Another Softball Beatdown

Another night on the softball diamond last night, and another brutal beatdown. This time, it was against the only team we've beaten this season, so we expected to play this team close, and possibly even notch our second win of the year.

Oh, how we were mistaken.

We were the home team, so we took the field first, and we had a rough first inning. You'd have thought our entire team had just finished oiling up a team of body builders just before the game, given our ability to field, handle, and throw the ball. I was no exception. I played second base (finally!), and with a runner on first base, the batter grounded right back to Chuck at the pitcher's mound. Chuck turned around and fired a perfect strike to me at second. One out. I had plenty of time to throw out the batter at first for a double play, but someone apparently sewed some velcro onto the ball and into my glove and then lathered up my throwing hand with Vaseline because I could NOT get that thing out of the webbing. So no double play for us.

We ended up coughing up three or four runs in the top of the first inning, but that's not a disaster in softball.

In fact, our very first batter in the bottom of the first inning launched one over the fence for a home run. Woo hoo! It was a beautiful, towering shot that easily cleared the wall. Just like that, we were on the scoreboard and all fired up again!

And that would be the last run we scored until the bottom of the seventh (last) inning. In the meantime, we gave up 14 more runs.

It was not pretty.

As the game progressed, our players gradually showed less and less interest in being on the field. That, of course, just made things worse. As the pounding worsened, many of our players ceased most or all effort, until most of the game just became a blur of the other team circling the bases while our players jogged or walked to retrieve the ball. It nearly sent me and Chuck over the edge.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, though, our bats came alive. Our shortstop complemented his first-inning home run with an inside-the-park home run to start the seventh. Then our next batter got on base. Then our next one. And then another. And before we knew it, we had 4 or 5 runs on the board. What a great inning!

Except that it was six innings too late and ten runs too few.

My night at second base was pretty uneventful. Aside from the botched double play (and we still got one out on the play, so it wasn't a disaster), I fielded everything cleanly, and my throws went where they were supposed to. My elbow held up just fine, but I only had to gas a throw once, cutting off a throw from right field and firing it to Chuck at home plate. Still, no pain in the elbow before the game, after the game, or today, so I think I'm past my elbow issues for now.

I had a subpar 1-for-3 night at the plate, though. In my first at-bat, I nearly drilled a hole in the pitcher's chest. I absolutely HATE it when I accidentally send a line drive screaming right back at the pitcher, and this one was in a hurry. Fortunately, he had time to take about a half-step to his right and avoid broken ribs or a punctured lung or something. I apologized profusely all the way to first base. He was very good-natured about it (whew!), and it even became a running joke for the rest of the game.

In my second at-bat, trying to launch one OVER the pitcher this time, I popped out. It was a weak hit, and I knew it the instant I made contact. Blech.

In my third at-bat, I didn't get all of the ball, but I got most of it. However, it wound up being a pop-out to the shortstop, which puzzled me. Despite hitting it pretty hard, it didn't feel or sound normal coming off my bat. Recall that I put a dent in my bat a couple weeks ago. When I was musing to Chuck that I felt like the ball should have traveled a lot farther than it did, he mentioned that when he used my bat last week when I was out of town, it felt "off" to him, too. With much sadness, we have concluded that the bat is dead. I really loved that bat. Rest in peace, buddy.

As Chuck pointed out, though, it went down swinging.

He's a comedian, folks.

I'll try it one more time next week to make sure I'm not just imagining things, but it looks like I'll be saving my pennies over the winter to get a new bat for next year.

After the game, as the other team (tastefully) celebrated their victory, one of their players exclaimed, "We're not in last place anymore!" It wasn't directed at us, but it was still a punch in the gut. We just got our asses handed to us by the last place team. And now WE are the last place team. Real nice.

Our last regular season game is next week against the team we lost to by one run about a month ago in the bottom of the last inning when I made a bone-headed (and errant) throw to first base, blowing out my elbow in the process, and allowing a runner on third base to score the winning run uncontested. Normally, I'd say that we should play them tough, but the last two times I've said that, we've gotten destroyed. So I'm pretty resigned to the fact that we'll enter the playoffs in two weeks as the lowest seed, likely getting the "pleasure" of being thoroughly dismantled by the highest seeded team. Good times ahead!

Even with all the frustration surrounding this season, though, I sure love being back out there on the softball field. I'm thrilled to be playing again, and I'll be back for more next season!