Gotham City: Hounds Keep Rolling

The third week of the Gotham City season brought us to Heckscher Field on another gorgeous summer day in the big city. Rain the previous evening had caused the cancellation of earlier games, so we were lucky that our games did not get cancelled as well. There was a delay of about an hour as the grounds crew worked on the field, and they did a great job with the means at their disposal. Our opponents were representing the accountants of KPMG, and it seemed like they could be pretty decent as we watched them warm up. Unfortunately, that would not prove to be the case. 

For Game 1, we were the away team and came up to bat first. We put a quick 4-spot on the board, with Iain, Pat, and Amy driving in the runs. Now it was time for our ace pitcher Margaret to take the mound for the first time this season after her long rehab. She stepped in like she hadn't missed a beat, and she was her usual commanding, efficient self. The Accountants could muster nary a clean base hit off of her, and no baserunner of theirs got past 2nd base. Meanwhile, our offense continued to light up the scoreboard with 2 in the 2nd, 1 in the 3rd, and a 12-run explosion in the 4th. The production was spread around, and the Accountants certainly played their part with defensive butchery of the highest order. They made some curious decisions by not having their strongest fielders in the most critical positions, and we took full advantage of their blunders. Our opponents were shell shocked and were probably relieved when it was called after the bottom of the 4th. Final Score: Hounds 19, KPMG 0.

For Game 2, we were now the home team and George took to the mound hoping to build on his previous success this season. He did a good job out there, and with the help of the Hounds defense, was able to hold the Accountants at bay for the most part. In the bottom of the 1st, we scored 8 runs, and we were off to the races. The Accountants were able to finally score a run in the 2nd inning, and they celebrated that as if they had just won a playoff game. We could not help but find that amusing, and we let them enjoy their little moment. We did our scoring in this game in the early innings, and we built an 11-1 lead heading into the top of the 5th. Our opponents were faced with having to score a run to keep the game going, but were not able to muster anything against Cap and his back-hander. The game ended on a routine ground ball. Final Score: Hounds 11, KPMG 1. 

One thing has become clear: the competition has been watered-down in this 28 team Gotham City League. We have yet to face a real challenge, which speaks to how good we are as a team. However, we must be careful not to buy into our own hype. There are some good teams lurking out there, and they are all gunning for us. I saw some good softball being played on the other fields while our game was going on. We cannot believe that it will continue to be this easy.