Crows Give Back in Black a Black Eye, 25-5

In our best season two years ago, we shut out the Diablos 18-0 one game. But since that season, wins have been hard to come by, and especially laughers like we had yesterday.

With two last minute cancellations, we were going to struggle with just ten players, but Don remained optimistic. "We've got the right ten!" (as I smirked back at him)

We start out with a shutout inning on defense in the top of the first. We came in from the field looking at each other, like "What do we do now?

Well, Brian knew what to do, get a base hit to start us off. And with Mark and Aram hitting two run hits, we had a 4-0 lead! Do we know how to play from ahead?

In the second, Mark smashed a two run double to put the exclamation point on our first five run inning of the season, and we duplicated that in the third, this time it was Joe with a two run triple that punctuated the inning.

Finally in the fourth we were held scoreless. Brian was worried, we have a habit of going silent on offense in the middle innings.

But now we have our new weapon on the mound. Tom was dealing, getting easy ground balls and lazy flies the whole game. Back in Black never came closer than 14-3 in the fifth. In the bottom of the sixth we notched a third five run inning, on consecutive hits by LT, Mark, Bob, Aram, Tom and Heffe. Finally we learned how to Add On. We even added four more in the seventh, in a rally featuring a lead off home run by Joe.

I didn't take notes on defense but there were very few errors, and really because of Tom's pitching, most of the outs were routine. Bob had a good game in RC running in on a couple of tough catches. Mark more than made up for an error when on the following play made an all out dive to grab a grounder in the hole and flipped to third for a force out. Lamont crashed in hard on a ball up the middle, and Heffe snagged his off balance throw off the turf, one of two he scooped. Tom made a couple of nice plays on ground balls up the middle ticketed for center field. We did turn one double play, abetted be a brain dead runner at second. LT caught a hard liner right at him at 2B, and the runner took off on contact, and was already halfway to third. LT flipped it to Mark covering for the easy DP.

Apologies to Joe - I was right the first time - he 'only' had four RBIs, so there was a five way tie for the team lead in RBIs: Joe, Dan, Mark, Aram and Heffe. Can't remember that ever happening before. Aram (pronouced 'Ai-ram') led us with a prefect 5-5 day including a double. Brian led the way at lead off with 4-5. Dan (two SF), Joe (triple, homer), Lamont, Mark (double), Bob (triple), Tom, and Heffe all contributed three hits.

This is something we need to contiune!

Nearly Tied Tie Dye But in the End Died on Yet Another Walk Off

I have been playing softball at Heather Farm on and off (mostly on) for about 40 years. I thought I have experienced everything in softball, including in all those games at Heather.

But Tuesday was different. We all know all about our feathered friends that love the sod there for some reason. Well, Tuesday, as I innocently sat in the dugout keeping score, teammate Darren Bobrosky points up to the sky, and says, "the geese are getting ready to drop their load," or some such thought.

I thought no way, we are under a roof in here, they aren't that good. and then suddenly SPLAT! SPLISH! SPLASH! The Red Baron would have been proud!

I'm telling you they got me on the arm, on my outer shirt, on my undershirt, on my LIP, and all over the scorebook. The only parts of me untouched were my underwear and my knee pads, which fortunately I wear under my pants.

I'm a little paranoid about it - my grandfather once was pruning his rosebushes and must have touched some bird shit, and then rubbed his eye, because he contracted a reaction so bad, he was nearly blinded. So I came home and thoroughly fumigated myself. And I am burning the scorebook.

And on top of all that we ended up losing (25-24) on a walk off gapper in a game we had full control of early on. We jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, Brian Black setting the tone with a lead off double, followed by four more hits. In the second we added three more, and in the third, Art Miner led off with a solo homer, and we were on our way building a 15-7 lead after five innings. In the sixth, Miner added a two run triple and after six and a half we were sitting pretty at 20-9. But Tie Dye woke up in the bottom half, and closed to 20-19 before we could blink. We helped them out with a couple of crucial errors, but it's senior softball and they were bound to make a run.

