An Orange win is like peeling an orange - you have to dig into the outer skin, and maybe make a mess of your hands, which can end up sticky and gooey, but in the end you get to the sweetness inside and the rest is bliss.
We played another thriller yesterday, a back and forth affair which wasn't decided until the last out in the bottom of the ninth. Orange spotted Gray a five spot (curse of the first!) after going out meekly in the top of the inning. The top of the Gray lineup is very intimidating.
We settled down and battled back with a three run fourth. A pair of two out RBI hits did the damage, a double by yours truly and a single by Bob Staples. With a five run fifth we took our first lead of the game at 9-8, the highlight being Tony Gorgone's two run double into no-man's land. You can't leave Gorgone a hole in the outfield anywhere - he will fill it.
Mike "Elmo" Elmore came in to pitch and silenced the Gray bats for two innings, which was key. He was aided by a no out fly ball/double play where the runner on first (who must had thought there were two outs?) unexpectedly took off for second base. A quick toss from LC Michael Callahan to rover Helen Kostoff to first cut him down.
In the seventh we added on four more runs. Starting pitcher Mike Howard led off the rally with his second straight hit, and again it was Gorgone who had the key two RBI knock. It looked like we were in control at 13-8, but our usual once a game defensive lapse cost us five runs as we gave Gray seven outs in the bottom of the eighth. So we entered the ninth trailing by a run at 14-13. Jeff Waters, who has been on fire, singled in the tying run and Mike Byrnes stepped to the plate. For the second time this season he split the center field gap in the ninth with the game on the line to get a game winning double.
All that was left was for starter/closer Howard to shut down the Gray one more time. He induced a one out grounder to Kostoff standing near the second base bag, and it was step on second, toss to first and game over.
Other defensive highlights included a great running catch in LC by Callahan, a great stop at 2B by Elmo (and dig out of the dirt by the first baseman) and a catch of a foul ball behind the plate by Rich Sanders (possibly the toughest catch in senior softball because of the reaction time and focus required). And Howard did get one swinging strikeout, always a treat.
Leo the Leadoff Kay led the offense by being a thorn in the Gray side with a 5-5 day including a booming double. Gorgone was 4-5 and topped the list with 4 RBIs. Vic Santini, Byrnes, Kravin (3 RBIs), and Elmo added three hits apiece.
You can never count out the Orange. It ain't over until the Juice is running down your chin.
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