Once in a very long while, you play in a game that is just the perfect feel good game. Sometimes it is just because you simply dominated the other team, and pummeled them to death. You all feel pretty good about yourselves.
But the games you really take pride in are the ones where you come back against all odds and walk away with the opposition stunned, and smiles all around on your team. I mean really all Creakers are just happy to be enjoying the sunshine and playing a boys' game but the sun is brighter (and the refreshments taste better) after a win.
Today, Green spotted the tough White lineup a ten nothing lead after two innings. Every ball they hit was between us or we botched it, and every ball we hit was a line drive right at someone or one of their very good outfielders was making a great running catch.
We could have been as down in spirit as the score indicated. Indeed, our manager tends to dwell on the negative too much. But we have the ultimate cheerleader in Mike Nagy. He never lets us get down and no matter how dire the situation is, he always thinks we can come back. He led the cheers as we chipped away at the lead, even though we did not catch up until the ninth inning.
And come back we did. We held that fearsome White lineup to three more runs the rest of the game - that's seven innings. Our pitching kicked in (Chris Nielsen is the best closer around). Our fielding came around. And we chipped away with two in the third, four in the fourth, one in the sixth, three in the seventh, and suddenly we went into the open inning just down three runs at 13-10.
Coach Heffe led off the winning rally with a hit. Tim Orr and Darren Bobrosky followed suit, and it was bases loaded, no one out and the heart of the order up. But then two groundouts left us at 13-11, and we hung by a thread with two outs. Lamont Thompson strode up and hit a line shot into the outfield, and on a bobble Greg Wilson scored all the way from first and we were tied. And LT, a speedster in his youth I hear, against all odds rumbled to second base to get in scoring position as the lead run. He would have been fined if he was out, but that guy has the best instincts, and not only was the throw dropped but I think he actually beat it. Paul Lisi and Kevin Fisher came up with two more clutch two out hits, and we took a precarious 15-13 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
The first batter hit a screaming AND knuckling line drive toward right center but second baseman Tony Gorgone said no way and snagged it. The first out is huge when protecting a lead in the last inning, and that just made the White hitters tighter. After a hit, the next batter hit a blooper into shallow center - early in the game that would have fallen in - but center fielder Orr was just as determined and dove and caught it. Two outs. The runner on first took off on contact and I am sure if Tim hadn't had to dive he would have ended the game right there on a double play but couldn't make a throw from the ground. No problem, as the next batter made a routine out, and it was a win in the Green corner 15-13.
Other defensive gems were a running catch near the foul line and in the sun by left fielder Bobrosky in the fourth, and a slick runner gunned out at home play from Orr to shortstop Angie Rizzato to David Partridge in the fifth. Third baseman Nagy turned a bases loaded popup in a tricky wind in foul territory into an out in the sixth. That set up a Matt Meredith (2B) to Wilson (Rover) to Heffe double play to end the inning with no runs, and it was a momentum changer.
In the seventh, Nielsen went to his knees to snag a shot up the middle, and got the out with a throw from the ground. In the eighth Green turned an unlikely SS (Rizzato) to 3B (Nagy) to second double play to end the inning.
As you can see defense wins games.
Our hitters took a while to come around, but we hit when it counted. Wilson had a hustle double among his three hits. LT duplicated that hustle as noted already and had two hits and a Sac fly. Meredith had a clutch two run two out double in the third.
But it was pitching and defense that was the difference in this game - and the Nagy Never Say Die Attitude.
As James Brown famously sang (sing along Mike)-
Whoa! I feel good, I knew that I would, now
I feel good, I knew that I would, now
So good, so good, I got you
No comments:
Post a Comment