Softball Games 7/8

Because of a gigantic wall of dust rolling across the valley last weekend, our softball team got a week off when the games were called due to visibility issues and lightning/rain. We'll be making them up later on in the season. Yesterday's games were in pretty much perfect weather, and we were matched up very nicely with a pair of teams. Both games were quite close, and we ended up winning the first game and losing the second game.

The first game we started off ahead and never lost the lead, but our opponents were within a couple runs of us the whole time. Thanks to some timely defence from our outfield (including two running backhanded catches on "Texas League" fly balls) and solid infield play, we won the game. I made two catches on pop flies at the plate, which really are not that easy to do. You have to look up while running (not hit the umpire, runner, or bats), track the ball, not run into the fences, and then actually catch and hold the ball (which nearly always involves a basket catch - not a very stable situation). I did it three times - twice for outs and once as a foul ball hit the fence and bounced back at me. Woot. I also went two-for-four on two singles and scored one run for our team. My other two at-bats were both lineouts to the shortstop, which I was all right with because I at least squared up the ball both times. I just had the unfortunate luck to hit it right at someone.

Game two opened against another solid team, but this one was a back-and-forth kind of contest. We were first down 3-0, then up 5-3, then down 10-5, then up 11-10, then tied at 11, then finally ended up losing it in the last inning by 4 runs 15-11. We made a couple miscues, though nothing really major, and had some good defensive moments and some bad defensive moments. One play in particular that keeps running through my mind is my only play at the plate that game. With runners on first and second, the batter hit a long fly ball to right field, which went over the head of our fielder. Both runners scored, and by the time the ball got back to me, the batter-runner was barrelling in from third. He slid, and I tagged him (very hard... sorry!) on the head. He was called safe. It was a really close play, and for my life I cannot feel that the umpire was wrong... I think he was safe on the play. Darn it. Anyway, I did again go two-for-four with two singles, a flyout to left field, and another lineout to third.

Thus, my "stats" so far: I have actively made or assisted five outs at home plate (two tags, two popouts, and one assisted tag play), without - in my humble opinion - making an error yet. I was 4-for-8 this weekend, and that should bring me to 15-for-28 on the season, a .536 batting average. Yay! Over .500!