it's time for the rest of the team to get into SPRING TRAINING!

Here is what we have on the books:

- Sunday 3/9 Practice @ 2pm (field TBD)

- Saturday 3/15 Practice @ 2pm (field TBD)

- Tuesday 3/18 Batting Cages @ 6pm (cages TBD)

- Sunday 3/23 Practice @ 2pm (field TBD) 

- Tuesday 3/25 Batting Cages @ 6pm (cages TBD)

- Saturday 4/5 SCRIMMAGE GAME (TBD)

I will send out locations for each of these dates ahead of time - it will depend on field conditions and cage availability, etc. Also, if you have any wooden bats, please bring them!

Also, if you have any tambourines, bring them too...

BONUS!!! CUTE DOG ALERT!!!

Radar 'Taint Misbehaving!
Courtesy of @supertizer

And That's A Wrap!

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Tired, broken, and held together with duct tape, TGT took the field in the last game of the season last night against The Zoo. We hung in there, tied at 10 through the 5th, but the Zoo rallied with a few more in the 6th and 7th, and that was that!

Even though the past two weeks didn't go as we hoped, it was a lot of fun banging out 7 games in 6 days!

TGT, with a final record of 3-15 finishes the season ......... NOT IN LAST PLACE!
In fact, we finished in 7th out of 10 teams.

Thanks for a great season everyone!
See you next summer!
PEACE OUT
~Schwartz

Race to the Finish!

And it's on! Over the next two weeks TGT will have played 7 games in 6 evenings to end the regular season!

A quick recap.

Last week we lost in a close game to South Philly Tap Room 6-2. That's a huge improvement over the 21-7 defeat earlier in the season.

The same can be said for tonight's game. A loss, 11-5 to Bishop's Collar, as opposed to 14-6 before.

That's a HUGE improvement over the 3rd and 4th ranked teams; and with games tomorrow and Wednesday against #2 P&P and #1 CAT, we will most certainly be prepared for Monday 7/15.

Oh? What's Monday 7/15?

OUR DOUBLE HEADER AGAINST THE ART MUSEUM. THAT'S WHAT.

You won't want to miss this. 

Hey PMA! 'Taint gonna be pretty when we beat you twice in the same evening and pass you in the standings. What Now?! #grudgematch