Softball+2017-05-21

=Chalices Fall to Good Shepherd, 15-11=

Today's season opener was a tighter game than maybe the score suggested. It was a back and forth contest, with Good Shepherd taking an early lead, Community Church roaring ahead, then 2 more lead changes until finally Good Shepherd scored 6 runs in the final inning to pull away.

The Flaming Chalices entered the 7th with a slim 2-run lead, and the heart of the order coming up for Good Shepherd. The first batter popped the ball straight up over the plate. Unfortunately, it was misplayed into a 3 base error. That helped GS tie the score at 11-each. A short while later, a potential inning-ending groundout turned into a dropped ball at 1st base, extending the inning long enough for 4 more runs to score. The deficit was too much for the Chalices to overcome in our half of the 7th, as our bats went quiet and produced only 1 base hit from the heart of our batting order.

Up until the 7th, we had pounded 15 hits and scored 11 runs. In the first inning, with 2 outs, Will Bara launched a triple to deep center field, and scored on Pete Siragusa's line drive single to right field. Bruce Paden followed with a double to left, sending Pete to 3rd base. Both scored on the next play when GS committed an infield error.

The Chalices went down in order in the 2nd and 3rd, but came back in the 4th with 5 runs. There were no extra base hits, just 6 singles (Will, Kalil, Jeff, Jonah, Mark S, Nils) and an error, enough to generate 5 runs. It's called "moving the line", when each batter reaches base safely. Do it enough times, and you can score a bunch of runs! That 5-run outburst gave us an 8-7 lead, which we padded to 9-7 in the next inning, when Nic doubled and Mark B drove him in with a single. We had 2 more hits that inning, but lost another potential run when our baserunner tried to score from 2nd on a single and was thrown out at home. Good Shepherd scored 2 in the 6th to tie the game, but we came right back in the bottom half and took back our 2-run lead, thanks to a bases-loaded 2-run single by yours truly. That set up the eventful 7th inning, when GS erupted for 6 runs, to win the game.

Despite the loss, I was happy with our competitiveness against one of the best teams in the league. Our hitting was outstanding for a first game, when everyone is still rusty from the off-season. We had 16 hits today, with 10 of 11 players tallying at least one base hit. Will and Pete led the team with 3 hits each; Jonah and I had 2 hits each. Will, Pete, Jeff and Jonah each scored 2 runs.

Our off-season rustiness showed in our fielding. I counted 6 errors, and there were several other plays where we did not perform as I know we are capable. Despite the errors, there were bright spots. Nic and Bruce played well in the outfield. Nic caught a runner stepping off 2nd base and tagged him for a crucial out.

In the infield, Pete had a stellar game at 3rd base, catching 2 line drives and throwing out 3 runners, without an error. Both of his line drive catches were highlight reel plays. Not bad for an aging baby-boomer! Will had a busy day at shortstop, handling some hard hit balls as well. The right side of our infield did not perform as well today, making only one successful out on several playable ground balls.

Thank you to everyone who showed up. We had 11 players, giving us one substitute, which turned out to be necessary, due to 2 of our players getting injured. For part of the final inning, we only had 9 fielders. Vera injured her knee when she ran hard into 3rd base in the 6th. Nic got hurt when he and Bruce both chased after a long fly ball hit in between them. Bruce accidentally clipped Nic and sent him tumbling to the turf, injuring his hip. Keep Vera and Nic in your thoughts and prayers over the next couple weeks. Let's hope their injuries are not severe and they will recover in time for our next game. We need them in the lineup.