Softball+2017-06-04

=St. Thomas More Overcomes Community Church, 12-8=

Community Church had a lead over St. Thomas More for the first 4 innings of the game, but succumbed to a late STM rally that gave the Catholics a 12-8 win. It was a tale of 2 games: first 3 innings, Community Church pounded 11 hits and scored 6 runs, while STM scored 3. The last 4 innings, the Flaming Chalices had 4 hits and 2 runs, while STM scored 9 times. It was a hot, humid afternoon at Homestead Park. We had exactly 10 players, while STM had about 20. Their fielders could rest in the shade of their tarp for half the innings, while the others played in the field. Our fielders had to be out there the entire time. I think it made our bats weary in the 2nd half of the game.

The only team member who didn't seem to be worn out by the heat was SS Will Bara, who had a stellar day at the plate, going 4 for 4, two runs scored and 3 RBIs, to lead the team. In the 4th inning he launched a towering fly ball to deep center field that easily cleared the fence for a solo home run. That prodigious blast emptied our bench to go out and greet him with high-5's as he returned to the dugout. Will followed that up in the 6th inning with a line drive to deep left center, bouncing off the fence for a standup triple. It drove in OF Bruce Paden who had reached base on a fielder's choice. It also reclaimed our 1-run lead. Alas, it was to be our last hit and last run, as St. Thomas More went on to score 5 runs in their half of the 6th to take the lead, and win the game.

Other Chalices hitting stars were 3B Pete Siragusa, with 3 hits; and C Mark Smith, who had 2 hits, including a triple to right field.

Our opponents had about 20 players show up, and it was a good mix of men, women and kids. The top half of their lineup did well as expected, but their bottom half was surprisingly productive. Our inability to get outs from their weaker hitters allowed their heavy hitters to get to the plate in the 6th inning and score the runs they needed to take the lead. It was not because of us making a lot of errors. The STM batters had an uncanny ability to drive the ball through or over our infield to reach base safely.

On the defensive side, OF Nick Bailey made 2 great plays in the outfield: one a ball that dropped in front of him, and another a ball that nearly went over his head. On the first one, he made a quick recovery of the ball and threw it to 2B Jonah Paden in time to beat the runner coming from first base, for a forceout. On the second one, he back pedaled and made an acrobatic leap into the air to pull down a ball that would have otherwise ended up as an easy double or triple. Outstanding catch!

We had 2 new players join us today, which helped us to avoid a forfeit: Sam Reece (friend of Jonah) and Lamar (did not get the last name, friend of Jeff). Let's hope we can get better attendance the remainder of the season, so we can have some subs and not have to stand out in the heat the entire game!