Summer Softball Week 3

Wahoos 8
Stout Irish Sports Pub 7
(contributed by guest columnist, Brian Levy)

Short a Y chromosome, the mighty Wahoos rallied from an early 6-run deficit to win in the bottom of the 6th on a walk-off single by GJ Halfond, 8-7. Neil Ligon sparked the offense both by breaking up Stout's attempt at a perfect game in the 3rd inning with a single, then scoring the winning run after tripling to lead off the bottom of the last inning with a flare into right field. Ligon's triple proved Tim McCarver prescient, how often do you see the guy in the field make a great play lead off the next inning with a key hit*, in this case fielding a sharp grounder to Ligon's left (with a great scoop by Annie Martinsen) to make the final out and keep the game tied.

Mitch Parry started off the Wahoo scoring in the 3rd with a two-run walk, followed by Dave Rose with a 2-RBI single that turned into a triple due to some aggressive baserunning. Later in the game, Annie Martinsen showed some aggressive baserunning of her own, scoring from second when she caught Stout's infield napping. Certainly a team can't overcome a 6-run deficit without strong defense and pitching and that is exactly what the Wahoos had last night. After a few walks in the early going, Melissa Danielson found her groove on the mound despite Alvin's inconsistent application of the flat pitch rule. Parry, filling in at shortstop from his usual leftfield, helped stop the bleeding during a Stout rally by making a lunging catch over his right shoulder. Rose sacrificed life and limb (though not nearly so much as the girl in the subsequent game who got beaned in the head by a throw as she was running out a ground ball to first base) by making a catch up against the fence in foul territory. Newcomer Kisha Simmons made a stalwart defensive play behind the plate in the top of the last as well. Overall, it was a season-defining win.

* Editor's note - I maintain that since these two events are statistically independent, this happens approximately 11% of the time when a great play is made in the field to make a third out and there's a hit to lead off the next inning, though I do not yet have the data to back this claim up. Just a nerdy observation from your favorite statistician.

Wahoos season record: 2-1
Next game: 7/24 vs. We Play All Positions, 9 pm