Blues: 6, Fuel: 11

Some days are better than others. It's just a fact. Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say that May 11th could have been better for the Blues. The sky was overcast, the temperature unseasonably low, and worst of all, Fuel wasn't in the mood to roll over and hand Oxford it's third win of 2010.

Instead, they dropped the ball into gaps in left and center field, shouted encouragement to speedy baserunners, and then watched the Blues pop out at the plate, one batter after another. Not a pretty picture for fans of the blue and white. No photos were taken at the game on North Meadow, so I've posted an inspirational image from the 2006 Season, when the Blues were an occasional force to be reckoned with. That's former coach Kyle "Crazy Legs" Taylor pictured above, demonstrating a proper swing.

Following the upset, most of the team sauntered down to Jake's for cheap beer and nachos, the typical meal for depressed athletes. Beer pong was played, nicknames for Taylor "T-Bag" Pilkington were debated, and the waitress tried (unsuccessfully) to get Ozzi to drink a sweet tea vodka shot, but in general it was a tame night, even for a Tuesday. One coach left early. Fortunately, more good news will be appearing on this site very soon.

Blues: 4, Clarion Lions: 15

Britt Daniel knows a thing or two about pithy lyrics (see, for example, "The Underdog"). He and his band Spoon also recovered from a disappointing setback early in their promising musical career. I mention this because Oxford suffered a tough loss in their third game last month. And after a pair of wins to start off the season, they could probably use some inspiration.

Turning up in Central Park without a full roster, the ING Clarion Lions nonetheless pounded out an impressive 15 runs against a defense that had given up less in the previous two games combined. The Lions hit with power, ran with speed, and held the Blues to just four runs in seven innings. Taylor's solo homer offered a brief glimmer of hope at the top of the third, but as the sun set over the Great Lawn the Oxford bats fell silent for good.

Jake's stepped in to ease their troubles afterwards, even on a Friday night. Although the Blues eventually claimed and held their place at the table, a long line of college kids meant that Jared and Rae had to wait to defend their beer pong title. Rae did her best to school the rookies, but Taylor and Dave held their ground and ended up winning. And winning again. Jared, who many assumed would be the secret weapon in the highly-anticipated doubles match up, was left to paparazzi duty the rest of the night.

Unfortunately for the Blues, Game Three would be the last for Rachael, a veteran catcher and right fielder who had played with more confidence since spring training. Apparently she was powerless against the siren's call of Kansas City. To be fair, it's not easy to think of another urban area with good barbecue and top-notch jazz. We wish her luck and hope to see her at this year's banquet. As for the rest of the team, to quote Mr. Daniel, "it can't all be wedding cake, it can't all be boiled away," but underdogs will survive.

Pirates: 7, Blues: 3

Fortunately for the Blues, June's wet weather finally took a night off last Tuesday. Unfortunately, the Pirates came to play, defeating an Oxford team that fought hard, but ultimately lost after seven innings on North Meadow's Field Seven. Both sides scored one run in the first inning, but the team in gray slowly pulled away by adding more points in the third, fourth, and fifth.

On the heels of an extremely tough loss the week before, the Blues showed real signs of improvement on defense, and yet their bats never quite came alive. Once again, Elyse demonstrated her speed and agility in right center, while both Ozzi and Andy made big catches deep in left field, preventing the Pirates from doing more damage than they surely wanted to at the plate.

After their defeat, the Blues passed on the chance for a scuffle, heading instead to Jake's to celebrate a birthday and replenish lost calories. In a nod to tradition, they indulged in Buck Hunter, multiple beer pong matches, at least three orders of wings, and two rounds of shots for a coach who hadn't planned to begin celebrating so early in the week. Photo evidence of the evening's highlights both on and off the field can be viewed here.

Blues: 9, Fuel: 10

Everybody likes winning streaks. Impressive to behold and quite difficult to maintain, they are something that many teams aspire to and few achieve. Last Thursday night, on Manhattan's Upper West Side... Rae and Wright added two more wins to their beer pong record and doing so, extended a streak that stretches back to last season. The Blues, alas, were toppled by Fuel at the bottom of the seventh inning after rallying to break a 6-6 tie.

The last time these two teams met—back in the spring of 2006—the Blues left the field with heads held high, but it appears as if some rebuilding and favorable draft picks produced a more competitive opponent three years down the road. Their win did not come easily however. The Blues put the first point on the board, fell behind early on, tied the game at the top of the fifth, and took a 9-6 lead in the seventh. Rob went 3 for 4 at the plate (not half bad for a pitcher), Ozzi delivered a pair of RBIs, and Brian demonstrated the fundamentals of excellent baserunning with a textbook slide into third.

In spite of a couple of missed outs, the defense did their part too, holding Fuel to two consecutive scoreless innings. Ebin snagged a shot that came screaming down the first baseline, Dayne made a tough grab at right center, and, in a moment that will surely go down in the annals of softball, Andy and Robert pulled off an exceptional double play to escape a bases-loaded, no outs jam. Certainly a much closer contest than last season's Game Three.

