Crows Muddied 19-12

If I close my eyes real tight, I can just wish away the last game and just write about the game I skipped journaling on January 3rd, when we smashed the Wolfpack 17-5. Homers by Lamont, Barry, and Mark, triples by Randy, Mark and Dave B, four RBIs by Lamont, good defense and pitching, solid game avenging our only blemish to that point, that tie the first time through the teams.

But then the nightmare begins. I see us scoring ten runs in the first two innings to take a 10-1 lead. And me coming up with Mark on first in the third inning, and hitting into the first of two double plays. I know it's not about me, win as a team lose as a team, but from that moment on, bad hitting spread like wildfire. They say hitting is contagious, and so is slumping. And slump we did the rest of the game - shut out in six of the last seven innings as we only scored two more runs the rest of the game. Even the DPs were contagious - we hit into four all together. In the end the Mudcats buried us 19-12.

There were bright spots. Randy started the game with a 'mini-cycle' his first three times up - a triple, single and a double. Dave B and Clay each had two run hits in our five run innings. Mark joined Randy and Clay with three hit games.

Mark also had an outstanding game in the field. He made a couple of nice stops at third base and then the good fielding followed him when he moved to shortstop the rest of the game. He snagged one ball deep in the 5-6 hole for one out and then leaped for a line shot for the third out in the sixth. Heffe did bail him out a couple of times picking low throws.

But the play of the game, and maybe the season, was when Anthony caught a fly to deep right center in the first. The runner on first dared to lumber toward second base thinking he could score if Anthony couldn't track it down. Off balance, not only did he catch it, but Anthony fired to the infield, and even though it was about a 19 hopper, it was perfectly on line, and the runner was out by a step trying to get back to first.

Now the rationalization begins. We probably weren't going to go undefeated - that is a tough task in any league. And let's face it - it's all about the remaining games against the Hornets. But the new winning streak begins next week against Leo's, who, incidentally were shut out by the Wolfpack this week.