After weeks of anticipation, the Hounds were ready to start the Gotham City Sports season. It was a beautiful June afternoon in Central Park, and we showed up to the field ready excited to play ball. In the opposing dugout was an outfit called JeffCo, a poorly prepared team than we should be able to beat easily when we are on our game. Unfortunately, we played a little tight this series and were unable to secure the sweep.
In Game 1, George took the mound but his control was off and he was pulled after an ineffective 2 innings. Pat came on to pitch in relief, and he did a great job. On offense, the 2nd inning was big for us, as we scored 5 runs. The highlight of the game had to be Dave and Pat hitting two tape-measure home runs back-to-back. The game was close but we held the lead throughout and Pat closed the door in the last inning. Final Score: Hounds 10, JeffCo 8.
For Game 2, Pat once again got the ball, this time as a starter. We jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first inning , with Jason T. hitting a 3-run home run. Pat pitched well and we headed into the final inning with a 5-2 lead. Then we proceeded to implode. We booted a bunch of routine plays and there was also a very controversial call made by the umpires. Before you knew it, JeffCo had the winning run at the plate. Their star hitter was up and he proceeded to hit a 3-run homer to win the game. Final Score: JeffCo 6, Hounds 5.
As frustrated as I was by the umpires' blown call, we deserved to lose at least one game with the way we played out there. The truth is, we were lucky to not have gotten swept. Except for a select few, our hitting was very lackluster. Our fielding at times was dreadful, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. We must improve greatly or it will be a mediocre campaign. The good news is that I know the quality of players we have on this team and I know we are up for the challenge.
