Thank goodness the third and last of our 9pm games is behind us--we just can't catch a break at that East River field! Last week's late game wound up being a three-inning scrimmage against 'The Explorers', because the ump didn't show up until 9:30 and it was too late to start. That one really hurt, because we were playing great and it was a nice night for it.
Last night was incredibly hot and muggy. Fireflies hovered in the air, boats drifted down the river, and clouds of dust from the infield dispersed slowly like a gritty fog. We were all sweating like steam pipes, but we had a good feeling about this game. It was ours to win. And there's no doubt we would have, if we'd had a seventh inning!
Don't tell Jason's doctor, but we had an "all hands on deck" situation and he and his nose played left field. Willy pitched tirelessly, and kept a level head even when the ump's version of the strike zone shifted faster than the end of a wormhole. And of course Mayhem's infamous pitcher Irwin was there, grunting and whipping the softball in with impressive speed, if not accuracy.
The True Foes were off to a strong start in the first inning when Alex Laviola hit a home run with ducks on the pond! Our defense was in top form as well: Shortstop Brian secured an impressive number of outs, Willy made some essential plays, and we were all glad that Abbey came back from "the northland" to play second, where she caught two infield fly balls! Along with Jason, Alex, Ryan Hullings, and Casey covered the outfield and did a fantastic job bringing the ball in quickly whenever it reached them.
Softball Dave made his usual solid plays at third. Ben was back on first, which meant plenty of disappointed Mayhem runners, and Tyson was our starting second baseman.
Yes, our defense was strong last night, but we could have done better in the hitting department. As much as I like to make fun of his mannerisms, Irwin's a pretty good pitcher. Not to say we didn't get our share of good hits! SBD was a consistent base hitter, Hullings had a fabulous double, and (forgive me for not recalling all the worthy rips!) due to some super swings on our end and plenty of errors on Mayhem's part, we had a decent night at the plate. But to be honest, we didn't live up to our potential.
So it's the top of the seventh. The last inning. We're dirty. We're tired. We have to pee. Mayhem has just taken a one-run lead in the sixth. Willy's on the mound. He's warmed up. He's poised to hurl softbombs, and we're all ready to bag three outs in a row and then rally hard. The first batter steps up to the plate. And... the lights go out.
They shut the damn lights off just after ten o'clock! And then the ump calls it a ballgame!
That wasn't a ballgame, it was an incomplete! What total crap. The parks department gives us one hour of light? Come on, man. And Mayhem's all cheering and squealing and jumping up and down as if they actually won. Pfff. Enjoy your hollow victory, you lucky S.O.B.s. We were on the cusp of one of our trademark rallies, and then we were robbed.
Yeah, well, Mayhem had better hope and pray the commish is feeling lazy, because if we ever get to finish that game we'll turn their smiles into grimaces of pain, and their victory dances into spasms of anguish!
I was enjoying a bottle of beer the other night, and it had a proverb on the label: "Anger is energy. Use it, then let it go." So let's hold on to our completely justified anger just long enough to kick some ass next time! On Monday we're playing at 6pm at Barry 01 against Gimme Shelter. So stay away from any FIFA-related bar brawls over the weekend and prepare for a fury-fueled comeback game!
GTF
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