After the debacle a few weeks ago with Balboa, we decided to hedge our bets and return to the hidden promise of St. Mary's. Luckily, it was devoid of games and the band was there awaiting our glorious return. They had been pining for us, and were sad when they didn't get our contact info before we moved to Potrero. A joyous reunion.
Sonny started for the homers and I for the visitors. It quickly became apparent that with 13, then 14 players only that this was going to be a interesting game. The wind was howling so much that we deemed it the 3rd outfielder and played the game with only 2 outfielders. It worked well.
Greg was all-time 1st baseman for the beginning of the game, until Sean showed up to even the teams. What that made for was a lineup that had 6 hitters for the homers, hard to deal with as a pitcher when you know that you have to keep facing the same hitters over and over again.
Sonny and I did a nice job of keeping it from being a laff riot, partially thanks to the dulcet tunes that our band was playing. That band really ties the game together, I have to admit. And they played a Jimmie Rodgers tune when I requested one. For those of you not in the know:
Anyway, I think that a couple of runs were scored, for the visitors, it was Chris P all day. He scored 80% of the runs for our team.... I know for my part that I came up in the inning with runners in scoring position and 2 outs at least 5 times. And I flubbed it 3 of those times.
Maybe 2, since one was a robbery of felony stature. I hit a ball so square I had time to enjoy watching it fly. Straight into left center.... where I realized suddenly that Anna was playing me at about 390 feet, and that smart play, coupled with the wind that suddenly turned the air into pea soup, the ball came down calmly and neatly into Anna's glove. Third out, again.
The wind, as mentioned before, was a contention all day. Foul balls went very foul. Other foul balls came back into play. Jon McG made a great play over behind first, one of many for him in the game and there were basket catches made by Dan, Chris. For only fielding 7 on a side it was a well-defensed game. The see-saw battle continued, and we went into the last of the eighth down two runs. I had bowed out and Sean had come in and shut the door. Sonny had stayed in longer than I, but had given way to Mike N. Meanwhile, our team had inched back to close, after I finally was able to bat a run in. In the ninth we scrambled Mike's plans for a win and go ahead, thank god. We had been ok to not win too, but if we had tied, we might have all quit.
The bottom of the inning proved to be a non-starter for the homers, and we walked away having snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Final score: 5-4?
Highlights:
* Call me crazy but St Mary's reminds me of the peace and tranquility of the Presidio all those years ago. Not a bad thing....
* Great defense all around.
* Chris P and John McG seemed to have strong days at the plate.
* I hit a ground ball at the end of the of the game that took that 3rd bounce that always seems to be where the problem lies, and it bounced right up into his jaw. I was really thankful it was jaw and not throat, but still a tense moment. Sorry Sonny, you took a shot like a champ.
* Thanks to the catchers, Nick W in particular was very helpful while I was working out the kinks.
* I managed a handful of Ks for the day, I was all over the map, but then would suddenly get locked in and throw 3 pitches right where Nick put the glove. Weird.
* Bob had a few nice knocks, as did Dan.
* JT and I were involved in 3 double plays. Unfortunately all of them involved us as runners.
* The homers defense turned three double plays!
* The visitors had one double play, which is more gentlemanly.
* I love pitching at St Mary's because the mound is basically non-existent, and easy on the joints.
* Thanks to JT and Sean for making us a real game
* Coyote sighting, the old boy is still there.
* The band is sounding tight, and has new selections to choose from and they also warned us that the Parks and Rec dudes posted at St Mary's may be badge-heavy, so lets keep our profile low and calm.
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