Softball Update 3-29-09 Playoff Edition
Opponent: Red
Score: 10-7 (W)
Personal Stats: 3-4, 2B, 2 Runs, 2 RBIs
Playoff Stats: 3-4, 2B, 2 Runs, 2 RBIs
Season Stats: 18-32 (.563), 2 2B, 3B, 1 BB, 12 Runs, 13 RBIs (Not including playoffs)
Recap: Before we go into this game, a quick word about the game before ours. It was crazy! I was umpiring first and second, and it was tied 4-4 after seven innings. We had to go into extra innings for the first time that I was aware of (since it was playoffs). Still 4-4 after 8, then the visitors go ahead 7-4 in the top of the ninth. The home team ties it on an inside the park home run in the bottom of the ninth and then pushes a run across on a disputed play in the bottom of the tenth to win it. And this is the team we have to play next week since we won in a far more pedestrian way. :)
Here's the thing, I'm not sure if you can tell from previous seasons in this blog, but I live for Softball playoffs. It's this wonderful blend of pressure, heart, and do-or-die that I just find energizing. I had to force myself not to obsess during church in the morning and to pay attention to the sermon. We had 10 players for the day, since one is still on the DL, one was in Sydney (yes, Australia), and one was on an anniversary trip (can't fault that :). That meant everyone was playing every inning, a situation we are used to seeing as we've won games with eight and nine players before. After finally getting the game ahead of us done, we got everyone together and started off.
Things did not begin auspiciously for us, as our first two batters got out (we were the visitors due to having the inferior record). However, I singled and then the batter behind me tripled to get me home, and we took an early lead into the bottom of the first. They answered quickly as their lead-off batter hit a home-run (uh-oh?) to tie it up, but batters two through four went down and we were into the second. The second went quietly for both teams, with no runs being scored.
If you can believe it, the pivotal play occurred in the third inning and I was in the middle of it. Our leadoff hitter doubled to start the inning, the second batter flied out, I singled the runner home and the next two batters singled to load the bases. I'm on third and the batter grounds back to the pitcher. I'm charging home because I know the pitcher is going to try to flip to the catcher to get the force out and I want to make it a close play. I succeed, as the pitcher tosses it into me as I come across the plate and the ball bounces off my hip to the backstop. The runner behind me scores and what would have been the second out turns into two runs, which was even better since the next batter popped out (and that would have ended the inning with only one run across if they had gotten me), but another couple singles and we'd pushed across four runs in the inning. Why was this so important? Because the other team caught fire in the bottom half of the inning and put across five runs, but we were looking at a 1 run deficit instead of a four run hole.
We got two runs in the top of the fourth and the game quieted down until the sixth, where we put three more runs across to go up by four. The other team scored 1 run in the bottom of the sixth when I missed the only ball hit to me (it was tailing, okay ;). We sealed the deal by getting their last two batters in the lineup to start off the bottom of the seventh to make sure the top of the lineup didn't have any runners on in front of them, and then getting their home-run hitter to fly out with a man on base.
Summary: We play the first place team next week for the championship (2 pm, Church Field), a team we beat by 1 run the first time and lost 9-4 the second time when we just weren't hitting after the long Nov-Dec layoff.
Score: 10-7 (W)
Personal Stats: 3-4, 2B, 2 Runs, 2 RBIs
Playoff Stats: 3-4, 2B, 2 Runs, 2 RBIs
Season Stats: 18-32 (.563), 2 2B, 3B, 1 BB, 12 Runs, 13 RBIs (Not including playoffs)
Recap: Before we go into this game, a quick word about the game before ours. It was crazy! I was umpiring first and second, and it was tied 4-4 after seven innings. We had to go into extra innings for the first time that I was aware of (since it was playoffs). Still 4-4 after 8, then the visitors go ahead 7-4 in the top of the ninth. The home team ties it on an inside the park home run in the bottom of the ninth and then pushes a run across on a disputed play in the bottom of the tenth to win it. And this is the team we have to play next week since we won in a far more pedestrian way. :)
Here's the thing, I'm not sure if you can tell from previous seasons in this blog, but I live for Softball playoffs. It's this wonderful blend of pressure, heart, and do-or-die that I just find energizing. I had to force myself not to obsess during church in the morning and to pay attention to the sermon. We had 10 players for the day, since one is still on the DL, one was in Sydney (yes, Australia), and one was on an anniversary trip (can't fault that :). That meant everyone was playing every inning, a situation we are used to seeing as we've won games with eight and nine players before. After finally getting the game ahead of us done, we got everyone together and started off.
Things did not begin auspiciously for us, as our first two batters got out (we were the visitors due to having the inferior record). However, I singled and then the batter behind me tripled to get me home, and we took an early lead into the bottom of the first. They answered quickly as their lead-off batter hit a home-run (uh-oh?) to tie it up, but batters two through four went down and we were into the second. The second went quietly for both teams, with no runs being scored.
If you can believe it, the pivotal play occurred in the third inning and I was in the middle of it. Our leadoff hitter doubled to start the inning, the second batter flied out, I singled the runner home and the next two batters singled to load the bases. I'm on third and the batter grounds back to the pitcher. I'm charging home because I know the pitcher is going to try to flip to the catcher to get the force out and I want to make it a close play. I succeed, as the pitcher tosses it into me as I come across the plate and the ball bounces off my hip to the backstop. The runner behind me scores and what would have been the second out turns into two runs, which was even better since the next batter popped out (and that would have ended the inning with only one run across if they had gotten me), but another couple singles and we'd pushed across four runs in the inning. Why was this so important? Because the other team caught fire in the bottom half of the inning and put across five runs, but we were looking at a 1 run deficit instead of a four run hole.
We got two runs in the top of the fourth and the game quieted down until the sixth, where we put three more runs across to go up by four. The other team scored 1 run in the bottom of the sixth when I missed the only ball hit to me (it was tailing, okay ;). We sealed the deal by getting their last two batters in the lineup to start off the bottom of the seventh to make sure the top of the lineup didn't have any runners on in front of them, and then getting their home-run hitter to fly out with a man on base.
Summary: We play the first place team next week for the championship (2 pm, Church Field), a team we beat by 1 run the first time and lost 9-4 the second time when we just weren't hitting after the long Nov-Dec layoff.