After playing a polite Game 5 against Fuel in Central Park, allowing their opponents to drop softballs into shallow left field, the Blues got serious last week. Taking the field on Randall's Island with a ten person squad, they fought back from a two run deficit in the first inning to prevail over RGI in six innings. A big thanks to ARTstormer Lucy for her help in right. Besides filling in on short notice, she contributed no less than two runs to the victory.
On defense the Blues got better as the game went on. After giving up four runs early on, they held RGI to just two more for the second half of the contest. Brian, stepping up to cover third base, channeled Ebin's magic glove and snagged a line drive, only to toss it to Taylor for an impressive double play. In center field, Ozzi robbed the team in black of another hit with a sliding grab, and quick thinking from Elyse in right and Michelle at second led to another clutch play when Robert tagged out a runner rounding third.
Once they warmed up at the plate, the Blues also came alive on offense. Patience at bat led to more baserunners, and errors from RGI turned singles into doubles and doubles into triples. With nearly everyone making contact with the ball, all of those runners had to go somewhere, and most of the time, they were able to get home. Taylor, too, somehow managed to score, in spite of getting caught in a rundown. Eight runs in the fifth inning finally gave Oxford a lead they could hold, and, as luck would have it, a walk in the sixth with the bases loaded resulted in their third win of the 2010 season.
Following the game a few Blues (too few, to be honest) ended up at the Subway Inn, swanky Midtown's finest dive bar. Here, debate raged about Taylor "Pilk" Pilkington's nickname, but the assembled Blues failed to reach a consensus, even after three rounds of beer. Shocking. And although he was spotted at the bar earlier in the evening, celebrations ended before anyone thought to order an 18 year single malt for Eddie Kay Thomas.
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.
After playing a polite Game 5 against Fuel in Central Park, allowing their opponents to drop softballs into shallow left field, the Blues got serious last week. Taking the field on Randall's Island with a ten person squad, they fought back from a two run deficit in the first inning to prevail over RGI in six innings. A big thanks to ARTstormer Lucy for her help in right. Besides filling in on short notice, she contributed no less than two runs to the victory.
