We came to the plate in the first wanting to set the tone for the game. Jim opened our offense with a single. Sharon and Bob F. followed with singles of their own and Billy Masson cleared the bases with his fourth homer in his last four at-bats to get the scoring started. John then singled, followed by singles from Sammy and Kathy. When it was time for us to play defense we played it well, allowing just 3 pairs of dirty sox to come to the plate. After just the first inning, the team was downing water and sweating profusely, but we had the lead at 5 - 0.
Bob O. started the second for us with a double and scored when Jim followed with his own double. Jim scored when Sharon singled but that was all we had for the second. When it was their turn, Dirty Sox managed to get on the scoreboard with one run and we took a 6-run lead to the third.
By this time the team was already wilting. Steve managed a single but he did it alone and we were quickly back on defense. They didn't fare much better in the fourth but did manage another run to cut our lead to 5 at 7 - 2.
We seemed to be somewhat rejuvenated in the fifth. Jim opened the inning with a single and Sharon followed Jim with her own single. Bob F. then nailed a double and Billy Masson and Sammy singled to get us 3 more runs and a comfortable lead. The comfort didn't last long, though, Maybe they'd been resting or holding back but they let loose in the bottom of the 5th. Batter after batter came to the plate, hit where we had difficulty completing plays, and scored. And all with 2 outs! By the time we got the third out they had scored 5 big runs, climbed back into the game, and got to within 3 runs of our lead at 10 - 7.
After the long defensive stint in the fifth the team was exhausted at the plate in the sixth and went 3-up, 3-down in a rare display of batting ineptitude. Fortunately, those Dirty Sox had worn themselves out on the bases in the fifth so they had no more 6th inning success than we did and we took our 3-run lead to the final inning.
It was 3-up, 3-down again for our side (did I mention it was hot?). When they came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh we knew what had to be done. They approached their last at-bats aggressively, with anyone who hit the ball running the bases with abandon. After they scored one to cut our lead, we looked to John on the mound to get us out of a deteriorating situation. And, just when they thought they had us down, we came back with some good defense and great pitching. The game ended with John's third or fourth strikeout to give us the victory at 10 - 8.
After the game the team couldn't wait to get back to the cooler for some liquid refreshment and a "cool down" period.
This was a tough game to play. Probably the hottest night we've ever spent on a softball field. Offensively, Jim & Sharon went 3 for 4, and Bob F., Billy Masson & Sammy went 2 for 3. John did an outstanding job on the mound, with 1-inning relief from Bob F. Bob o. and Sammy shared the duties behind the mask.
Special thanks to our fans for this game for braving the conditions to show their support. To Debbie and Paul Wilkowski, to John Devaney, who handled the first-base coaching duties for the game, and to Tony P., one of the Insulter's on Injured Reserve. And a special "Thanks!" to Jo Larson for handling the scorekeeping duties.
After the "wet down" at the cooler a large group of players and fans headed to a very crowded Palumbo's where we eventually got some pizza and beer. A good time despite the "power-outage-caused crowd".
This game marked the end of what seems like a very long first half of the season. After a somewhat shaky start the team has come roaring back, climbing steadily up the league standings. We take a very good 5 - 2 record to the season's second half.