What a fantastic way to start the New Year. The weather was lovely, the ground was (relatively) good, and thanks to Weixiong, the numbers were superb.
Weixiong, a SAS alumni, brought his NTU hall 7 team down for a friendly against the crew. We haven't had a proper scrimmage in ages, and it showed. Our defense was sorely lacking, lots of unforced errors and lack of hustle on fly balls cost us the win. Our bats did well to prevent the loss, but this was one game that we could've won.
Serious games are when we're supposed to shine. Having won many a tournament and friendly game, this tie-game should serve as a wake-up call that we should not get complacent. If Coach were on the field, he'd have our heads. Our fundamentals were rusty and glove-work sloppy.
No doubt the 7s did very well. By far, they were one of the best teams SAS has ever faced. They had a good pitcher, strong bats and a well-oiled defense. They were also young, fast and aggressive on the base paths. No credit should be taken away from this team. Their aggression gave them the runs they needed and our lapses didn't help. We definitely need some games back in to hone our glovework. No gold gloves this week.
Rickey pitched an Cy-Youngesque game for SAS. He was hitting the strike zone with ease and working the plate. I've not seen so many whiffs in slowpitch softball. If we had played tournament rules with a strike-plate, he would have definitely gotten more outs, and he would have had several inverted-Ks in his pocket. Needless to say his 15+ ERA is no reflection on the game he pitched as many a ball should have been caught.
Biggest bat of the day belonged to the 7s shortstop. He hit a monster 2 RBI HR deep into left field in the 3rd.
Nothing we could've done about that one. We elected to walk him the next 2 times he was up at bat, and then ask for a urine sample. All props to the guy for joining in on the joke. Good man.
Best bat though, belonged to Marc (With a C not a K... that might be his nickname). He hit for 1.000. Pity he did not hit leadoff, as he put Bumblebee to shame. Bumblebee ledoff but had an OBP like Granderson, 0.200. Sin did not do too well in the number 2 spot as well. Seems he smacked his quota of HRs for 2009 AND 2010 in that pre-christmas game. Poor Mick connected solidly with the ball, but the 7s LF had his number, making the type of running-shoe-string-catches that only the young and extremely agile can pull off.
All things considered, it was a really close game. The 7s started the scoring with 2 runs in the first. Quickly answered by 4 runs by SAS. Top 3 saw the double 2RBI HRs from the 7s, and we immediately replied to tie the game back. We managed pull slightly ahead in the bottom of the 4th with a one run lead but that was soon displaced when the 7s had a monster 7 run inning.
14-8 was the score when we went into the bottom of the 5th. Somehow, we dug deep, and I mean real deep, and strung together a series of hits to produce 6 runs to even the score again. You could hear the sighs of relief when we tied up. The 6th inning saw both teams eek out a single run each, and 2 each in the 7th to bring the game to an end.
Before the 7th inning, both team captains had agreed to end the game even if the score was tied. And so it was to be. Overall, it was a good ending to a tough game. And a great way to welcome in the New Year.
NTU Hall Seven 17 : SAS 17
Box Score
7s 0 2 4 1 7 1 2
SAS 0 4 2 2 6 1 2
Lineup
Rickey, Mar(with a C not K), Horfun, Jor-El, Mick, DT, Uboat, Bumblebee, Sin, Ripken, H, Big Dick
Photos here, all credits to Horfun
Click on this to see photos
No comments:
Post a Comment