As of this post, I vow to never say kiss your sister again in the event I am involved in a tie game of softball. Frankly, even though this only my second of the year, I am tired of it and it's enough already. My sister is coming into town for the Thanksgiving holiday, as she does every year, and one annual peck on the cheek is enough after 70+ years in the same family.
Of course it would be easier if we hadn't tied Back in Black Wednesday, or in any of the other times we will play the rest of the season. We had every chance to put away this game, but perhaps it was the curse of the first - we led 5-0 after shutting down the top of the Black lineup, and getting five straight hits, including back to back doubles by Joe Silva and Jim Krochka and a two out single by Al Banisch to plate the fifth run.
Then we pretty much led the rest of the way until the top of the seventh when B in B tied it up at twelve. We just didn't add on enough - only adding seven runs in five innings to that point. There were four in the fourth, highlighted by a leadoff Krochka triple, a Dave Balfour double, and a Banisch triple.
We were shut down in the seventh and eighth, and after giving up four in the top of the ninth, disaster loomed large. But we dug deep and clutch hits by Silva, Krochka, Mark Childress, and Balfour and Banisch again made sure we didn't leave in defeat.
The main hero of the story is Balfour - he came up with a runner on and one out as the tying run. The B in B defense gave him a huge hole in right center, and multiple players in the dugout remarked that all he had to do was hit a line drive over the second baseman and the ball would roll out to the perimeter walkway and he could jog home. He did just that - in fact the outfielders even stopped chasing the ball and the game was tied.
Sadly, even though Banisch hit a double for the mini-cycle, we could not get him around for a walkoff, but as they say, kissin... I mean a tie is better than a loss.
There were numerous good defensive plays. In the first Clay Leche threw a hit ball back to SS Krochka who zipped it to Bob Gatehouse covering second to nail a runner who dared to test our arms. In the third, we turned a sharp double play, Krochka to Charlie Pastor at rover to first baseman Bob Fulgham. In the fifth our own Grouch, Tom Wagenseller couldn't stop talking about me putting him at first in my second sitout inning, and then made two snazzy catches on hard liners - he almost had to get off the ground on one of them. But the play of the game, which in retrospect may have saved the game for us, was Silva diving in shallow left center to rob a batter in the eighth with runners on to end the inning scoreless. Kudos to Leche also, for backing him up in case it got by the left center fielder, although in the end, luckily it wasn't needed.
Krochka was 4-4 with two doubles and a triple, and hasn't made an out yet in his two games. Leche (2B), Pastor, Silva (2 2B), Gatehouse, Balfour (2B, HR), and Banisch (2B, 3B) all had three hits. Gatehouse, who always seems to hit when there are runners on, led the team with 4 RBIs.
Next week the fun really begins, we play the Hornets and then the Grizzlies again. Time to step up.
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