Camp Black Shines in the Sun, Team BS Dominates the Tie Dyes 15-4

Home Team Tie Dye made the call to have the batters face the sun on Danville's Field 2 instead of the outfielders on Field 3 which we knew would result in a lower scoring game. Some players struggled all day with trying to hit a ball that they couldn't see at all, or just at the last second.

After seeing our outfielders struggle with the winter sun game after game on Fields 3 and 4, I was willing to accept that idea until I got to the field and saw and remembered who the pitcher is for the Dyes - Mike Howard. Howard kept the ball at his usual 11 feet 11 inch height, and we struggled to get hits off of him. We managed a lot of infield singles though, and at the end of the day, we won 15-4, nearly matching our average this season of 17 runs. The game was close through six innings (we led 5-4), but five spots in the seventh and eighth put away the Dye.

That was because pitchers Brian Black and Sandy Camp simply outdueled Howard and company. They may not have Mike's finesse, but they held Tie Dye to three runs in six innings and one run in three innings, respectively. They were helped by solid defense, including a few outstanding plays. Art Minor started things with a diving catch on a sinking liner to left center to end the first inning. It kept the opening inning to two runs; little did we know it turned out to be the opponent's biggest inning.

David Peterson took his turns next in the second and third, making diving stops on hard grounders at SS. Camp made her contribution off the mound in the fourth to snag a short pop up. Dan May stopped a couple of hot shots at the hot corner later that inning and later in the game.

But the clutch catch of the game came in the seventh when Mike Nichols hustled in from right field to rob a hitter on a shallow fly ball. We had just scored our first five run inning, and his catch signaled "un unh, no way are you coming back on us."

As the team is undoubtedly sick of me saying, the bottom of the order hits, we win. But Camp, Nichols and Ken Gorgone were collectively 9-12, and I rest my case. Camp had four of those hits (4-4), and Steady Eddy (Dan) May was 4-5. Black drove in Helen Kostoff, Camp and Ken Gorgone with a grand slam in the eighth, and behind him May made it back to back jacks to get our fifth run of the frame. Then Black shut out the Dyes in the last two innings to complete the win.

Steve Rousso, David Thompson, and Gorgone contributed three hits each. Everyone had at least one hit, and all but two scored a run and likewise drove in a run.

We won the battle of pride - the battle for last place in the non-standings. More importantly we broke a seven game winless streak. Feels good, don't it?

Stung Again, 30-19

"One of these days, Alice." We need to channel Ralph Cramden. One of these days, Hornets, we will channel the beginning of last winter, when we beat them twice in a row.

We stayed with the Hornets this time for five innings of perhaps the slowest game in the history of slow pitch softball. Rittenhouse even wanted to quit after seven innings in a close game. At the end of the fifth, the score was 16-15 Hornets. But they plated five in the sixth and we couldn't keep up after that, losing 30-19.

It took the air out of some otherwise good performances. Charlie had five straight singles en route to a 5-6 day with three RBIs. Coach Don was 4-5. But the hitting star of the game was no doubt Dave. All he did was go 5-5 with our only home run and six RBIs, a three run job that brought us close in the second when we ultimately tied it up after the Hornets scored the maximum ten runs in the first two innings.

Ultimately, we just hit into too many double plays (and I wasn't even in the lineup!). It happens.

By the way - kudos to Coach Dandy Don for calling us out when we started the game lackadaisical on defense the first two innings. For a while it worked, and our defense was much better after that. Maybe he should have yelled at us about our offense too!

Next (due to the fabulous scheduler in Danville), we have the Diablos two weeks in a row. We should win against them; it is an opportunity for us to get better, but they are no pushovers exactly. Hopefully we get Anthony and Barry and Ed back, and we are whole.

Go Johnny Go, Johnny Be Goode

I haven't posted since October 22. At the time, we were 2-1 and looking good. I've been a little busy since then - Moving. Hosting my extended family for Thanksgiving. The Rest of the Holidays. And it didn't help that Team BS went into tailspin - after that win we tied the next week and have since lost six in a row. Not like this team, yet there it is. The offense and the pen dried up.

And of course my leg/back situation kept getting worse and worse until I found a doctor who said shut it down for at least the winter. It's not the worst pain I have ever endured, but it just keeps coming back over and over again, and now I know what is like to live with pain. And worse, I felt like I was hurting the team, since I couldn't push off to hit, and in the field I could barely get to first base to cover the bag.

Enough about me. This is about how Johnny Gutierrez picked the best time to enjoy a great game (to get ink!), even if we lost a heartbreaker by a run, 17-16 (because I am finally calling out the highlights). There have been a lot of great individual performances in the last seven games, but they got neglected by this pundit. I apologize deeply to you who have starred in the interim.

Johnny and I have a running conversation about when to throw to the lead base to try to get a runner, and when to just "keep the force on" and not let runners move up. Play it safe (we also argue about how deep to play various hitters but that's for another time). Well today, he won the argument in spades. He threw out two runners at third base who foolishly tested his arm. I had no idea what a cannon he has.  And but for a tough skip on a ball that barely eluded Helen Kostoff at second, he would have had a third. Nice game Johnny! Oh and he was 2-2 plus two walks at the plate.

Those plays were not the only ESPN highlights. Dave DeWitt went into a full dive from right center after calling Steve Rousso off in shallow right field to rob a hitter. He went back on a ball playing left center later and caught it falling down, and nearly concussed himself but hung on. Dave also started a double play from right center, flinging the caught ball to Reymundo Aguilera at the mound who wheeled around and nailed a would be run at the plate.

All in all we turned five double plays. The other two were nearly identical - hard shots up the middle to Steve, who stepped on second and fired to first, leaving no doubt about the outcome.

And Dan May made a couple of diving stops in the 5-6 hole at SS to get outs.

All in all, not a bad day in the field, and it should have been enough. But we just couldn't finish, and didn't score in the last two innings to salt away the game when we had momentum from coming back  twice to take a lead.

The team's defense was not the problem and in general has been relatively good compared to the other teams'. There were some offensive highlights, just not enough. Art Minor collected three RBIs on a two run homer in the first that set the tone (if not for long) and a sac fly. But the Big Clutch was a two out bases loaded bases clearing monster shot by David Thompson over the right fielder's head in the bottom of the seventh. At the time, Team Blue had just scored their first five run inning to take a 15-11 lead. Big Dave's bomb gave us our only five run inning and the lead back at 16-15. It gave us the momentum back, but unfortunately we shut down the rest of the game.

DeWitt was 4-4. May, Aguilera, and Kostoff pitched in three hits apiece. Rousso set a personal high by walking three times.

Nothing stood in the way to have the best post game of any of the teams, and that's what I love about this team. All we can do is say we will get them next week or next time!