Zog: Hounds Cough One Up

For our 3rd game of the young season, it was over to the brand-new fields of Randall's Island. We had never played there before, so we were not sure what to expect. Luckily, the fields were in great shape and the weather was beautiful even if it was a bit windy. We came into this game riding high after two blowout victories to start the season. In the opposing dugout was an outfit called Empty Pitchers, all decked out in New York Yankees replica jerseys. We had already played(and lost) to them once before, so we knew we would be in for a tough game.

As the away team , we came up to bat first. Wink and Mike set the table, and we strung a bunch of hits together to jump out to a quick 6-0 lead. Juiena was once again our starting pitcher and she continued her dominance in the early innings. Our defense was in bend-don't-break mode, and we were able to hold off Empty Pitchers through the first 4 innings. After the top of the 5th, we were up 8-1, and it seemed like we were going to cruise to victory.

In the bottom of the 5th, things took a turn for the worse. Empty Pitcher's  hitters' started to make better contact with the ball, and our defense reverted back to keystone cops mode, stumblin' and bumblin' all over the field. By the time the 5th inning was over, the game was tied 8-8, and the momentum had swung over to the other side. Our offense was a bit anemic in the later innings, and we were only able to add on one more run. E.P. scored 4 in the bottom of the 6th, and we entered our last licks down by 3. We proceeded to meekly hit 3 easy ground balls to go out 1-2-3 and end the game. Final Score: Empty Pitchers 12, Hounds 9.

As I reflect on this game, I see good news and bad news. The bad news is that there is no way we are going to win the championship if we play the way we did yesterday. The competition this season is just too good. The good news is it is still very early in the season, and I know we can make adjustments and improve. But it's going to take some work. On defense, we need to do a better job of communicating with one another. So far our offense has been carried by a handful of people, we need to step it up and spread the production around. It's actually a good thing that we have a two week break. We now have some time to work on some things before our next game.