Temperatures reached an unseasonable high, into the low 90’s today, as our softball team hosted the team from Division 6.  Division 87 lost both ends of the double-header by scores of 13-9 and 9-8. 

Going into this game, our guys knew they were playing a pretty good team.  Not wanting to diminish the quality of Division 6, as they were real good.  But, more than half the runs they scored were as a result of dropped balls, bad throws or otherwise uncharacteristically bad defensive play by the Division 87 team.  I’m not sure if it was the heat or not, but we just didn’t play like we’ve all grown accustomed to seeing our guys play.  Nobody was more frustrated than Obie, who through it all, continued to encourage the guys in the field, as well as at the plate.

After falling behind in the first game and getting nothing at the plate in the first couple of innings, Division 87’s bats came alive, as the team caught their opponents and even led a couple of times in the first game.  It was a very good game to watch, the bad fielding notwithstanding.  In the end, Division 6 hit a late game rally to pull too far ahead and our guys came up 4 runs short.

The second game got off to a horrible start, with booted balls and bad throws.  Before you could blink, we were down 7-0.  But, as usual, the Division 87 team rose to the challenge, battling back from a seemingly insurmountable deficit to get within 1 run in the top of the 7th inning.  With runners at second and third, with two outs, in a 9-8 contest, the last Division 87 batter got two strikes on him before lining one down the right field line.  The outfielder made a break for it and laid out just enough to make a diving catch.  It wouldn’t have mattered much if he didn’t catch the ball, because with 2 strikes on a batter, a foul ball becomes an out.  The ball was clearly caught in foul territory, but the incredible catch sort of summed up how this day went for our guys in green.

This team is fun to watch.  If you haven’t seen them play yet, come out next Sunday at 1:30pm to see them play Division 61 at Holme Ave and Academy Road.  To see pictures from this game, click here.  We hope to see you next week.