After weeks of anticipation, Opening Day was finally upon us. It was a crisp Friday night in the big city, and the Hounds headed over to DeWitt Clinton Field in Midtown hoping to start the season off on the right foot. It was our first game since last season's championship victory, and after the banner was raised, it was time to play ball. In the opposing dugout was a team called Greatest Hits, a squad we have played(and beaten) a few times before. They looked hungry though so we knew we were in for a challenge.
Juiena was our starting pitcher after having come off a strong Spring Training. She pitched masterfully the whole night, not giving up a single walk, and even recording multiple strikeouts. In the first inning, we had some defensive mishaps, and Greatest Hits were able to capitalize and jump out to a quick 3-0 lead. We knew that would be easy to overcome, and sure enough, over the next couple of innings we turned that deficit into a two-run lead. The first four hitters in the lineup (George, Mike, Push, Dave) did their jobs, going a combined 9 for 10 with 6 runs scored. It was also Amy's first game back after her long injury layoff, and she played like she hadn't lost a step, going 1 for 2 with a walk and two runs scored.
In the second half of the game, we blew it open. The catalyst was a 4 pitch walk to Wink which allowed Amy to also walk and brought our reigning World Series M.V.P. Mega up to the plate. As cool as can be, he promptly hit one of his trademark fly balls to right field. Once it bounced over the rightfielders' head, we knew that was the first Hounds home run of the season. We tacked on a couple more in the 5th, and in the 6th, Wink stepped up and hit another 3-run bomb. Our defense settled down after the early jitters, and Juiena closed the game out in the 7th to get the complete game victory. Final Score: Hounds 16, Greatest Hits 5.
Solid. Team. Win. Let's give a lot of credit to Greatest Hits, they hustled their butts off all night and made some great defensive plays to keep themselves in the game. Our lineup was just much deeper than theirs, and that proved to be the difference on the night. Sure, we made a couple of errors, but considering that it was the first game of the season, I think we played very well. It's great to start the season off with a 'W'. Let's keep it going, guys.
