Well, on Saturday, we had our County Championship Tournament. We were first up in the 10 and under division, and we got to play Boyd. We hate Boyd, remember? Before the game, I heard one of their coaches say, "I'm not too worried, we beat them 10-7 last time." Oops, I think he believed the lie that our game in Boyd represented.
We won the coin flip, and were the home team. So, Haley D. was on the mound. She had a kind of rocky start, giving up 4 runs in the inning, but I thought we would be OK. Their pitcher throws very hard, but is all over the place. So the girls were told repeatedly, "Don't help her out and swing at a bad pitch, if it's there, hit it, but don't chase a bad pitch." They all listened, they hit the good ones, and walked for the most part. We ended up with 5 runs in the inning, for a 5-4 lead.
Next inning, HALEY WAS ON FIRE!!! She only let one batter on base, a walk I believe, and struck out the other three she faced, giving up 0 runs. So now we come up with a 5-4 lead still, so we tacked on another 4 to make it a 9-4 lead, at which point I jinxed us pretty bad. I told my assistant coach, Natalie, "I don't care what happens now, if they score all 6, we just need 2 to win." Haley got tagged, by every batter they had, and a few of the batgirls, I think. Well, they got their six to give them a 10-6 lead.
Then their pitcher struck out our first batter. DAMN!!! I needed some reverse MOJO in a hurry, and I got it. Natalie popped a ball pretty hard for a double, a couple of walks and Gabrielle absolutely killed the ball, they may still be chasing it. GRAND SLAM, TIME HAD EXPIRED, 13-10 win and on to the Championship Game, opponent to be determined in the next game.
I wanted the Bridgeport Extreme, who were 9-1, the only team with a better record than us, but we got Bridgeport D-N-D, A team that we beat earlier in the year, but they claimed it as a tie, Whatever. Revenge time!!!
This time we lost the coin flip and were the visitors. Their pitcher threw a very nice ball almost everytime, and I thought, that better not be your best, because our girls will murder that type of pitching. I went to the dugout and told them, "Look at her pitches, she throws just like I do in batting practice, now go bang it around a little."
Here's the game. Kendall was first up, and she singled on the first pitch, stole second and third during Letty's at bat, in which she walked. Jessica then came to the plate and singled in Kendall on the second pitch. Now, up comes Natalie, who on the second pitch, hit a ball farther than Gabrielle did in the first game. I actually believe she could have rounded the bases twice!!! Haley followed this with a single, then Bailey struck out. Laura singled in Haley who had stolen second and third during Bailey's demise. Then Alexis struck out, but Laura made it to third during her at bat. Jaclyn stepped up and blasted a tripple, scoring Laura, and securing our six runs. Not a bad way to start, up 6-0. Had to be demoralizing.
Jessica was on the mound for us, and I expected no problems, but she was off for some reason. She gave up a single, then struck out the next girl, then 3 consecutive singles. She was not throwing the ball very hard, I don't know what was wrong. Also, she could not make a good throw to first base, she missed three times. Very unusuall for her, she is normally about as solid as you could want a kid to be. Then a pop up was caught by Madison at third base, then a single scoring their fourth and final run of the inning, before Jessica struck out the last batter. 6-4 us. That was OK, we were about to ice the game.
BUT, somebody flipped the script on us. Now we were the ones making mistakes, and the other team was playing out of their minds good. It happens, I know, but what an inopportune time. This inning, Madison struck out, Damn, she never strikes out. Brianna walked. Gabby doubled on the first pitch, so Bri on third, Gabby on second. Kendall tagged one to the third baseman, who caught it in the air, and stepped on third, double play, inning over. You could have heard the proverbial pin drop in our stands, while their stands were in an uproar, and rightfully so.
Jessica came out and gave up 5 runs, mostly on short dribblers to her, then overthrows to firstbase, turning an out into a triple. She got it together and struck out 2 of the last 3 to end the inning, but, damn!!
Next inning, we were set to do big things. Letty came up and flew out to third, Jessica singled, and Natalie singled on the first pitch. This was not a normal single, but they backed their outfield up and got it right. Natalie bombed it, but a girl accidentally knocked it down, and Jessica had to stop at second, and Natalie at first. Haley walked, loading the based. Bailey struck out. Then Laura singled in Jess and Nat, but Alexis struck out. Down 9-8, only 4 minutes to go, no hope. Jess gave up a single, then a strike out, and a walk, working as fast as she could, but time ran out. We lost 9-8. Man, what a day!!
I'm sorry nobody got to see it. We were obviously the best team there, but these things happen. Balls get hit directly to the other girls, and ours forget how to throw to each other. But one thing that never goes away is our hitting, they are always on the ball. Oh well, that's the way it goes.
We are going to the Denton tournament June 3-4, so if you want to see the girls in action, that will be your last chance. We move up next year, and will probably struggle, but I'm sure they will make it fun.
See ya then,
Jim
