Game Two vs T-Bolts

Game Two: Thursday 10th May
LSDs 8 T-Bolts 11 Top of the 7th
“Are you taking the piss or what?”

The T-Bolts weren’t taking too kindly to the sight before them. Having been relegated from the 1st Division last year, the established team were busily scrapping together a bare quorate whilst on the LSDs sideline the new team had gathered together 23, yep count them, 23 players and spectators for the second softball lesson of the season. It soon turned out that this weeks’ lesson was, communication.

One week on and nothing much had changed. The weather was cold, helped to that end by a nice head wind for the batters. We had replaced one American in the outfield with another and once again it started well. Despite my efforts on Tuesday, I let James lead off, he got to second, Hen moved him round to third through a base hit. Matt came up, and flyed out, Rachel C got out as usual to make it two down, don’t worry I did say it was a good start so hang in there! Well, after choking last week, took forth the confidence from 48 hours previously and hit a rightfield triple. Mitigating circumstances were that in right field was Catherine Philpott still two months into recovery from several broken ribs and collarbone courtesy of a skiing accident. Also, they only had eight other fielders, Chloe slapped one into leftfield, driving me home and along came Alex to tower a home run into leftfield, 5-0 at the top of the first. Then, that was it. As with last week, all our runs came in the first innings.

Sure we dribbled a couple of runs in, but whilst the boys kept leaving runners on base, we clocked up 7 fielders choices between us. Frustratingly the girls are still swinging without intent. They are crowding the plate not giving themselves the room to fully extend the arms or even step into the ball. To reduce the power even more of them are starting their back swing from their hips thus compounding the power shortage problems. So how many times are we going to have to tell these people? Those who get this game and play well are those who grasp the basics and grasp them sometime during their first summer. So at the moment we have four girls who have yet to get on base, three girls who can hit barely hit past the pitcher, and only three who can hit through or over the infield, and this only on an occasional basis. Ah but I remind myself again, are they a nice bunch? Well, yes so then diary shut the fuck up.

Despite this lack of offence it did however take five innings to squander our lead, T-Bolts were kind enough to play to our infield strengths, the short stop and third base partnership is beginning to work well. One particular fine piece of team work was when Matt and James converged on the same ball, James fielded, Matt stopped, James bounced off Matt’s stomach and then threw to first carried by the rebounding momentum. Chloe kept on catching everything her way and I even got four strike outs, two put outs and a couple of assists. Alas Hayley B had a nightmare on two, making four errors, not that I was counting, ‘Debs’ was doing that.

Ah yes, Debs. After last weeks nightmare performance I needed to concentrate on playing my game rather than everyone else’s. To that end, it was time therefore to temporarily hand over responsibility Personally it worked a treat, four hits at four at bats, three RBI’s, and I pitched well enough to contain the T-Bolts to within touching distance all game and generally relaxed. It however, was at the expense of some sensational ego clashing between Debs and Andrew, this weeks’ American outfielder. I had asked Debs and Andrew to sort the outfield into something resembling a defence. I laid down diagrams, spending a couple of train journeys placing ‘clip art’ pictures of softball gloves on a simulated diamond, which without a mouse was bloody difficult. A phrase that aptly summed up the relationship between Debs and Andrew, which would have been fine if it wasn’t shouted over 150 plus feet. You had to feel sorry for Alex and Wendy, I would have also included Hen, but as she admitted herself, she was totally oblivious to the whole saga, match and very much else that night too.

Andrew wanted to play shallow about 175 feet maximum, a policy which I do agree with, and if it wasn’t for an unfortunate errors from Alex and Hen which cost us 5 runs, it was a policy that would have kept us in the game. I mean we even got outs in the outfield. Debs was too cautious and based everything on the batters reputations. I have to say I thought it was all rather amusing, but a few of the newbies were a little perturbed by what was going around them, especially so Wendy, who asked me to have a word.

I had my own beef having got annoyed that having provided a large sheet of names, that these did not make the score sheet, Debs didn’t know you could add more subs on the back, I didn’t know she didn’t know. So I had 23 people and only could use 14, so, when Matt had to go home at 7.30pm, something else I didn’t know, we had to bring in Jamie who had managed to hurt himself in warming up and keep Mark on the sidelines. It took about a match and four fifths, but yes surprise, surprise I exclaimed a few words of verbal frustration mainly with myself for not checking everything out. My first temper tantrum of 2005, Debs got all hormonal until I explained what I was upset about.

Then at the top of the seventh we went to the ‘attitude’ corner, Hayley who was arming her new found critic with some more ammunition, managed to hit an illegal pitch to affect an easy double play. The ease somewhat aided by the fact that Hayley was not only oblivious to the fact that hitting an ‘illegal’ pitch made it all nice and legal. (Yes at this point I would blame the coach for what happened, but come on I have had enough trouble teaching them to look the right way when at bat, there just ain’t enough time).

Hayley was also oblivious to the vocal exhortations of Debs base coaching first to run!, run !!!, Hayley, run!!!!! She made about four bewildered steps towards first before the ball thudded into first bases mitt. As the discussion raged across 70 odd feet you just knew that when Hayley went into the sanctuary of our sideline gathering, she wasn’t telling everybody how right Debs was.

So at the end of the game, whilst I was discussing with the umpire about the 150 foot rule and his inability to enforce it, I got back to the clubhouse to learn that the following alleged flouncing took place.

Debs and Alex flounced off annoyed with Hayley. Andrew flounced off because of Debs and Hayley and her partners in strop had flounced off in the other direction annoyed with Debs. With James dashing home due to wife’s illness, Jamie going to get some ice on his arm and Matt already departed, we were the only team that only had 14 left in the bar, still the biggest and loudest contingent.