Dropping number three

So yesterday was the third game of the spring softball season, and we faced for the first time–this season–the good folks from Flower Mound United Methodist Church. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I really like playing against these ladies and gentlemen. Lots of kindred spirits, they keep the game in perspective, and yes, it’s really a lot of fun to win, but if you can’t do that, at least have fun playing the game.
The first inning was a back-and-forth affair, the score 1-1, our team playing the role of the visitor. The second inning we became unraveled, with their tacking on something like five or six runs. Before we knew it, we were down by seven, 9-2. Our defense tightened, but our hitting couldn’t get anywhere.
In the fifth inning, we staged something of a comeback, closing the run gap to only three, before we took our first out, but then it was two in a row, one of our hitters got on, and then the last out to end the game.
It was a decent day for myself at the plate, going two for three. I didn’t see a lot of action on defense, being in right-center. Had some stuff drop way short in front of me, which was surprising since the hitters were men, and no, they weren’t trying to place the ball there, they were popping up and going just deep enough to get behind the second baseman. Two shots were deep, but high enough to pick up for easy catches. (Though the wind yesterday was hell on figuring out initial trajectory.) I’m just glad that nothing got behind me.
We were missing a couple of our regulars, due to this being the first weekend of spring break for our school system, so things weren’t quite running as smoothly as they might have otherwise. But it was an enjoyable game, and I, at least, had fun playing.