Softball Chronicles

We are now a month into the Softball Season, and after a sabbatical last year, we are delighted to welcome back our intrepid match reporter Karen.

Our softball team, JC Space Cadets is sponsored by Space Clinics, and plays in Division 2 of the Edinburgh Softball League. We have a strong focus on enjoying ourselves, and hopefully we can win a few games along the way!

So here's the reports from the first three - enjoy...
and once you've finished reading, if you fancy giving it a go, or even just coming down to support, get in touch with Karen

Mon, 28th April 08
It was not looking pleasant with the rain pouring down on 28th April for the start of the season. First up were the Council Gritters and the Cadets facing them were:

Yes, we were a man down to start with, despite Fiona strong-arming two of her rounders playing colleagues into the game (much appreciated Sophie and Gemma!) and most of us were in our waterproofs - Glorious!

So we moved swiftly into the first innings - a little two swiftly for Olli who had to go to the bottom of the order as he was stuck at work! We did manage to squeeze two runs in from Fiona and Sherm but Sophie was caught and I was still struggling to make it to 1st, so we moved onto the fielding by which time, our first base man had escaped from work and took his place. Two brilliant catches in the outfield (almost in the bar) by Charles and quick thinking for an out at 2 by Sherm kept the Gritters to just 1 home. We were in the lead. And the rain had stopped.

Three rapid outs at 1st for Charles, Gemma and Olli meant the Cadets were shut out in the second with the Gritters charging 5 runs home to take the lead. Only an out at 1, a foul ball caught and a catch by Sherm stopped the rampage! But it didn't stop there!

The Invisible Man was called up and when he wouldn't leave the warmth of the bar, we had to take an auto-out. This meant that a quick double play on catching Fiona's fly ball and getting Sophie out at 1 as she tried to head back shut us out again. Thankfully, Olli was warming up nicely on 1st and two more outs there and another catch by Charles kept the Gritters to just 2 but it was the top of the fourth and we were down by 6.

So we went on a litte run of our own with Sherm and Gav both making it home off the back of Charles sweet home run. I think there is still a Gritter chasing that ball across Silverknowes. But Kirsty's ball was caught, I was too desparate to hit something (the anger management isn't working) so struck out and Olli scuffed his hit so couldn't make it to 1st. We pulled our fielding back together though and catches by Fiona (who was doing a fantastic job of pitching, I have to say) and Sherm and a neat out at 3rd by Sophie held the Gritters to just 1 run. It was the top of the 5th and we were only down by 4! We could catch them!

Or so we thought - the Invisible Man still wouldn't leave the bar, so the dreaded Auto-Out struck again, so when Sophie was so close to getting to 1st (dodgy umpiring!) and Sherm's ball was caught (wicked pitching), we hadn't caught up any. Then it really started to rain on the Cadets parade! Only metaphorically but that was bad enough. 3 home runs in succession meant that even with our solid 1st base getting two out and Gav getting an out at 2, the Gritters pushed home 9 runs and our task began to look a little difficult. We could have had a lovely double play to finish them off sooner, but as Fiona said to Olli between batters "You need to yell at me quicker!"

We got Gav round in the 6th but neither Kirsty nor I could make 1st base (story of my life!) and with Charles the victim of tagging, 1 run was all we could muster. We did keep the Gritters to just 2 runs with another solid out at 1st, nice running by Sherm (who had given Fiona a break and taken over pitching duties) for an out at home and another foul ball caught.

Despite the gathering clouds of despair, Sherm pointed out that we just needed to score 14 and shut the Gritters out for a draw. Everyone put on their game face and brought it to the plate. Well, really only Gemma and Olli really brought theirs to give us two more runs, so we finished on a perfectly respectable 8 which couldn't challenge the Gritters 20.

Still a gritty performance (I can't find a better word - it's late!) from a 9 man team, which was dissected in the bar and we realised - we're not that bad.

Mon, 5th May 2008

A Bank holiday and all the girls were off sunning themselves. So we had lots of players, but only 3 girls. So we could only manage with an auto-out again. The good news - so were the Murrayfield Mayhem - so the following players got to have a riot:

Unfortunately, I was sunning myself from the accident and emergency department of the the Edinburgh Royal, so have no report from this one. From what I hear though, the Rookies accquited themselves well, our guest from the West was his usual mental self and we scumped the Mayhem 17-6.

Nice one guys, maybe I should leave you to it more often!