Jake's cheap pitchers proved once again to be the salve that mends all wounds. Click on this handy link to see Rae's photo recap of the night.

Blues: 5, CSTV Slammers: 13

According to my copy of the Oxford English Reference Dictionary, progress can be defined as noun that means "development towards completion, betterment, etc.; improvement." And so, while I must sadly report of their loss to the CSTV Slammers on the lush lawn of the North Meadow, the Blues nonetheless personified this word last Thursday night in Central Park.

With six players donning jerseys for their first appearance of the 2009 season and a vacant infield position necessitating a move to shortstop for Hurley, the defense started off a bit shaky on Field #7. The top of the CSTV lineup didn't make things any easier either, rocketing Robert's pitches deep into the outfield, and in one case, clear into Field #8. The Blues weren't about to roll over and play dead however--quick reflexes from Michelle at second, and Ebin (that's his "magical glove" pictured above) in left field kept opposing batters to singles if they even reached a base at all. In fact, the Blues held the Slammers scoreless on multiple innings.

As predicted, the offense came alive in Game 2. Joe C., Michelle, and Ozzi each drove in RBIs to keep the heat on and the score close. Plus, except for an incident that may have involved some obstruction from a certain third baseman, the base coaches made sure that anyone with a chance to cross home plate knew when to run and when to wait. Unfortunately, Jared took the night off and no one in attendance had a functioning camera with them, so Ebin's photos from our last team practice will have to suffice this week.

After the game, a few new spectators joined most of the team at softball's home away from home on Amsterdam Avenue: Jake's Dilemma. The $10 pitcher of shots was somehow avoided--this time at least--and bleu cheese shooters didn't prove nearly as alluring to the dumb and daring, but in true Blue fashion, one competitor couldn't resist a beer pong challenge from Jake's charming clientele. Finally, let the record show that Rae does not have a bacon cold, and Ninell will drink an entire beer after our next game.

Coach: 10, Oxford Blues 8

The Oxford Softball Blues finished their last game of the year on Monday evening with a close loss to Coach. The team started out strong by giving up only one hit in the first inning and putting the pressure on Coach right away. The Blues suffered a few errors and base running mistakes in the middle innings but were able to work around them. Overall, the defensive effort had a much crisper feel than games of the past. Relays from the outfield were on target and infield throws to first were sharp and confident.

The Oxford offense kept their bats level and racked up their hits with proper placement. In the bottom of the seventh inning they cut the Coach lead down to two runs and loaded the bases to give the team something to cheer for. The Blues also riled up Coach's comically intense captain we will refer to as Mr. "Two Dead!". The rally fell a little short but it was an exciting and tense end to the season.

Looking back, the game sort of served as a microcosm of the entire season. It started a little sloppy, we got it together and played tough after we settled down, there were a couple of heartbreaking moments, but in the end even though we lost we went out on a high note.

The Blues went to Jake's after the game to complete their perfect 12-0 season record of going out after every game this year. It's a record that the entire team and fan base should be proud of. Although the official record of 1-11 isn't that impressive, it should be noted that the team lost five of the eleven games by 3 runs or less.

The team took it up a notch for the season finale post game celebration. There were blue cheese shooters, beer pong battles, dancing, a boiler maker, and multiple rounds of Goldschlager.

With the 2008 regular season in the book, the Blues will now begin mental and physical preparations for the blowout that will be the 4th Annual Oxford Blues Softball Banquet at the Astoria Beer Garden on August 15th.

Michelle's pics from Jake's can be found here. Click on the photo above for a link to Jared's photos (which include a few from Friday's game).

Oxford Blues: 11, Telerep: 17

Jared sent around a link to his always impressive photos from Thursday's game which included a succinct recap of the game.

Game 9

Through inning 5, a win. Considering that a fair amount of our games this season were over by inning 5, that's pretty confident play. But then in the 6th, Telerep found some holes and bust the game open. Final score, 11-17. I showed up late, and it's a sore memory anyway, so I've minimized game photos and maximized Jake's photos. Typical Blues bollocks, for hours & hours.

That sums it up pretty well. We continued to hit well as a team with the bottom of the lineup extending many rallies. Our defense improved since last week and was able to convert more of the "easy outs". There is still room to improve though and it seems like some extra chatter on the field might help everyone focus so that will be the goal for this week.

Here are a few of my photos before my camera died and also a great batch from Michelle.

Game 10 is Tuesday night at Chelsea Park at 5:30pm.

Oxford Blues: 17, Pirates: 19

The Blues had their game faces on (see above photo) for Wednesday's game but the Pirates' narrowly won the shootout. They scored 19 runs, same as last year, to topple the Blues 19 to 17. The Blues were also racking up the hits and scored 10 more runs than they did last year against the Pirates. They scored in every inning but one to make it a compelling back-and-forth game.

In the top of the sixth inning the Oxford Blues scored five runs when they needed them most to tie up the game at 15 all. The Pirates went on to score four runs in the bottom half of the inning though to take the lead. The Blues threatened in the top of the seventh but only scored two runs to end the game.

The bats are hot and the Blues haven't scored that many runs since last June, 16 games ago. The fielding was a little shaky but that's easier to work on and will hopefully come together for the next game against Telerep on Thursday.

