Well we played another great game last night. We have had to juggle the starting pitching the last few days to regroup after the double overtime win vs. Taipei. We had used our game 4 starter to finish that game so we went to one of our relievers. Fortunately, we had worked him to swing as a reliever or starter and it paid off. He pitched four brilliant innings and his lone blemish was a solo home run in the fourth. The home run tied the game as we scratched a run across in the third inning. Our starter started to tire so we went to our side-arm right hander with a nasty, and I mean nasty, sinker. Trouble is ….he won’t throw it. Well, 2/3 of an inning later the score is 6-1. We made an error that would have given us 2 outs in the inning and a run scored and the next hitter hit a 3 run homer to put it out of reach, or so it seemed. He hit a 0-2 slider that was right down the middle of the plate. It is interesting to find out who can really handle the pressure and who can’t. It is very challenging to manage the uncertainty. We brought in left hander to finish the inning and another right hander followed and he absolutely slammed the door for the next 3+ innings. He gave us an opportunity to crawl back into the game. We scored a single run in the seventh inning to narrow the gap to 6-2. In the bottom of the eighth we plated another run with a couple of hits. We led off the inning with a single and then the next hitter hit a triple to right center. So with a runner on third and no outs it looked good that we would inch even closer. Not so as the next two hitters struck out and the third hit a soft liner to third. We have had our chances to score a runner from third in just about every game but we have had back to back strikeouts too many times to count. With the score now 6-3 we entered the ninth with little hope of a victory, a single run has been very difficult for us to manufacture let alone three to tie.
We led off the ninth with a double to right; this brought everyone to the front of the dugout with a ray of hope. The next hitter struck out on three pitches, something we have seen a lot of in our games. The crowd came to their feet as the next hitter singled in a run and we were back in the ball game. Another hit, an infield single by our leadoff hitter, has given us the feeling that we are going to do it again. With the hero from last night’s game due up I’m sure there were many people thinking that the same thing could happen again. The stage is set for the same result only this time our hitter battled the count and induced a walk. WoooHooo, a base hit ties it a double wins it and the place is rocking. The next hitter who has been struggling mightily (but did hit the triple) ended up striking out on four pitches. We are now down to our last at bat and our number 4 hitter had been thrown out of the game for throwing his bat in the previous inning. His replacement has also been struggling at the plate as well but he had a key hit in the win against Taipei. He also has some power so if he connects it could leave the yard. So the drama is at its peak and the pitcher challenges him with a fastball as the hitter fouls it off. The next two pitches miss their mark and then here comes the fastball. With a mighty swoosh the batter connects and sends the ball flying out to the right center gap. They are shading him a little to pull so it is going to be a long run for both outfielders. The ball continues to carry towards the wall as the runners are at full gallop, if it falls we will win! Time slows down once again as everything fades to a blur. This time the centerfielder has enough speed to track the ball down in the right center gap only 10 feet from the wall.
Game Over. One bad inning and we taste defeat. It was a great game and again another great comeback. Not bad for the “so called” version of China’s the bad news bears. Many people have written us off as the lame duck of the tournament and now they have to take us seriously. If you don’t come to play China can beat you. Those are great words to hear as our hard work has apparently paid off. One of our goals in this Olympiad is to compete and put a good product on the field. Mission accomplished. To think that we can challenge and beat teams like USA, Cuba, Korea and Japan are borderline psychotic. Either way you want to look at it, you better bring your “A” game or it just might happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment