The Softblog

Game 3 was a drastic change from Games 1 and 2. While prior games had been characterized by their offense, Game 3 was all about defense. The line up for the Away team was Allan, Amy, Andrew, Chae, Chuck, Cory, Dan, Ethan, Katie, and Kelli. For the Home team there was Chris, Jack, Jed, Lauren, Matt, Nate, Nikki, Sharon, Tellef, Derrik, and Jeff.

The away team loaded the bases with two outs in the first, but Chris’s diving effort to force Chuck out at third held them to just one run. Lauren drove in Chris to help the home team answer with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning.

But Andrew’s pitching set the home team down in order in the second and third, and first baseman Cory’s reflexes on Nate’s line drive prevented them from scoring in the fourth too. Meanwhile, the away team plated four runs in the second thanks to contributions from the ladies: Katie, Kelli, and Amy, each driving in a run. They would add one more in each of the third and fourth innings to give themselves a comfortable 7-1 cushion.

But bringing Jeff in to pitch the fifth in relief of the struggling Nate proved a good move, as he kept the away team off the board in that inning, allowing his team the opportunity to come back, scoring four runs in the bottom of the inning thanks to a three-run single by Jack, scoring Derrik, Jeff, and Chris!

The sixth and seventh inning saw three more runs for the away team, bring them up to a 10-6  lead. Their fielding skills were too much for the home team, with a spectacular double play to get the first two outs in the bottom of the sixth. The home team was able to get a run in the seventh thanks to a double by Derrik and some amazingly aggressive pinch running by Nate for the injured Tellef.

Due to the stellar defense on both teams, the game was extended to 9 innings! The game had gone by so fast and everyone wanted another shot at the plate. But nothing could be done to stifle the away team who kicked off the eighth with a home run by Chuck and adding five runs to their lead. The home team answered with four runs of their own and were pretty confident they had a chance going into the ninth.

After three more batted in for the away team the score was now 18-10. The hopeful home team was shut down completely with amazing plays by Ethan, Chuck, and Andrew to finalize the score at 18-10. All were ready for drinks and merriment!