That's right Slayer fans, the 2006 Ad League Softball Season is over. Done. Kaput. Gone. But as promised, the SHS team was there for opening night and, fittingly, was there on the season's final night.
As if fate was playing it's own game with SHS and Fasone Garrett Boehm, the championship game had been re-scheduled once due to inclement weather and was nearly re-scheduled because of the condition of the field upon arrival.
For whatever reason, the city must have thought the season was over and had tilled up the field leaving about 5-6 inches of loose dirt all over the infield. Both teams weren't about to leave, though, so they banded together and, using the bleachers, grated the infield for what was arguably the best infield conditions all season.After making the field right, it was time to play. PJer won the toss and the Slayers elected to be home team. That put them in the field first and showing no signs of rust, the defense put the smack down on Fasone and had a 1-2-3 inning.
Coming up to bat, however, proved to be a bit tougher for the Slayers. PJer ripped a hit and turned a single into a double for the first hit of the game. After The Truth got out, King Bunz hit a double, but PJer could only move to third. Auggy then hit a single to load up the bases. But SHS couldn't capitalize and they left all three runners stranded and the game was tied 0-0 after one.
The second inning proved to be fateful to the Slayers. After showing Fasone that they were a force to be wreckoned with, McShit and SHS lost their edge and following a series of well-placed hits, walks and a few errors, Fasone was sitting pretty with a 9-0 advantage.
Not being the best team in the league from playing behind, SHS went to bat in the bottom of the second inning, already feeling the pressure. Coacherson popped out, Number Two grounded out, McShit doubled and WRAM grounded out... leaving SHS with a big nine run gap.
The defense seemed to tighten back up and McShit got back on track with pitching, but by then, it was already too late. PJer had the lone bright spot in hitting for the Slayers with an in the park home run and SHS tried to rally a few times, but it was just too daunting of a task to come back nine runs.
Fasone ended up winning the game 16-5, but if you take that 9-run inning away, a 7-5 defensive battle would've been much more fun.
But really, the Slayers weren't all that depressed about losing. They finished the regular season 4-4 and were seeded fifth in their league for the tournament. After taking down both the Chiefs (previously undefeated) and BR (the brats of the league), SHS felt really good about making it as far as they did.
And the fans weren't disappointed, either. Turning out in force, the Slayers were well-represented in the cheering department. Coacherson wasn't sure if it was because his team was in the championship game or if it was because of the massive cooler full of beer... in either case, it was welcome.It was a season well-played and much fun was had. They began the season saying good-bye to an old teammate (Sloan) and they ended the season saying good-bye to current teammates (Jerom"eo" and King Bunz). The off-season will be a tough one as the Slayers look to reload and follow up this year's surprise ending with another strong showing.
While SHS took time to congratulate Fasone (really, there wasn't a better team to lose to, they rocked and were great sportsmen and women), it's good to remember that Sally Hogshead says the best softball teams have the worst creative... SHS wasn't the best this year, and that's a-okay.
