A quick kickball update following opening day for C and M.
C’s team played in an early game that I kept score for. It was close early, tied 8–8 after three, but C’s team had two big innings to break it open and won 35–17. Our girls looked really good in the last three innings with several girls who struggled at the plate last year getting big kicks in key spots.
C homered in the first inning and had two singles, scoring once more. She came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the 5th and toed the ball, popping out to end the inning. She should have had another home run. She absolutely destroyed a ball but the umpire called it dead because the pitch came before all the runners had returned to their bases after C’s foul on the previous pitch. And she was awesome in the field. She played either suicide or pitcher the entire game. She made three putouts at first, a couple at third, one at home, and caught two line drives. One inning she accounted for all three outs.
When her game was over we hustled the 4 miles over to St. P’s to watch M’s team take on their arch rivals. When we arrived M’s team was up by 2 runs. It all went to hell pretty quickly after that. They actually played all seven inning for the first time ever against St. B’s, but lost by 19. St. B’s has five girls as good or better than our stud player, and most of the rest of their team is better than ours as well. M got on base a couple times with bunts, but never scored. And she struggled in the field. Apparently she jammed her finger early and did her best not to touch the ball after that in her hybrid suicide-third base spot.
So now they have to win out and hope St. B’s loses a game at some point in order to force a playoff with St. B’s to get back to City again. That’s unlikely. One of our players knew it. “So we’re out of the playoffs, right?” she asked right after the game. Bummer.
L’s first game is this coming Monday.