With a 3-0 record and brimming with confidence, the Hounds headed over to Central Park's North Meadow to consecrate our status as serious title contenders. The weather was perfect and the park was filled with ballplayers both young and not-so-young. Our opponents were the only other undefeated team in the division with at least 3 games played, the Raiders. Another late start time meant that the game would most likely be shortened due to lack of visibility.
As the away team, we came up to bat first. Iain got us on the board with one of his patented right-field home runs, a solo shot. George took the mound for his first start of the season, and Cap put in a good outing. The Raiders had some good hitters and we were able to mostly keep them at bay, our defense putting in a solid performance. While there weren't really any spectacular plays, we made the plays we needed to make and seem to be improving in this phase of the game each week.
The turning point of this game came in the top of the 3rd with the score tied at 1-1. Iain led off the inning with yet another right field blast. As he rounded the bases, a close play at the plate seemed inevitable. Mr. Clutch did a nice job of getting in around the tag of the catcher, who was illegally blocking the plate. She was shaken up on the play, and some of the other Raiders took exception. But Iain did everything he could do to avoid contact and was in no way in the wrong, as the umpire also determined. The game turned a bit sour at this point as some of their guys inexplicably flew into a rage and acted very inappropriately. We Hounds kept our cool though and were determined to let our play do the talking. That would prove critical as the Raiders fell apart at the seams in that 3rd inning. We would plate 5 runs in the frame, and that would be all we would need. The offensive production was nicely spread around, some standouts were Iain(3-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 RS), Camille(4-4, RS), Mike(2-3, BB, RS), Dave(2-3, RBI, RS), Push(2-4, RBI), and Karim(3-3, RBI, RS). Meanwhile, George continued to cruise aided by the defense and when the game was called at the end of the 5th, it was clear who the victors were. Final Score: Hounds 10, Raiders 4.
With our record at 4-0, we are firmly in first place. We have established ourselves as one of the best if not the best team in the division. I believe 8 wins will be enough to secure a playoff berth, and we are already halfway there. We have to keep working hard though as we have bigger goals than just making the playoffs.
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