Touch 'Em All!
Four long years. Well, in all fairness, they are four long years that have actually gone by pretty quickly. Was that last statement an oxymoron? Probably. Does it even make sense? Maybe. In any case, let me get down to what I was trying to say. I have been playing on the same Co-Ed intramural softball team for four years, and in those four years I have seen a lot of home runs. Several were hit off yours truly. A lot came from the sluggers on our own team. Some came at the perfect time, and others at the worst possible moment from an opposing hitter, breaking out hearts. In all those homeruns, I have yet to experience one for my self. Well, at least I HAD yet to experience one for myself that is.
Sunday (yes I know, it was like 5 days ago, but it has been a bear keeping up with things here!) was the first intramural game of the season for the “Sultans of the South.” Actually, it was supposed to be our second, but the first one was called on account of the lights not turning on. Our team is a tight knit bunch that has been together for four years and we have had some pretty doggone good success over the years.
So, expectations were high starting another season in the Co-ed League. Unfortunately, our all-star shortstop, Chad (a fellow Arizonan!) graduated in the spring, so we had to find a replacement. Brad’s friend Henry was a baseball player in high school, and so we decided to pick him up to fill the gap at shortstop for the time being (it will actually be for the WHOLE season after his solid performance Sunday) and for some reason this made me think I had to move our lineup around. So, instead of having Brad in his traditional spot on the mound for us, I put myself there and moved him to leftfield. I don’t know if you have heard the term “overcoaching” used before, but let me explain what transpired next.
Over the first two innings, after a tizzy of line drives, missed ground balls, and a few dropped flies in left where Brad was playing, the mighty Sultans were down 9 runs! Things were looking grim for us, and after the second inning, Brad suggested we switch back, move him to pitcher, and have me back out in left field. One scoreless inning later and I was ready to step down and anoint Brad the Coach.
Despite our change of fortunes in the field, we couldn’t seem to put the bat on the ball well, and had not scored a run after two innings for a score of 9-0. I was leading off in the bottom of the third, and was just trying to hit the ball hard and get on base somehow so that if by some great fortune someone ELSE could get a hit, we might actually be able to score a run! Well, I went up to the plate nice and relaxed and saw the pitcher go into his motion. With my eyes focused squarely on his right hip I saw the ball come out of his hand and on the inside of the plate. I gave it a good swing, nothing too hard, and saw it rocket out towards right field. As I always do, I hustled out of the batters box with my eyes on a double and maybe even a triple. At full speed, I reached second and heard “slow down!” from somewhere. I then finally looked up and saw the umpire giving the “home run” signal. I had done it! I had hit my first homerun!
I guess that we all were riding high off that shot, because we scored 9 more runs after that and never looked back the rest of the game! It was an incredible comeback win for the Sultans! On top of the great victory, I had finally broken through with my first homerun! Will I be looking to add to my total? Not likely. I wouldn’t want to get “home run happy” now would I? That is the report for now sports fans! Take care and remember it only takes one swing to knock one out of the park!