Foreclosed

Clear Mortgage Solutions tried to deny The Glove, but we cashed in a little bat-and-glove equity and gave them a small glimpse at our high credit rating, 18-3.

This first game of the Fall season was nothing short of spectacular. We incorporated a few changes to our roster, but in typical Glove style we didn't skip beat and we managed to add a little sparkle to our game.

Before we move on to the game recap, I want to shine a light on some new Glovely faces.

Nick comes to us from a connection to another softball team. As you may recall, Nick subbed for us in a very important game last season, he filled a huge void left by Scott at shortstop, and came through amazingly well. I am very happy to have him anchoring the infield.

Holly is our new resident tough girl (sorry Kendra). Holly is no stranger to the field of play, honing her talents in the Underdog leagues, but she showed us very clearly that PMSA softball can't contain her either.

Ezra is the softball equivalent of a gym rat. Ezra probably knows Portland softball better than all of the rest of us Glovers combined, and he is a welcomed addition to the team, especially because I can finally get a break from the mound every now and then.

Kate (and Amy!) was a late addition to the team. We are still in negotiations with her people to work out a contract for the rest of the season, but management is hopeful that she will be a fixture on this team.

Then there's Tim... what can I say about Tim? Let me think about that one for a while. When I am with Tim, we usually laugh a lot, my wallet ends up lighter if not completely empty, somebody nearby usually gets naked, and the next morning is usually hazy. I'm not exactly sure what he brings to the team yet, but I know there are lots of fun times ahead :)

To all the new faces, welcome!

Now on to the plays (and players) of the game.

1. 2nd base was a hot spot last night. There were quite a few plays where Holly sacrificed her body to knock down some hard hit balls, and to her credit she never gave up on a single play and secured some tough outs for us on defense. Her roller derby background makes a lot more sense now.

2. Still at 2nd base. 4th inning, just when CMS was trying to put together a late game rally with a runner on 1st, Jonanna cleanly fields a ground ball, flips the ball to Nick who then fired a strike to Dan at 1st base for a beautiful 4-6-3 double play. It doesn't get prettier than that.

3. The other hot spot last night (thanks to some masterful pitching by Ezra and Coach who kept the CMS hitters off balance and relegated their offense to ground balls and weak fly balls) was 3rd base. I lost track of how many put-outs Ali had last night; her glove got worked last night, including some hot line drives, and as expected, she came through every time. I can't imagine ever playing softball without you, Ali.

Player of the Game is Holly Pierce. You never could have guessed that last night was Holly's first game as a Glover. From the moment she stepped onto the field last night she owned 2nd base. I mean, she practically lifted her leg, marked her territory, and said "This is my house!" At the plate, Holly went 3-for-3 and scored a run in a big 5th inning. I know Holly is happy to be playing with The Glove, and we are thrilled to have her on the team.

I wish I had a few more gems to point out about the game, but in typical Glove fashion we played a fundamental game, making plays on defense, and stringing together some base hits to move runners around the bases; nothing fancy, just solid softball... and I am pretty sure everyone had fun.

We got off to a good start scoring 6 runs in the first inning, but the nail in the coffin was an 8-run 5th inning. I'll finish this post with a recap of our hitting/offensive stats (no RBIs unfortunately), and as you will see, this was a team win; everyone did the work, everyone came through.

Great game, everyone!

Kendra, 3-for-4, scored 3 runs.
Marcus, 4-for-4 with 3 runs scored, including a home run in the 5th inning.
Ali, 2-for-4 with 1 run scored.
Nick, 3-for4, 1 run scored.
Jonanna, 2-for-3.
Dan, 3-for-3, 2 runs scored.
Holly, 3-for-3, 1 run scored.
Dylan, 2-for-3, 2 runs scored.
Kate, 2-for-3, 1 run scored.
Tim, 2-for-3, 1 run scored.
Sarah, 3-for-3, 1 run scored.
Ezra, 3-for-3, 2 runs scored.