The team hit up the usual haunt and got in some good Buck Hunter/Beer Pong/Foosball action. Here are the pics with a few captions.

KT's photos

Rae Rae's photos

Michelle photos

P.S. Brian's contribution of "Chelly Chell" as a possible nickname for Michelle reminds me that we really need to work on making sure that everyone has a nickname. That could be the inspiration that pushes us back into winning territory.

Oxford Blues: 12, Scripps: 10

After enduring some close losses in the last few weeks, the Oxford Blues earned their first win of the season on Monday night in Central Park. The forecasted rain did not arrive and the Blues put together an exciting come-from-behind victory to take down Scripps (media company that includes Food Network and HGTV).

The game got off to an even start with both teams trading runs to keep the score tied 4-4 after three and a half innings. In the bottom of the fourth inning, good hitting by Scripps allowed them to take a 9-4 lead. With their backs against the wall, the Oxford offense focused on simple base hits and were able to string together 8 runs over the next three innings.

At the same time, the Blues buckled down on defense. They allowed just one more run in the fifth inning. Then, with all of the pressure on them in the bottom of the seventh (and final) inning, they were able to protect a two-run lead by retiring the Scripps batters in order: one, two, three.

The victory was a true team effort and after the game the team carried the celebration to Jake's Dilemma on the UWS for some libations. For pictures of the game click here or on the photo above.

Next week, the Blues take on the Pirates on Wednesday at 5:30pm in the North Meadow of Central Park. Come cheer them on to another win.

SG Bank: 10, Oxford Blues: 2

The Blues were more successful at having a good time at Jake's Dilemma last night than they were at home plate. That's not to say that the Blues were bad. The last two games have just raised the bar of expectations so that now the team will settle for nothing less than victory.

Even though we took a loss, it was apparent just how far our team has come in the last month. It was only three games ago that we were beat 30 to 8 in three and a half innings on the same field in the North Meadow. At that point we would have loved to keep the score close for a full seven inning game. Last night, we did just that but were still dissapointed. This could mark a real turning point for the team. No longer out to just keep the score close, we want a win! Monday will be a great opportunity for that win as we square off against Scripps, a team with only two wins since the beginning of last season.

As for our hitting, it was obvious that the Blues meakness at the plate had more to do with the opposing pitcher than any team slump. Other than Dan "Wizard of" Ozzi, who had a homerun and a single, the team was kept off balance by the SG pitcher's ability to mix up the speed of his pitches. We were also missing some extra thump in the lineup usually afforded by Ned and Joe C. *Injury Update* Joe C is hoping to come off of the DL in time for our game on July 2nd.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Blues put on a good performance. Rob was able to entice a ton of fly balls from SG Bank's mammoth hitters. While Brian Hurley again played a great left field and was able to track them down.

For some great pictures from the game and post game activities, click the photo above. Blues fan Tim Sachs even makes a cameo.

Oxford Blues: 8, Diller's Killer's: 11

(click picture for game & beer pong photos)

After two rainouts and lots of disappointed softball players, the Blues finally played a game 4. Their patience was rewarded by a brilliant sunshiny day on the Great Lawn, surrounded by sunbathers and Frisbee players the ump tried to scare away with powerful flyballs (it didn’t work). But despite the interference of the crowd, the Blues played an amazing game!

They came out strong, scoring 2 runs in the first and shutting down Diller’s Killers. It was a rough 2nd inning for the Blues, when they allowed 7 runs to score, but that would be the last of the runs until the 6th. Robert “The Rocket” Repino shut down the Diller’s Killers for 3 straight innings. He was backed by an impeccable defense, most notably Michelle who was knocked off her feet after catching a ball at second, but still managed to hold onto the ball and get the out (see Jared’s action shot of this). In the meantime, the Blues put up 6 more runs, with most of them coming from Ned’s HR’s. It came down to the top of the 6th with the Blues up by one. Unfortunately, the Diller’s Killers staged a comeback and scored 3. The ump shut the game down after the 6th to allow the next game to begin, so the Blues were denied a chance at a comeback.

But they left the field with their heads held high, knowing that they played a solid game and feeling that things were finally coming together. They moved on to Jake’s Dilemma for well-earned cold pitchers of beer and some friendly games of beer pong.

Next game is Thursday. Now that the Blues can taste a win, there’s no stopping ‘em!

--Tanya, coach for a day

Oxford Blues: 8, EBG Bees: 30

The loud mouthed "lawyers" busted out the whooping stick yesterday. The EBG Bees were on fire and even though they only hit a few balls that went over our heads, they still pounded out 30 runs in just three innings. The Blues once again had a nice two out rally though, this time at the top of the third inning. It's become a nice trend through the first few games of the season.

After the game we went to Jake's Dilemma for drink specials, wings, fries, and onion rings. We took out our competitive frustrations with foosball games and a Buck Hunter tournament. (Note: Ned Sears wanted to point out that we actually played the updated 'Big Buck Safari' version and not the traditional 'Buck Hunter' version that he was raised on)