The Titans were the visiting team, so they led off the first inning. They weren't able to do much at the plate and only put one run on the board. We doubled their score after a two-bagger by Rob and and a home run by Jimmy. John A. and Kathy both singled, but were left hanging and at the end of one, we led 2-1.

Inning two saw a tight defense hold them scoreless while our offense added one more run on a home run by Bob. Rob triple and Lisa got to first on a walk, but we weren't able to bring them around. The score was now 3-1.

After another defensive shutout in the top of the third, Jimmy fired up our offense with a triple. John A. doubled to score Jimmy and was moved to third when Kathy singled. Sammy then singled to score John A. and reached second when Liz drew a walk. We fizzled out right about here, but now led the game 5-1.

The Titans' bats got a bit more exercise this inning as they posted 2 runs. Not wanting to be outdone, we put two of our own on the board, thanks to doubles by Shannon and Jim, and singles from John A. and Kathy. The score after four innings of play was 7-3.

We gave up two more runs in the fifth, but made up for it and then some. Sammy led off with a single, but was forced out at second when Liz singled. Bob then walked, and Rob earned 3 RBIs with a deep home run. After a single by Shannon, Jimmy hit his second home run of the game, giving us two more runs and a total of five for the inning. We were now ahead 12-5 and feeling comfortable.

In the top of the sixth, the unthinkable happened. Their bats came suddenly alive and were finding all sorts of holes in our formerly impermeable defense. When they were finally done, they had racked up 9(!) runs to take the lead 14-12. It sure seemed to affect our composure at the plate, because for the only time in the game we went three-up, three-down.

Things quieted down for the Titans in the top of the seventh, as we got back on track and held them scoreless. The pressure was on as we neeeded two more runs at minimum to stay alive. Rob started our comeback with a long double. Lisa followed with a single, which naturally was all the room Rob needed to head on home. Shannon got on base with a single, then Jim blew his chance at hitting for the cycle by doubling and bringing in Lisa. Unfortunately, we left a few people stranded and weren't able to pull off an exciting crunch-time win, but we had tied the score at 14 and were now going into extra innings.

Sadly, things got bad quickly as the Titans scored 4 runs in the top of the eighth. Our offense managed a few hits, singles by Sammy and Bob, and a double from Rob, but nothing that produced any runs. After a hard-fought game, we were defeated 18-14.

This game, while disappointing, did have one important up side. It marked the return of John Alston to the mound! The long gap between seasons seemed to have no effect on him, as he went eight innings without a walk (with Lisa handling the catching duties) and was 5 for 5 at the plate! Rob and Jim were also 5 for 5, and Bob was 3 for 4 with a walk. A defensive tip of the hat to Lisa, whose catlike reflexes allowed her to catch a pop-up at the plate, and to John A. who posted two strikeouts. Special thanks to Melanie for handling the scorekeeping.

A mass exodus occured after the game, but a small group of us moved on to Palumbo's for pizza and beer. A great time as always.