Softball+2016-07-10

=Union Grove Contains Flaming Chalices, 13-7=

Union Grove had a lineup stacked with young, athletic men who played very well, and were able to defeat the Flaming Chalices today, 13-7. I dare say the score might have been even more lopsided if they didn't have so many players show up. Union Grove had about 15 or 16 batters, and the bottom half of their order was not as prolific as the top half. They scored 9 runs in the first 3 innings, to build a pretty big lead that we were unable to overcome. Not that we did not have a lot of opportunities. The Chalices hit safely 20 times during the game, but we left 11 runners on base, and had 2 other runners wiped out by baserunning mistakes.

20 hits is our highest output, so far this season. We were led by Nick B. and Pete, who had 3 hits apiece. Pete could have had a 4th hit, but he directed his screaming line drive right at the 2nd baseman who made the catch. Matt, Mark, TJ, Jeff and Nils had 2 hits each. Five different players drove in runs, with Nick and Pete the team leaders today, 2 RBIs each; Mark, Jeff and Nils also drove in a run. Quinton scored 2 runs, while Matt, Pete and Jean also scored. Our biggest inning was the 7th, when we had 6 hits and scored 3 runs. We left the bases loaded in that inning when we made our last out.

On the defensive side, we made some early mistakes, which were largely due to our opponents' baserunning speed. Wild throws rewarded their aggressiveness. We settled down later in the game, and flashed some glove on a few plays. 2B Mark B snagged a couple of hot grounders and threw out the batter both times. CF Nick B made 2 outstanding catches: one was hit high and deep, forcing him to track back near the fence, back pedal, and finally leap to catch the ball. The other was a shallow liner on which he had to make a sliding catch to end a 2-out threat with 2 runners in scoring position. P Jeff Nelson reacted well to two sharply-hit ground balls and threw out the batter both times.

Good effort against a very good opponent.