Between fundraising and Spring break, it had been a month since TFS was on the field competing as a team. I promised myself when I agreed to start writing this blog that I wasn’t going to make excuses and I was going to do my best to avoid any “yellow” journalism. That being said, I want to point out that the team started off on Saturday without either of their starting pitchers. One of whom is limited to the amount of time spent in the circle due to injuries and the other of whom is out for a total of six weeks. The 18U team was kind enough to loan us one of their players who also pitches and is eligible to play 14U. Thanks Sara! Our hats are off to you for coming out to play! So, now that I am finished not making excuses, let’s get to the facts. I do believe it is necessary to add a brief disclaimer at this point. The statistics regarding hits and errors are based on the records kept by this author and are not from the official scorebook. Therefore, if anyone reading this disagrees with my assessment, DO NOT pester the coach. Anyone is more than welcome to express their opinion directly to me J.
TFS started off the weekend facing a strong hitting Chatham Elite. The Elite did a fantastic job of waking up TFS and letting them know where the cobwebs were. TFS lost this first game 4 to 11. On offense, the only hit of the game came from Cyndi and on defense, TFS made six errors.
TFS went straight from this game into the next pool game against the Diamond Thunder 94. I believe the glass is “half full” so I will say this game was an improvement. TFS lost 2 to 8. However, Dara Mac pitching only allowed two hits and the defense made five errors as compared to the six in the previous game. Offensively, TFS was led by Cyndi and Lizzy who each hit doubles and Amanda who hit a single.
With pool play out of the way, TFS had several hours to regroup, re-energize and reflect. The brackets were already set by blind draw so the pool games presented the ideal opportunity for the girls to get the kinks worked out. The first bracket game was against the Carolina Stingers 94. The TFS defense was definitely kicking it into gear. After five innings, they allowed only two errors (a definite improvement) and Jaimee “Killa” pitching only allowed two hits and racked up a total of 10 strike-outs. Offensively, TFS had five hits with three coming from always speedy Jenna and red-hot Cyndi cleaning up with two hits. TFS won the game in a 5 – 2 victory.
Saturday night ended with TFS facing the Diamond Thunder 94 again. If the Thunder came into the game over confident, they sure didn’t end that way. Sara pitched the first three innings and only gave up two hits. Jaimee “Killa” pitched the last three innings and allowed only one hit. Defensively, the girls only made one error. Offensively, Cyndi remained on fire with two singles rounded off with a single from Dara Mac. In a tight game, TFS came up on the losing end 2 to 3 but earned the respect of the Thunder. This loss moved TFS down to the losers bracket.
Sunday morning TFS came onto the field fresh and ready for the Randolph Rebels. The bats came out of hibernation and TFS continued to “throw some leather” as Dougie Fresh says. Megan, Cyndi, Dara, Lizzy, Carly, Amanda and Delane each had hits. Defensively, TFS made two errors and “Killa” had 13 strike outs, allowed two hits and no runs for a TFS victory of 6 – 0.
The TFS girls ended the weekend in a showdown against the Chaos. The defense played solid, only making one error. The bats were cracking with singles from Cyndi, Dara, Alyssa and Jamie and a triple from Lizzy. However, the offense came up short with four base running errors that ultimately cost TFS the game in a 2 – 3 loss.
Overall, the weekend helped the girls to dust off the cobwebs and highlight what areas they need to focus on improving. There were moments of brilliance and moments of total idiocy. TFS finished fourth with the three teams they lost to finishing in first through third place. This writer is very fond of the following quote: “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” So here’s to learning from our mistakes and making the necessary adjustments because with a group of girls like we have, the glass will always be half full even if it is half full of lemonade made from a bowl full of lemons served up by circumstances. And let’s not forget, it’s all for one and one for all, together they stand and together they fall, the win them one they win them all…….GO SOFTBALL! (And let’s be sure to break out the brat-beef-kilbasa-hot-smoked-sausage-cheedarwurst next weekend so everyone will remember why we ARE the MEAT!)
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