Walk-off Walk(s) Wins Game

Heading into the second game of the season with a win on your belt is always something to hang your hat on. You have a certain amount of swag, confidence, mainly because you just assured yourself of NOT going winless for the year. The Slayers came into the game after putting on an offensive show (18 runs, the most in week one) versus Two West. Unfortunately, the early victory and massive run output didn't turn into much for game two versus newcomer Boulevard Beer.

The Slayers won the toss and decided to be the home team, so that put them in the field first. Boulevard didn't waste any time showing their strategy off (hitting singles and turning into doubles) and took a quick 2-0 lead. When the Slayers went up to bat, PJer and The Truth had trouble getting on base. To make things worse, The Truth was battling a slight hammy pull suffered during warm-ups and could only hobble when running. McShit hit the second in-the-parker of the season and that's all SHS could muster. Boulevard was ahead 2-1.

Innings two and three provided more runs for Boulevard and more injuries for the Slayers. Coming up gimpy in their legs were HoRep, Hightower, Number 2 and WRAM. Bendy even complained of something wrong with him. By count, that was five Slayers injured and five healthy. It showed on the scoreboard, too, as Boulevard led 10-6 after three.

Then the Slayers started to figure out how to play against Boulevard's strategy and the defense kicked in. Boulevard couldn't score a single run and it was SHS' turn to bat. That's when Boulevard's pitcher changed, and along with it, the game. The poor guy couldn't find the strike zone, much less the hittable zone and the Slayers adopted the wait-and-see policy about swinging the bat. Piling up batters on the bases doesn't help in a league where if you walk a guy, you also walk the girl behind him. Six runs later, the Slayers had their first lead of the game, 12-10.

Boulevard re-took the lead at 13-12, but the pitcher still couldn't find the zone. The Slayers scored the winning run on a walk-off walk, and the game ended up being 14-13. It's not the way you want to win a game, but a wins a win.

Next up, NK, June 4 @ 6pm.

The Season Begins!

It had been a while. Their arms were tight and their eagerness was high. Having only one real practice under their belts, AND a second place finish in the tournament last year (thank you very much), the Slayers were primed and ready to rock another season of Ad League softball.

They started last week by waging war against Two West. PJer couldn't manage to get home team status for the Slayers , but no matter, they were looking forward to hitting the ball. Shifting the batting order this year, Coacherson hoped to start things off quickly -- and the top of the first went nearly according to plan. PJer and McShit both got hits and eventually scored. With Hightower and HoRep on base, Coacherson hit the first home run (in the park steez) of the year. Heading into the bottom of the first, the Slayers were on top 5-0.

Taking the field proved to be a rough spot for those who hate sheep. A few errors here and there (all due to anxious energy and maybe some beers), the Slayers allowed Two West to creep back into the game by scoring three runs of their own.

In the top of the second, the Slayers did more damage on the scoreboard. Newcomer Bendy, PJer, McShit and The Truth all scored, putting SHS up 9-3. The defense also clamped down a bit and only allowed Two West to score two runs of their own. Heading into the third inning, the score was 9-5, Slayers.

Batting in the third, the Slayers started to wear down. They scored three quick runs (Coacherson, Bendy and Number 2), but stranded several others. The score was 12-5 and Two West was starting to warm up.

McShit walked a few players and some errors were committed to load the bases. Then the inevitable happened -- someone on Two West crushed the ball over the fence for a grand slam. The Slayers were shaken up, but McShit buckled down. The next hit was a rocket down the third base line. But instead of the ball winding up in the outfield, HoRep merely stuck her glove out and snatched the ball from the air. The Slayers were pumped and quickly finished out the inning.

Looking to feed off of her own great play, HoRep couldn't translate it into offense as she grounded out. Coacherson dropped his shoulder and popped out. With two outs, and Smiley coming up to the plate, things weren't looking good. You see, Smiley had struck out the other two times she was up, but that smile never left her face. She headed up to the plate. Ball one. Ball two. Strike one. Ball three. ... ... ... Ball four! She walked and got on base. Smiley had no clue, but she started a two-out, six-run rally as the Slayers went up 18-10.

Two West came up and SHS was ready for them. They could only muster one run, bringing the score to 18-11. Bill declared that the next inning was the last and apparently, both teams didn't care at that point as each half of the inning was 1-2-3.

That didn't matter to the Slayers, though. Winning the first game of the season is the best way to start off. Unfortunately, there were no beers left after the game, so some of the team migrated down to Jilly's for some post-game festivities.

Next up, Boulevard.