This was the first game I was able to make it to this year, and the first since Greg and Phil took the mantle of coaches. The getting in process seems to go a lot smoother, and you could tell those who were not schooled in the ways—way too much gear getting brought in. However, the grounds still looked nice, and the new buildings looked as though they should be in a community college, rather than a prison.
The 2026 Giants are a force to be reckoned with, with a stable of strong arms and big bats. Liam started for us, and from the beginning there was something off. Liam was throwing extremely slow for his usual, which we learned was due to a shoulder injury. He wouldn't stop pitching though. The Giants took advantage of the lower velocity and hammered in a couple runs to start the game and then a few more the next inning. The big blow came from Anthony, a big lefty, hit a moon shot to right that cleared the building. Sean in right never moved.
Vic the powerful lefty started for the Giants, and he shut us down effectively for the first two innings. I think we scored a run, helped by Mike Naldony, who was our most consistent hitter of the day. Vic started to wane in the third, and we took the advantage to tack on a few more runs thanks to walks. Nash came in to relieve and was just as effective at keeping us at bay.
I took over for Liam in the 4th, and I think I did alright, all things considered. They were flummoxed by the change up so I leaned heavy into that. Until they weren't, and they put a couple more runs up on the board. Thankfully, I was saved by the bell. Or the time limit more specifically, for the evening count. We only got 6 innings in, which was a bummer, but it was still great to play another game inside the walls.
Final score 8-5, SQ Giants.
Highlights
* Always a good time at the yard
* The wind was doing weird things, so many fly balls missed
* Gator made a couple of amazing catches in center field
* Mike N was not intimidated at all by Vic
* Mike L, who rarely faces hard throwing lefties, was :)
* Greg was the umpire and he was getting abused by both teams
* Arson did a great job behind the dish
