Christian Park Softball
What a weekend. The first annual Community 4 on 4 tournaments was great. Thank you to the folks that put this tournament together, you did a good job.
As for the teams, it was tough and exciting. The Friday night's paring was CP Ranger vs CP Wildcats and Community vs Lawrence. Community came out on top. The Rangers came out of nowhere to play like I've never seen them play before.
Courtney playing 3rd play was on it, catching pop flys, catching throws to 3rd and everything. Courtney, last year a shy little bunter, was smacking the ball everywhere. Peyton was pitching them in like nobody's business. Melissa was doing the splits on first base with her glove acting like a magnet. Dena on short and Brittany on second worked together to cover the rest of the infield. Belinda, Amanda and TT guarded the outfield, and their magic came at the bats. Amazingly they were hitting into the outfield every time. Jessica, one of our new players wasn't going to be out done as she too hit the ball. Amanda M was stopping everything at the plate. Five innings and the Ranger took the game.
Saturday's game was CP Rangers vs Community and Lawrence vs CP Wildcats. Lawrence came out on top, but now without a fight from the wildcats as they tried to rally in the end.
Community has beaten the Ranger every time in the 3 games we've played. However, we've never played all 7 inning. Rain and other things have cut the game short at 5 or 6 innings. Our Rangers looked fired up and we reassured them that we would go all 7 inning and it was our turn to take them out. Again at the start they dug in and tore up the field, crushing Community by 10 in the 5th inning.
Afterwards we played a regular season game against Carnine. Carnine is by far the toughest team in the district. Whether you like them or not, they can play ball. I think this game was more fun for the parents than the players (and even the coach) as we messed with their pitchers style. The rule book says the play may not pass the hip 3 time. She would start behind her (1), put the ball in the mitt and go back (2), and finally windmill (3). After removing that pitcher we were able to hit the ball. Finally, towards the end of the game a call was made on 3-strike drop ball and our runner left 1st base on the pitch and our batter stole 1st. Personally, I would have argued this too, maybe not to the point she did. Blue threw her from the game after repeated telling her to go back to the dug out. The Rangers held there ground and would not stand to be put out in the 5th inning. Even though it was a tuff loss, we made them work hard for the win.
Sunday morning was time for the winner's game. CP Ranger vs Lawrence. Everyone came ready to play ball. Playing on the backfield, and in the visitors dugout we looked good and seemed fired up. We took the field and made 3 quit outs, our bats were hitting and we were off to a good start. About the 4 inning, and I hate the 4th inning, we quit playing. Actually, we where wore out. It was hot and I think we didn't drink enough to keep up with the heat. However, the girls battled on to finish the game.
With that loss, we took a 30-minute break, before the next game. Drowning the girls and restocking on drinks they appear ready to go. Chris and I made a few tactical changes. Maybe not the best thing to do, but we needed to rest up a few players so we could win. Filling Peyton up with water, we left her on the bench. Amanda with a soar hand played out field, while Belinda, who never played catcher - I know everyone's going why?!? - it seemed like the best thing at the time. Belinda played hard and did the best she could. Good job B. After struggling through that first inning, the clouds rolled in and the heat left the field.
Courtney, still playing an amazing job at 3rd took up the catcher’s gear and played like she was an expert, giving Amanda M enough time to recover and finish the game for us. Melissa now fatigue from pitching took over first base and we brought Peyton back to the field.
Jessica came in. Jessica, probably disappointed she didn't get to play much, sat the rest of the game. Sorry, and here's the reason why, in case your wandering. We switched Jessica with Peyton, since we only played 9 players according to Tournament rules. So the only way we could put Jessica back out was to remove our only available pitcher.
We started a come back and made it to the 5th inning to play remaining game. We were holding them and hitting the ball. We just couldn't seem to hit enough though. Lawrence took home the trophy.
"What If’s?" Does that question run threw your head? What if the coach hadn't sent me? What if he had? What if I had sent the player? What if I hadn’t sent the player? "What if’s" can win games for you, unfortunately you can't change the past. Remember it is a team effort. Not just the players, they have the hardest part in the game, it's coaches, parents, and fans. Take what you've learned and apply it to the next opportunity you have.
You all played well and we had great fun doing it.