Notes for Game 09
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Game date: Aug 21, 2013

Score Box
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7   R H HR
Verdasys
6 1 2 0 0 0 4   13 19 2
Bay Financial
0 1 2 0 5 6 X   14 X 1
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Stats from the Game
Scorebook

Coach’s Game Analysis:

Weather and Field Conditions:
Sunny, few clouds. High 87. Slight wind blowing into LCF. Infield had been worked on during the weekend, so it was level. However, the dirt had a texture similar to flour, making the infield soft and loose. The wind blew around any dirt that was kicked up, producing dust clouds. Had the dirt been sprayed with water, it might not have been that bad.

Coach’s Analysis:
Team built an early lead and then became complacent. B.F. pecked-away and retook the lead. Team tried to rally back, but it was too late.

Offense:
 - Offense got off to a good start, but got complacent in the middle of the game. 12 batters were retired in a row, which led to 3 quick scoreless innings. Rallied at end of game, but it was not enough to compensate.
 - Experimented with a "top heavy" batting line-up, where the better hitters were placed towards the top of the line-up. Yielded inconclusive results.

Defense:
 - Team was without the following starters: SS Raschi, 1B Spears, OF Cottam, OF Kelley. Placed Godwin at 1B and Cooles at SS.
 - Overall, defense played great first 4 2/3 innings. Cooles had no trouble with line drives to SS.
 - McCauley and Cooles had trouble with grounders between SS and 3B, especially one-hop grounders.
 - Team had trouble fielding balls in the 5th and 6th innings. Not sure why. Could have been more grounders to SS and 3B and hits into the shallow part of CF.

Opponent:
A handful of players on the Bay Financial bench exhibited questionable sportsmanship by talking trash throughout the game. (Possibly instigated by a single person of their team.) Apparently, those players had some serious discontent with their losing season and took it out on Verdasys. Of course, their comments toned down when they started winning. Otherwise, their team played hard and became aggressive towards the end of the game. One of their woman players was able to hit the ball into mid CF.

The team was observed bending some of the league rules:
 - B.F. had at least 2 high school players on their team. (Minimum age for most adult Co-ed softball leagues is 18.)
 - A player was asked NOT to use a baseball bat during the game. Player ignored us and continued to use it, possibly putting players on our team at risk.
 - One of the team's pitchers abandoned the slow-pitch arch style of pitching and went with a faster “flat” pitch. Though legal, such pitches can lead to hard line-drive, endangering the infielders and the pitcher himself. (This is slow-pitch league, so pitch accordingly.)
 - A batter was observed stepping out of the batter's box during a hit. He did this so he could face RF and drive the ball into that direction. Batter could have been called out. (Typically not called, especially if the batter is inexperienced.)

Rule Clarifications:
 - B.F. argued for a “dead ball” rule whenever a ball hit the fence. There is no such rule in this league, and agreeing to one before the game is optional. 2 teams did agree that overthrows to 1B that hit fence will count as dead balls. (Which is what most teams in the league prefer.)
  
 - Claffey made a hard slide into 2B with the SS standing in the middle of the bag. Whether or not he made contact with the fielder was difficult to determine because of the dust cloud that formed from the slide. However, the fielder did not give Claffey a lane which to slide into. Arguing that runner should be out due to contact is moot. (1st)
  
 - While Jon was trying to score on his 2nd ITP HR, a potential play to home formed. A B.F. fielder was positioned in the baseline between 3B and home plate. Fielder could be called for obstruction because fielder did not offer runner a safe lane to the plate. End result could have been a collision, or a base runner that hesitated in scoring to avoid a collision. Jon scored anyways, so argument is moot. (3rd)
  
 -  Delivering a pitch that is "flat" is NOT illegal. However, such pitches are easier to hit and tend to be tossed at a faster speed. Balls hit from such pitches result in hard line drives, which can be dangerous to the infielders, and the pitcher. Though there is no such requirement in this league, most leagues have a minimum arch height requirement of 6 feet.


Game Highlights:

Memorable Events:
 - Media team used 3 HD video cameras, a high-end mic and a high-end still camera to capture the game.
 - First time Russ played in a game all season. Played 1B in the 6th inning. Required a pitch-runner whenever he reached base.
 - After getting erased at 2B on a Steph grounder, A-WOL played dead on the field for about a minute. Got a nice dirt stain on his back. (2nd)
 - After hitting a ball into CF, the B.F. batter-runner tries to stretch this hit into a double. A-WOL retrieves the ball and fires it to Cooles standing near 2B. Cooles then charges toward the player to apply the tag. As the batter-runner approaches 2B, he either slips or slides into 2B prematurely. Not expecting the batter-runner to be on the ground, Cooles trips over the player, but applies the tag for the out. A-WOL is credit with an outfield assist. (2nd)
 - Despite injuries to his arm and leg, Russell Rick went 2 for 2 (SAC) in his first game back with the team this season.

