Softball Game 2: Three and out

It appeared as though our team was in for a long night when we showed up at the ballpark tonight.

The game being played before ours was running 40 minutes behind. Our guys warmed up, stretched and were still sitting behind the dugout when the teams scheduled to play the game after ours began arriving. On top of that, after weeks of temperatures squarely in the 70s, we’ve reverted to late fall-like temperatures this week and were in the 50s tonight. It was cold waiting on that sideline.

We finally took the field 45 minutes after our game was supposed to start. But we made quick work of it.

We scored 11 in the first and went quietly in the second inning after giving up three runs on defense. But then we dispelled any fears of being a one-inning offense (see: Game 1 of the season) and put up seven more runs in the third inning. The margin was 18-3, and the rules say that after three innings of play that qualifies as a win. Game over.

I played another good game at third base, which included snatching up grounders and getting assists on the last two outs of the game.

I was more proud of my hitting tonight – a 2-for-3 night at the plate. My first at-bat ended with me slapping a hard grounder through the hole on the left side. When the next batter hit a ball to a gap in the outfield, I sprinted from first to home, sliding in just under the catcher’s attempt to tag me. It was classic.

But it seems I pull the ball 99 percent of the time I make contact, and the shortstop knew better. So when I stepped to the plate for my second at-bat, he plugged the hole. Sure enough, I slapped the first good pitch right to him and he threw me out.

I got smart on my third at-bat, though. The shortstop parked himself in the hole again, but I managed to shoot a pitch back over his head and got a clean double out of it when the ball rolled into the outfield gap. I scored again, too.

Good game, good game.