8 Jan 2005

ONES :
1st : Beyonce/Geok/Monk, 2nd : Geok/Monk, 3rd : Andy, SS :Money, Outfield : Jason, Gunz, Monk, TH

TWOS :
1st : Rube, 2nd : Princess, 3rd : Rickey, SS : DT, Outfield : Swat, TS, Fei

Game 1 : ONES 23 : TWOS 28

As you can see from the score, it was a day that the big bats came out to play. With the wet weather and lousy drainage of the NUS field, we were forced to relocate to West Coast Park for our game. As usual, the numbers only started showing up at 3pm, and we moved off from the NUS carpark at about 3.15 to make our way to West Coast Park. A shortage of numbers are expected during this period of the year, and we were lucky to muster 15 players for a good game of saturday afternoon softball. With the intermittent drizzle and the length of each inning, we only managed to complete one 9-inning game before calling it a day. And what a game it was....

The TWOs took at an early lead with 6-0 at the top of the first, and held on to it all through the game. They even took 2 mercy leads in the 6th and 7th, but the ONEs fought back valiantly, but it was no contest as the TWOs won the game convincingly 28-23. Of noteworthy mention, the only inning where NO ONE scored was the eighth inning. where the score remained 28-22.

The tempo of the game was set down by DT's lead off hit in the first inning. Smacking a line drive HR (the first HR off his new bat), this laid down the precedent for the game to come. High scores notwithstanding, it was not a game of defensive errors. In fact, there were barely any defensive lapses to speak off, with nary a boneheaded play to mention. The game was about pure offensive batting. Long, deep hits, gap hits, and blooper singles was the name of the game. There were about 11 or 12 HRs in the game, many of them with 2 or more RBIs. There could have been more HRs, if not for the great relays from the outfield to home. 4 HRs were robbed because of good arms and accurate throws. Both teams had 2 OF-SS-C relays that got the batter out at home, and even though the catcher was from the other team, he still made the difficult tag. A good show of integrity by both teams (though slightly marred by 2 catchers intentionally dropping the ball on foul tips). A worthy mention was Fei's HR ; he hit the ball into the gap between RF and CF, and Gunz chased down the ball. When he picked up the ball to gun it home to get Fei, a LOUD "AHSHIT!" was heard emanating from the catchers position. It came from Princess, and rightly so, an automatic reaction when Gunz is about to throw the ball to you. She had sensed that Gunz was about to fire home directly to get Fei out, and fearing for her life, her hand and her glove, exclaimed the choice word loudly. The ball did reach the plate at extreme velocity, but Fei managed to beat it out by half a step.

Swat deserves an honorable mention, as he almost single-handedly swept the awards. He showed his amazing running ability in LF, running down and catching practically every hit, and making outstanding throws when he failed to catch the ball in the air. Similarly, he made a big impact on offense as well, hitting 4 HRs to lead his team into victory. Best play of the day was made by him, running down a deep fly ball in foul territory, catching it centimeters off the ground.



MBP : Swat
Gold Glove : Swat
Biggest Bat : Swat
Best Play : Swat
DY play of the day : Andy
Bonehead Play : None