Memorable Dialog:
 - “It’s been more than 10 minutes. They should have to forfeit.” Comment made by a B.F. player after negotiations about ground rules took some time to reach agreement.
 - “I’m not having fun!” That is what a player on the B.F. bench shouted after their team failed to negotiate a “dead ball” ground rule that they preferred.
 - "This is so much fun so far. Everyone is enjoying themselves." Comment made by someone on the B.F. bench after a close play at 1B was successfully argued in Stephanie's favor. (1st inning.)
 - “Why don’t you get thicker glasses so you can see better.” A mean comment made by a B.F. player after Yo misplayed an A-WOL flair hit into shallow CF. (2nd.)

Offense:
Jon:2 for 3 (3-run ITP HR, solo ITP HR) with 2 run and 4 RBIs.
Claffey:3 for 3 (2-2B) with 3 runs, 1 RBI and a base taken.
McCauley:2 for 2 (2B, 3B, SAC) with 2 runs and 3 RBIs.

Defense:
Verdasys:1-2-3 inning. (1st)
Bay Fin:Double play on a Lucy grounder. (1st)
B.F. SS:Leaping catch of a Tim N. line-drive. (2nd)
Cooles:Running catch of a B.F. infield flair to end the inning. (2nd)
A-WOL:9-6 outfield assist to Cooles at 2B to tag-out an advancing base runner. (2nd)
B.F. CF:Running catch of a Godwin fly ball into CF to retire the side. (3rd)
Lucy:Stopped a line-drive to 2B, recovered ball and tagged 2B in time for a force out to end the inning. (3rd)
Godwin:Running catch of a foul ball along the fence near 1B. (4th)
Jon:Running catch of a short fly ball into LF. (5th)
Cooles:Multiple line-drive snags at SS.
Bay Fin:Retired 12 Verdasys batters in a row, including three 1-2-3 innings.

Milestones:
 - Jon hit 2 ITP HRs. 3rd player in club history with a multi-HR game. (Raschi and Claffey being the other two.)
 - B.F. retired 12 Verdasys batters in a row, which is a Verdasys franchise worse.
 - The team ends their winning streak at 5 games, which is a franchise record.
 - The team ends their OTF HR streak at 5 games.
 - The team ends the season with a 7-2 record, with is a franchise best.

Injuries:
 - A pitcher for B.F. was hit by a line drive. He walked it off. NOTE: pitch looked flat. (2nd)
 - Godwin re-aggravated the leg injury he suffered in Game 6 rounding the bases in the 7th.
 - The B.F. SS dislocated his right shoulder in the 7th inning while trying to field a grounder. It appears that the player may have slipped on the dirt trying to field the ball, and fell directly on said shoulder. The player is said to have a history of issues with that shoulder, requiring surgery on it at one point. The Verdasys team would like to extend their best wishes and a speedy recovery to the injured player.


A-WOL Watch:

Offense:
2 for 3, with a run and an RBI. Used league sanctioned long bat.
 - Single past 2B. Advanced on Steph’s single. Scored on Jon’s ITP HR.
 - Line-drive hit into shallow CF. Yo was forced-out at 2B because she ran to 2B far too late. (I was at 1B before she ran.) Tagged-out trying to take 2B on Steph’s grounder. Played dead near 2B after the play.
 - Pop-up to 1B. (Boooo!) Was trying to hit ball into RF.

Defense:
Started RCF. 3 touches. Had to sit out 6th inning to rest due to preexisting gluteal muscle injury.
 - Caught a force-out to 2B from SS.
 - Fielded a ball into shallow RCF. Threw it in to Cooles covering 2B. Ball went left a little. He fielded the ball ahead of runner. Runner slipped, making it easy to tag him out.
 - Misfielded a routine fly-ball to RCF, causing it to nip the top of my glove. Failed to call ball. Is possible I mis-positioned myself to catch the ball because a breeze pulled it to my right as it got closer.

Epiphany:
 - Whenever a team is struggling during a game, the players need take a step back and focus onto the fundamentals. Doing so will give them a reliable means of getting back on track. Otherwise, the team will have to rely on "heroics", which can lead to disaster.

Andy Wolan is a reporter and photographer for Verdasys Softball. This story was not subject to the approval of the league or its clubs.