United Red Storm vs. South Fulton Rebels (Softball)
Carl Sandburg College, Galesburg
(3/30/10)
Living life on the seat of my pants gives me the thrills in life. Bungee jumping, diving in the ocean, or cage fighting aren't up my ally, but living each day without a routine plan in mind gives me enough thrill.
There is the theory out there, that when a work-a-holic quits working, and rests, it doesn't take long and he passes away. That is very understandable. For me, if I am not working, or doing something constructive, it makes me go crazy. I have been stricken with high blood pressure, and through doctor's orders, I must keep tabs on it. During the grueling winter road months, I feast upon sodium-laden McDonalds, gallons of caffeine, and late-night salt galore gas station meals....and the blood pressure is fairly normal (for me).
Fast forward to May, June, July, when time is on my side, my blood pressure soars. In fact, last June, after suffering from a three-day headache, I checked my blood pressure. It read 158/116. I thought that could not be, so I checked again. 156/113. And again: 158/113. It was time to seriously adjust the diet (which is a fairly healthy diet during the summer). After a month, my blood pressure had lowered to normal rates.
With that said, I just feel like working is my stress reliever. Going to far out places, hitting the road, and covering a high school sporting event is what I love to do. For others, the couch, or a vacation, etc. is the escape, while for me, it's work.
I had a conversation with Hall of Fame basketball coach Tom Wierzba this past winter. The former Farmington Farmers head coach enjoyed his first year of retirement this season. He mentioned how he enjoyed being able to watch whatever teams he wanted to on a nightly basis. Personally, that's how I am feeling this spring.
Last year, I regrettably, took a sabbatical from high school sports coverage outside of my day job. From the get-go, I told myself that was not going to happen this season. At first, I wanted to broadcast three or four baseball/softball games a week. After covering a handful of spring events thus far, I have decided against that, and cover at least one game per week (for radio), and a select few games on IHSSN.
Broadcasting a game takes a lot of preparation, not just in game prep for the two teams, but equipment preparation as well. Not to mention, high school baseball and softball diamonds are not very well-equipped for radio coverage.
As I drove down Route 34 between Monmouth and Galesburg this afternoon, that Wierzba conversation popped into my memory bank. Take a day like today, I hadn't even planned on taking in a game until late in the afternoon. I just drive to the diamond, unpack the necessities (pen & paper, recorder, and video camera), and I am free to roam and cover a broad spectrum of the game, not just the play-by-play.
Today, the United Red Storm, who just moved up a spot in the Illinois Coaches Association (ICA) Softball rankings (#3 this week), hosted the South Fulton Rebels. United's field is not quite ready, so they have moved their home games to nearby Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg.
Game time temperature was in the mid-to-upper 50's with a strong breeze out of the south, which was blowing directly out from home plate. With the nice conditions, there was a pretty large crowd on hand. I would estimate, at its peak, maybe 150 fans were in attendance.
I arrived to the field right at 4:30, and the leadoff hitter for South Fulton was at the plate as I walked across the street and over to the field. The Rebels would go down 1-2-3 in the first inning. A surprise awaited me, as I walked closer. That was not Katie Bertelsen pitching for United. After taking a moment to think about it, I assumed she was just getting a day of rest, after pitching in all three games last Saturday, and a full schedule this week. Coach Gary Eyler confirmed this to me after the game. Sophomore Amy Olson was on the mound for United, and she did a very good job stepping in for Bertelsen on a few occasions last year.
United scored in the bottom of the first inning, when Sommer Foster would come around to score. She reached on a walk, then scored on a Rachel Kenney RBI double. The Rebels went down 1-2-3 (Hickle, Musson, Hulett) again in the second inning. The Red Storm scored their second run in the bottom frame. Megan Patterson reached base on a single, stole second, and would eventually plate a run off a wild pitch, to give United the 2-0 lead after two innings.
Four runs would be plated in the bottom of the third inning by United. Katie Bertelsen, Taylor Toops, Rachel Kenney, and Augusta Chandler all came across the plate. Kenney blasted a 2-RBI single, and Megan Patterson hit an RBI single to give the Red Storm a 6-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, Sommer Foster reached on a walk, then advanced to second on a double-steal attempt, in which Gina Long was thrown out at third. Foster, then advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored when Rachel Kenney reached base on an error by South Fulton pitcher Courtney Musson.
Gina Long hit a long blast into centerfield in the 5th inning. She would be rounding second before the centerfielder reached the ball, enabling Long to score after doing a Pete Rose-slide into the plate. This inside-the-park home run gave United the 8-0 lead heading into the 6th inning.
South Fulton mustered one hit in the top of the sixth, a single by Laci Porter. The Rebels only had three hits the entire game. With just one out in the 6th, the Red Storm would plate two runs to make it a game. Taylor Toops had a base hit and would come around to score on a Rachel Kenney double. Kenney finished the day, 3-3, with 4 RBI. She would score the 10th run, when Augusta Chandler reached on an error. United improved to (6-1) on the season with the 10-0 win in six innings.
After the game, the teams decided to play three more innings. There was, originally, a fresh/soph game scheduled to follow, but South Fulton was unable to bring all of the F/S team. During this extra game, coach Gary Eyler came over and talked with me, and said that the home field should be ready for their next home game, scheduled for next Wednesday.
Also during the extra three-inning "game", Carl Sandburg College women's basketball coach Mike Bailey walked by. We spoke for a few minutes, and asked if I had reached the goal of 100 games this past winter. When I replied, yes, with 112 games, he replied "phew, and I thought I watched a lot of basketball."
One thing that kept me entertained throughout the entire game was the P.A. announcer for United, George. He didn't say anything really funny, it was just the way he said it. He has the type of delivery that could make you laugh if he was reading paragraphs out of a chemistry book.
Today's trip was much more worthwhile than my Saturday excursion. This time around, I brought my laptop bag, and all the technological goodies it entails. After interviewing coach Eyler with the audio recorder, I spoke with Gina Long and Rachel Kenney, with short 90-second video interviews. Then, I uploaded those videos online while driving home. Technology is grand!
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