Saturday, June 17, 2023

A Day Late, A Wilbur Leap Short, Orange Over Gold, 20-16

Today, I woke up and the internet was out and my laptop was nowhere to be found. It was a 2020s cultural crisis! The laptop was actually missing because, wait for it, I got a new laptop! It was busy getting a data dump from my old laptop, and I was forced to actually read a book today.

My old one was almost as old as my Creaker career is long. From now on, my articles will be faster, smarter, and streamlined, And I will also run faster, jump higher, and hit the ball harder! And I will be able to bend over to get those grounders I used to get to with no problem (unlike in Thursday's loss to Orange). I will play like it's 2011!

Yes, dreams and fantasies are good.

But the reality is that Team Cuervo coughed it up to the tough Orange Crush with some dubious defense in the middle innings and let them get away with a four run win.

Elsewhere, the esteemed Clay Kallam documented the crucial play of the game - a leaping Wilbur catch/robbery on Steve Bedrick's no out, bases loaded line shot seemingly destined for the right field line to score two to bring the tying run to first and the leading run to the plate in the last inning. Sure we will never know if we would actually have caught Orange, or if we would have gotten them out in the home half of the inning. But we know that the DP burst the balloon and we went down 20-16.

I am here mostly to recognize the players who made the Cuervo Highlight reel. Chuck Howlett and Helen Kostoff had stellar defensive games, Howlett had his usual dives at second base for outs a couple of times. Kostoff, who was playing out of position at SS on a strained Achilles, and had played a doubleheader until 10 pm Wednesday night, went deep into the hole and backhanded a grounder, fired to Howlett who relayed to first for a DP in the sixth.

Woody Whitlatch made a fine running catch in left in the seventh, and Charlie Uhlman had one likewise earlier in the game in right.

We gave it our best shot - yes missing some key players, but there are no excuses in softball. We scored 15 runs in the first four innings, but ran out of gas and could never get the big hit in the last four frames.

Uhlman led the offense with a 4-4, two double game. Kostoff, Heffe, and Dan DeClercq all had three hits and three RBIs at the top of the lineup. Jay Edwards joined them with three hits. Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit.

This week we should be at full strength and we'll see how much that helps.

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