In the top of the eighth, Sandy Camp and Heffe started us off with a couple of walks, but we hit a lineout and a fly out and it looked like the 'rally' would fizzle. But Miner came through once again, this time with a double to complete the cycle, and hits by Bobrosky, Tony Camillo, and Johnny Gutierrez completed a four run inning. We held TD to two in the bottom half, and led 24-21. A few runs added on in the open inning, and we're in business right? But two pop ups to the catcher and a flyout were all we could muster.

And then the curse continued as we made a crucial error in the ninth. With the bases loaded and a run in, up strode Mike Herrera. We had held the slugger in check all game. He had one infield hit when Camp made a great stab on a hot shot grounder in the 3-4 hole, but I couldn't get back to the bag with her errant throw to tag him.

So Herrera was overdue, and showed why he is one of the most feared hitters in Creaker Land. He launched a sizzling liner deep in the RC gap and the runners raced around the infield, and all we could do was get in line to congratulate Tie Dye for coming back.

There were some defensive highlights: In the second Bobrosky made a fine catch in RF, Camillo made one of his sliding catches in shallow RC from his rover position, and Black snagged a shot up the middle for an easy put out at first that all kept TD off the board. In the fourth, Dan May charged a weak grounder at third and threw an awkward one hopper to my right that I managed to hang onto. Helen Kostoff stretched out to catch a high throw from 3B in the fifth. In the next inning, she ranged to shallow right to catch a high popup from 2B. Also that inning Miner fought off the sun to catch the second out.

Miner led the offense with a 4-5 day, and the cycle brought home 5 RBIs to lead the team. Joining him at 4-5 were Bobrosky, Gutierrez and May. Tim Orr and Camillo added three knocks, and Heffe was 2-2 plus two walks for a perfect OB day.

p.s. The next day, playing in Danville, I noticed the Bombers got my softball bag as well, even though it was fifteen feet away outside the dugout. I'm bringing a rifle to the next game.

What's One run Between Frenemies?

A beautiful day despite the usual fall weatherman reports that wanted us to believe a downpour was imminent. Batten down the hatches! Get the sandbags ready!!

Both teams were down a few players, including some key ones, so it made for a close match. It didn't start out well for the good guys, as we went down one-two-three on three routine ground balls, and Team Green nearly batted around, scoring four in the first. But we clawed back with a five run third started by the bottom of the order, in which we did not record an out (that's consecutive singles by Jeff Kravin, Helen Kostoff, Tim Orr, Dan May, Art Miner, Darren Bobrosky, and Johnny Gutierrez), and after five it was knotted at ten.

You got the sense that we might wish we were the home team because it looked like it would come down to the ninth. And there it was, we tied it for the last time in the top half, highlighted by a big bomb triple to right by Robert Douza. Sadly, though, for the fourth time, we left the bases loaded, and could not take a lead. In the bottom half a ball lost in the brutal sun leading off essentially sealed our fate by a follow up walk off hit.

There were several defensive highlights, some in unexpected ways. The play of the game was on a no out infield pop up beyond the pitcher's mound. Kostoff came charging in and the first baseman ducked out of the way after briefly entertaining the thought he might catch it. She was on a mission. She got there so fast that the runner on first had no chance to get back in time, and she beat him to the bag by plenty. "Get out of the way!" she yelled at the suddenly useless first baseman (I am just curious, I am sure Kostoff is so good it has happened before, but when was the last time she turned an unassisted double play?)

Dave Rose made a great catch behind home plate on a foul tip that was barely high enough to be called an out. There would have been a riot if the umpire did not give it to him. Frank Coppa stopped a couple of hot shots at the hot corner as well. We turned another double play, also started by Kostoff. She fired low to Steve Rousso at 2B, and in turn he threw low awkwardly to first and both made good catches to complete the DP. And finally, Johnny G made a fine catch in right field in the sixth for the last out after Kostoff's special double play.

Manager Rose led the way, going 5-5. Nice start! Bobrosky, Gutierrez, Dousa and Rousso all had four hits, Bobrosky also working a walk. Miner, Orr, and Kravin chipped in three each, Miner sharing the RBI lead with Bobrosky with four. Miner had a double and a homer and Gutierrez had a double and a triple for the mini-cycle.

Better clutch hitting and we could have gotten the job done, but let's just say that when I left a few Greens had come to our side to party, and at that time we still had a few players remaining, but the teams on field four were long gone. We win the fun prize.