Notes for Game 01s
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Game date: June 26, 2012

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  1 2 3 4 5 6 7   R H HR
Game Show Network
4 0 2 0 0 2 3   11 X 3
Verdasys
2 0 1 0 6 7 X   16 25 3
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Coach’s Game Analysis:

Coach painted the foul lines the weekend prior to game. (Wolan)
Weather and field conditions:
68oF. Cloudy. Wind blowing into LF. A passing storm stayed to the east and offshore. It brought a strong cool breeze into the area right before game time. Infield was soft but sticky due to heavy rains from the day before. Foul lines were painted by A-WOL the past weekend.

Roster:
 - Kevin left at start of scrimmage game due to other obligations; only came for solidarity purposes due to game being the first since merger.
 - Bob came late and agreed to sit out.
 - Melissa sat out to allow arm to heal from past injury.

Recap:
New team, new season, and new faces. It can be taxing to manage a game while at the same time getting acquainted with a new squad of players, (and learning their names correctly.). During such games, you are going to make managerial mistakes, which can be costly if you are going-up against a well-tuned team. But those worries went out the window after GNS forfeited the game, making the whole ordeal far less stressful.

If it means anything, the teams playing on neighboring Cusick Field had to massage the infield prior to the game.

Offense:
For a first game, I think our batters did pretty good. Base runners knew when to take chances for extra bases. There should not be any worries regarding run scoring potential this season.

It was observed during one inning where Russell ran out of gas trying to score from 1B. He was safe at home because throw was off. In future games, should consider NOT waving him home, unless ball is far from area of play.

GSN’s infield was strong, but not consistent between innings. GSN’s outfielders did not see much action until late in the game. No eval logged.

Defense:
The infield was soft, slowing down the velocity of grounders. Can be a bad thing since it forces fielders to charge after a ball more. Regardless, infield looked surprisingly sharp for just the first game of the season. Matt, who played SS, was seemingly all over the place scoping ground balls and making quick solid throws to first. Mike P, Tim and Josh did a good job hustling after infield balls as well. (Tim’s not 60, is he?)

As for out fielding, we played our free infielder in the outfield because our infield unit was effective and did not need extra help. This gave us 5 people out there instead of the normal 3 or 4. All this did was make the outfield feel crowded, creating confusion. For future games, it might make sense to not field the tenth fielder, unless there’s a specific area where the person can be helpful.


Game Highlights:

Memorable Events:
 - Mike Parrella hit a home run in his first career at bat with Verdasys Softball.
 - During his last at bat, Tom Cottam hit a fly ball that nearly cleared the outfield fence. It hit the fence instead, but was good enough for an ITP HR. Longest hit in club history.

Offense:
Parrella:4 for 4 (2-run ITP HR) with 3 run and 3 RBI.
A-WOL:2 for 3 (2-run ITP HR) with 2 runs and 2 RBIs.
Cottam:1 for 2 (3-run ITP HR, 2 SACs) with 1 run and 4 RBIs.
Bowler:4 for 4 (2-2B) with 4 runs and 1 RBI.
Russell:3 for 3 (SAC), with 1 run and 2 RBIs.
Josh:3 for 4 (3B), with 1 run and 3 RBIs.

Defense:
Matt:Fielded 3 consecutive grounders at SS for a force out at 1B to contribute to a 1-2-3 inning.
Cottam:After missing a popup for an F4, Tom scoped the ball and made a strike to Josh at 3B for a force-out. (Then again, this should have counted as an infield fly.)
Verdasys:Gave-up 2 or fewer runs over 5 innings, including 3 shut-out innings, and two 1-2-3 innings.

Milestones:
 - Team hit 3 HRs, beating the old team record of 2 achieved on four separate occasions: Game 3-2008, Game e1-2009, Game 2s-2010, and Game 8s-2011.
 - First ever game played in the month for June for Verdasys Softball in its 5 years with the league. (All other games in June were rained-out.) Was weird to come home after the game, take a shower, and then still see daylight outside.
 - This article is the website team’s 50th Game Summary / Game Note with Verdasys. No better way to celebrate this milestone than with a win.


A-WOL Watch:

Début game using the new sport goggles. I am able to see down field a lot clearer than before. Reading text close-up can be a problem, but is expected since its designed for outdoor use.

Batting:
2 for 3 (2-run ITP HR) with 2 runs and 2 RBIs.
 - Infield pop-up while trying to hit ball into RF. (Short green bat.)
 - Outran throw to 1B on a short grounder to 3B. (Blue bat.) Later scored from 3B on SAC fly into LF. I accidentally progressed towards home while ball was in air, and had to retreat back to 3B to tag-up. Need to remember to stay at the bag in those situations: the few steps to home won’t matter much with my speed.
 - Hit ball into dead center field and past outfielder for ITP HR. Used blue bat. (Career HR #5) Took a chance to score after ball got passed 3B. Ended-up “diving” onto home plate instead of sliding in. Mistakenly jogged to 1B instead of hustling as I looked to see if outfielder would catch ball. May have scored uncontested otherwise.

Fielding:
Team switched positions during most of the game.
 - FOF: 1 inning, no touches
 - 1B: 1 inning. Caught 2 consecutive throws to 1B for force-outs. Had no problems spotting ball with the goggles. First time I successfully caught balls at 1B since perhaps 2004.
 - 3B: 1 inning, no touches
 - FOF: 1 inning. Participated in relay to home. Throw a bit short for play at plate.

Andy Wolan is a reporter and photographer for Verdasys Softball. This story was not subject to the approval of the league or its clubs.