Mercer County @ Monmouth-Roseville (Softball)
(4/21/10)
The stars had alligned, and unfortunately it was an allignment that you would rather not have. With so much on my mind at work, several tasks getting done at the same time, my mind was a frazzled mish-mash. The main reason, was that it seemed each computer I tried to work on, either failed, or was extremely slow, further complicating a busy day.
Getting everything done on time was a chore, but I was able to knock everything out only about five minutes later than I wanted to, to head out to Monmouth Park for the WRAM Game of the Week.
There was a 20-30% chance of rain in the forecast, and no press box at the field. Well...there is a press box, but the window does not open. And, that is only the semi-truth. It does open, however, it opens to the inside, and there are no hooks. Without risking a concussion, there isn't a way to keep it propped open, but at least the equipment can be kept in the shelter.
After getting everything dropped off in my broadcast location, at the top of the Monmouth Park bleachers, I headed down to talk with Monmouth-Roseville softball coach Tom Casteel. In his dugout, 1st baseman Kara Abbott was holding an ice pack to her head, just getting hit by a ball minutes before. She would be ok, and play the entire game.
After talking things over with Casteel, I headed over to the Mercer County dugout to speak with Daryl Bewley. His team comes in with a (5-9) record, and I caught the Golden Eagles when they played United a week ago. He has a young team, with four freshman starters. One of them, Morgan Weeks smoked a triple off of United ace Katie Bertelsen, and was the only baserunner in that game. We also talked about the great weather the area has seen this spring, commenting that we could actually even use some rain. There's that jinx, read on...
In the first inning, the visiting Golden Eagles took advantage of some defensive mistakes by the Titans, scoring two runs off of two errors. Monmouth-Roseville has struggled at times in the field, but according to my stats, did not commit another error the rest of the game, playing some solid defense. The bad thing for the Titans, was Mercer County was placing their hits right where the Titans defense wasn't. Mercer County would win the game, 5-2.
After Emma Downey and Jordan Ruh scored runs off errors, Emily Heard stepped up and roped an RBI single, scoring Morgan Weeks. Heard finished the game, 4-4 with an RBI and a run. Ruh finished with a pair of base hits, and Weeks went 0-1 with 2 walks and a run.
Lynsey Weber led off the first inning for the Titans, hitting a single, and scoring the first run for Monmouth-Roseville. Taylor Woods followed with a nicely laid bunt down the first base line to reach. Alex Nunez followed with another text book bunt, that just stopped dead after hitting the ground just 8 feet in front of home plate down the first base side. Kara Abbott then hit into a fairly rare, 4-3-5 double play.
Towards the end of the first inning, after mentioning the perfect weather, a slight breeze entered the area, which became a consistent breeze, which then turned into a downright gusty wind that brought with it some light sprinkles. No matter my occupation, wind has always been my enemy. I haven't had too many occupations, but it just reminded me of my youth, when delivering newspapers on my bike during this time of year and the windy conditions I would have to battle. Try as I might to cover that wind from my microphone, there is only so much wind a clipboard can block.
Monmouth-Roseville placed a couple batters on base in the second inning, with Tessa Barry (walk), Kayla Kane (fielder's choice), and Taylor Greenstreet (single) all getting on, but failing to score. Neither team scored in the third inning. Mercer County plated their final two runs in the fourth inning. Leading off the inning, Heard had a base hit, and scored on the throw off a Kimi Nelson single. Midge DeFrieze scored the last run for the Golden Eagles, off of a Molly Dietmeier bunt.
Try as I might, the jacket debate failed once again. On Monday, I had wished I wore my jacket to the North Fulton/Lewistown game. Tuesday, I made the right decision by opting against the jacket in Stronghurst, and today it seemed like it was going to be a really nice day, with just that slight breeze at first pitch, and temperatures in the low 70's. Through the 2nd inning, I was doing ok, then as I watched fans in the stands make car runs to grab jackets, I fell into that line of thinking. By the time the 3rd inning ended, I had my color commentator, Sam Brooks, run down to my car to grab my jacket. With only 0:60 of commercials between innings, I know I wasn't fast enough to make the run before going back on air. It could have been close, but my listeners would be hearing a lot of panting for the next inning.
The Titans scored their only other run in the bottom of the 5th inning, when Greenstreet singled, her second hit of the game, then scored on an Alex Nunez RBI single. Nunez finished the game, 3-3 with an RBI. Looking to rally in the 7th inning, the Titans went down 1-2-3 to end the game, and drop to (3-11) on the season.
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