Zombie Hurt – July 12^th Game

Has anyone seen some batters?  28 at bats with 21 outs, and that includes two walks.  That is not the B61 hitting machine that I know.  The good news is that we made the playoffs though.  Zombie Hut ended 4-6, so we cinched 4^th place and a spot in the playoffs.  I assume we’ll play ice cold Schnack, but we’ll just have to see.

The B61 Lineup, sponsored by Budweiser and Snapple

• “Red” Amy as catcher
•  Jonathan as pitcher
• Whipit at first base
• Betsy at second
• Matt at shortstop
• Jamie at third
• Steve in left field
• “One Trick” Capone in center field
• JJ in right center
• Alyce in right field
• Adam as DH
• “Coming Late” Kate as backup right field
• Johanna “Beer Can” as backup catcher
• Rob as our secret hitting weapon

Our Cheering Section

• Pieces and Meghan

The Game

This reminds me of one of last year’s games.  We started out strong.  We took them down 1-2-3 in the first, scored the first run, and kept playing from there.  In the second inning, we stayed strong.  Jamie tagged the runner between second and third and made the play to Whipit at first, but both Blue and the runner denied that Jamie ever tagged him.  “This is an honor game.  You gotta fess up.”  Apparently not.  We were still able to take them down without a run.

JJ got the chance to turn the tables in the second inning when the Zombies thought they tagged him between first and second, but Blue didn’t call that either.  ZH was quite happy to tell JJ to fess up, but JJ will take that secret to the grave or at least until he gets drunk again.  Their pitcher was a little shaky, and we keep whittling away to bring the lead to 5-1.  All was good.  We continued with some strong defense as Whipit turned a double play by catching the throw at first and reaching me at home to get the tag the runner.  They get 2 to bring it to 5-3, but that’s ok.

Who wants to guess what happens next?  Go on.  Take a wild guess.  Let’s see.  Their shortstop plays some great defense to take us down 1-2-3, and then, they go on a base hitting rampage.  They kept hitting to short center, and we were helpless and confused.  In my notes, I said, “There’s our inning to fall apart.”  That’s exactly what happened.  When we stopped the bleeding, they’re up 7-5.  They increased their cushion by making it 9-5 coming up to our last at bat. 

JJ got a single over the third base bag.  Whipit followed with a single that advanced JJ to third.  1^st and 3^rd, one out, down 9-5.  Coach brings in Rob to hit for Johanna, a little new blood to make things happen.  It’s a fielder’s choice, and Whipit’s out at second, but JJ made it home to make it 9-6.  It wasn’t enough though .  They get the last out, and we’re done.  We’re stunned that it’s over.

Apparently, the team made a bet, so we had to have a drink at the Hut.  Not a bad place, and the potent tea and Roblums eased the sting.  JJ and Trish, their third basewoman who went 3-4, were elected players of the game, and great merriment and goldfish were had by all.

Memorable Moments

·         Whipit and I walking into each other to catch the first popup of the game.  We both called it which was good.  Neither of us listened to the other which was bad.  It should have been Whipit’s ball.  My bad, Steve.  At least we caught it.

·         Jamie’s line drive single which just happened to bounce twice in the infield.  “In the stats, it still looks like a line drive.” 

·         Their third base coach insulting Amy by saying she couldn’t throw from home to second

·         Johanna making the first base runner think twice as she was looking to throw him out at first when he strolled back after a missed pitch

·         “Gotta fess up.”

·         Their pitcher catching Jamie’s line drive in pure self-defense

·         JJ’s spectacular diving catch in the first inning.  He ran in at full speed and slid to make a diving catch to end the inning.  Holy cow!

·         Jamie: “Ump, he was blocking the plate.” after he scored a run

Ump: “He was not blocking the plate.”

Catcher: “Yes, I was blocking the plate.”

Player of the Game

JJ gets player of the game for his amazing catch and his boundless energy (when he’s not hungover).  That was a great athletic feat. 

Commentary

Jamie suggested that we needed therapy as a team.  Something wasn’t clicking.  We were good, but not B61 good.  I don’t know.  I can’t remember when the other team got into a fight with some of the locals, but I wonder if that had something to do with throwing us off.  Who calls a 10-year old kid an idiot in front of his father anyway?  Especially when the father can make a phone call to tell his friends to “Come down here with everything.”  It could have just been one of those days for us.  I hope the Hit Men will face a much better team.

Web Site

You can see all of the writeups at http://www.czarsolutions.com/softball/