1/24/16 West Sunset

What a day for a ball game, after all that rain and weather, we were treated to 58 degrees and sunny.  Thanks to Greg and others (seen in the photo, courtesy of Duane) for tending to the field before the game to get it ready.

We ended up with 17, which is great for a Sunday in competition with that lame game involving behemoths and a pig skin ball.

Greg started for the homers and Carter, who has been on new baby duty for the past few months, for the visitors.  I had brought out lil Satch again, and this time we were all happy.  West Sunset has a warm up mound with a nice plate that he can practice hitting at, which is great.  He and I played right field for the first few innings, and then he went in to the bench so he could hang out with his friend Tony.

The teams were remarkably balanced, most obvious in that we both had great SS, Rich and Chris Powell.  And throughout the game, they both made essential plays, both with the bat and the glove.

The visitors may have set a record for the most pop-ups in the infield for the game, as we tried to adjust to Greg's just enough-inside pitch strategy.  On the other hand, the homers exploded for three runs early in the game and looked to be on a steam roll towards victory.  It was 3-0 for the first few frames, then we got one on a sac fly, and our bats slowly came alive.

By the 5th inning, Greg had given way to Sonny, who was featuring a new, Marichal, crane-like delivery.  We were able to see past the trickery and resumed our attack.  We tied the game at 3-3 in the 6th and then took the lead going into the bottom of the 7th, 6-3.

The troublesome 9th almost proved to be a reverse of fortune.  Satch was riding high on 6 innings of no-run pitching, and then had to face down Abe, Rich, James, and the rest of the bats in the heart of the order.   Confidence was high and I joked to Bob about hanging one to see if Rich could put it out.  Maybe I should just shut my stupid face and pitch.... In any case, Abe got on, stole second, and came around to score, with Rich sky rocketing a shot to center that Carter never got to.  Our lead began to slip away.

Luckily we got a crucial second out on a close play at first, though it was widely argued that the runner had beaten the throw.  With runners in scoring position, lil' Satch's friend Tony came to the plate, and slapped the first pitch on the ground to first base, Duane picked it up and that was the game.

Final: 6-5

Highlights:

* Rich and Chris, line drives, runs scored, and long throws all day

* Tim, Bob, John did a great job of keeping the ball dry, as much as possible

* Great unassisted double play at second by Duane to get us out of a jam

* Long running, tumbling grab in left by John Mcg to get the third out in the 8th

* I re-institute my request for a fence or cones.  I tattooed a hanging curve to left and all I got was a double. And no, my lack of speed is not the problem....

* Greg critiqued his own bunt as he ran down the baseline

* Duane made some great stretches and plays at first base

* Other Nick made a great play at third