Wed, 21st May 2008
The season was marching on already and we were sitting a mediocre mid-table when Alison rounded the troops up for another night out at CSSC. With some miserable excuses about injuries sustained in the last match and something about having tickets to a football match in Moscow, we were struggling for boys this week. (Champion's League Final - wonder why we were missing so many boys). So the team that came out on a pleasant May evening were:

Having counted the opposition, who this week were the Xiles, and finding only 9, we were bouyed - but then others appeared out the woodwork and we thought 'not again!'. We were to see. First up and nice tight fielding with catches by Graham, a tag by Sherm and an out on 1 kept the Xiles with their abundance of big-hitting boys to just 2 runs. Whereas, we put our solid batting by the girls followed up by spectacular batting by the boys to good use. Louise made it round to third before the ball moved quicker than she did to get there first and Fiona was having trouble dealing with the spin by the pitcher to put in a fly ball but Sherm's home run brought 3 runs in before I made yet another vain attempt to get to 1st.

We had our noses in front and we were determined to stay there. So good solid outs on 1 and a catch by Sherm meant the Xiles could only manage to get 1 home. Our confidence was on the up. And so it should be! A lovely hit by Kirsty would have got her far if she hadn't been trying to decapitate the Xiles pitcher and end up caught. The Auto-out started its untimely appearance and then some good fielding by the opposition saw Louise out at 2. But we still got 2 home and we were edging ahead!

Or so we thought. The Xiles got a sneaky home run over the heads of our over-worked out fielders to get 3 home.

But with tight fielding getting outs at 2nd and 1st and John looking masterful in the outfield with a great catch, that was the only way they could do it. So the Xiles had eased up to 6 against our 5, but we were still only half way through the innings. We went all out - probably a little too all out. Alison and myself both being caught and only sneaking Sherm home before Graham struck out (everyone to chip in to fund Graham's anger management treatment - he's too keen to hit stuff!). So it was 6-6.

In the meantime, Louise and Gav were trying to find us a new sponsor. Having watched so many balls go past either side of them, Specsavers were on the mobile to me, but I knocked them back to stay Spaced.

Into the fourth and we were just aiming for holding on. The first (of hopefully many) double play of the season saw John take a magnificent catch in the outfield and get it quickly into Sherm to make the tag at 2nd. Another out at 1st and we had shut them out. Bring it on! So we did! A superb home run by John to bring home Gav, Louise and himself was the highlight but we managed to squeeze Alison home too before Graham fell foul of the spin ball as well and was up in the air for a catch. We'd pulled well ahead - 6-10!

Confidence was riding high now but it was short-lived, as another home run by the Xiles saw them bring home another 4 runners before the Jonathan Sherman show began with striking out one batter before catching the next two. It didn't matter, we were confident of our batting. We could take on the world - or at least, Kirsty could try and kill the pitcher again. And get caught again. A punt by Gav meant he was chased all the way to 1st by the ball, which just sneaked in ahead of him, and then we had to take our auto-out. A shut-out - how awful! The Xiles had drawn level - had we lost our mojo?

It started to look that way into the 6th as they took advantage of some overthrows at 1st (I'm not sure Gav saw them coming at great speed from Fiona) to get three sneaked home before Kirsty took the initiative and tagged an acrobatic runner out at 3 before Sherm assaulted the runner coming into home base and the final batter struck out. We were behind and we didn't like it. Enough messing about - this was serious. So we pulled out the big guns - well, mainly solid hitting by the girls and taking advantage of some shoddy fielding by the Xiles, backed up by consistent deep balls by the boys (that sounds rude but I can't see anything wrong with it, so I'm gonna leave it) meant that we got 5 round the diamond - including me! The first time I've made it round since 2006, so thank you. I'm shattered at having to run that far! Fiona got caught, literally, by the spin pitching again and another fly ball, where Graham was tagged coming into third (dodgy umpiring - that slide was well in). But it was the auto-out stopped us in our tracks again. I hope this is making all the no-shows feel suitably guilty!

13-15 into the final innings. Who said this was going to be easy!? Another Xiles home run brought home 2 and then they managed 1 more to just pull out in front. Sherm's pitching put one off her game and then he tagged another (without wrestling them to the ground this time, though admittedly this time it was the bearded bloke rather than the leggy brunette girl) before Kirsty rounded off a lovely tight fielding showing by the Cadets with a catch to put us in to bat for the match!

At 16-15, we needed 1 to draw and 2 to win. Top of the order and we made a good start with Louise getting nicely onto 1st and John then pushing things round. Alison found first as well, but tight fielding meant Louise was out at 3 and we weren't any closer to those elusive runs. Fiona's nice hit out by 2nd only saw her onto 1st but it took John home and we were level. There was everything to play for. Sherm stepped up and completed the show with a hit into left field that allowed Alison and Fiona to come flying in and make the score 16-18. Ball-game!