softball
Softball 2008!
Last night was the start to our church league softball season. For most of the day it looked like we might not even play a game; the weather was quite nasty in the morning, with near-freezing temperatures, strong wind, and sleet. But the bitter morning gave way to a merely blustery evening, and so we made our way out to Noelridge Park to another season like the rest, save that this time we were bundled in multiple layers of shirts, sweats, and stocking caps.
Looks like we might have a good team this year. We’ve added a few new guys (and one older guy) from Noelridge who have skills, a catcher who managed to catch a foul fly for an out in her first-ever game (hi Bridget!) and our defense looks passable. I switched around from my usual third base last night to play first, and that worked out just fine. Not a lot of action, but managed to catch everything and make one stretch to get a bang-bang double play called our way.
In theory we’re starting up another league on Friday night with some folks from work, but right now the forecast says rain on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday… so I guess we’ll see. Sure is fun to get back to playing softball.
Softball 2007
One of my very first posts on my blog was about softball; hard to believe that’s been two years ago. But yesterday night we started up the church softball season for another year. It was a beautiful night; the day was hot (at least, hot for April in Iowa) - it got close to 90 degrees in the afternoon. But by evening the breeze was blowing and the temps had cooled; what a great night for softball!
The first game of the year is always a bit of an adventure, seeing who will show up and how the team will fill out. To be sure, we have some regulars in their places; Nate at shortstop, Becky pitching, me at third, Shaun in left. But there’s always a new guy or two you pick up who really help you out. This year it looks like we’ve got two of them: Joel out in center field, and Nick at first. (It does this infielder’s heart good to have a tall, left-handed first-baseman to throw to.)
Last night we played against one of the teams from New Covenant. It was the typical back-and-forth game; we were behind by a few runs, but then made a comeback as time was running out; I had a two-out, two-run single to tie up the game. It wasn’t all heroics for me, though - I failed to tag up and advance on a base running play the inning before that would’ve given us another run. :-( Oh well, one game at a time.
After playing the 6:00 game, I umped the 7:00 game. I actually really enjoy umping softball games, and it’s something that I’ve improved on quite a bit over the past few years. It drives me nuts, though, that even in our C-league church league softball there are guys who will yell at the ump during the game for calls they don’t like. Come on, guys. It’s just a game. It’s not worth it. (I know, I know - I better get used to it if I want to keep umping games. :-))
The church softball season runs through July and into early August. It definitely gives me something to look forward to on Monday nights.
Softball as it was meant to be
Monday night was our second church softball game of the year, and it was beautiful. We were afraid the rain was going to keep us from playing, but it held off until just after we finished. The night was perfect, we had enough players, and we played solid the whole game. We got hits when we needed them, even our weakest players drew some walks, came around and scored, and I managed a couple good defensive plays at third base. This reminds me why I enjoy softball so much - the fun with friends, a good competitive game…. what a blessing, and good times.