Well, this recap is a little late. After months of game recaps, scoresheets, triples, home runs, questionable calls and trying to make senior softball sound exciting week after week, my laptop finally said, “That's it. I'm out.”
Yep. Six months old and apparently it had already seen enough Winter Haven Senior Softball.
So after spending most of the day getting its replacement up and running, the recap department is officially back in business. And wouldn't you know it — the first recap for the new computer has plenty to write about.
FINAL SCORES
Ridge Energy — Coach Tutrani: 22
Glory Days — Coach Hill: 17
Somewhere Sports Bar — Coach Wally: 13
Ridge Energy — Coach Tutrani: 22
Glory Days — Coach Hill: 17
Somewhere Sports Bar — Coach Wally: 13
Glory Days, our Visiting/Hitting team, got off to a slow start with just one run in the first.
Somewhere Sports Bar wasted no time getting things going, putting four on the board in the first, highlighted by a Testa triple.
Then Ridge Energy came to the plate and apparently decided the team name was a challenge. They opened with five runs, including a home run blast from Nestor, and just like that, we had ourselves a ballgame.
Glory Days woke up in the second, and this time it was the bottom of the lineup doing the damage, accounting for four of the team's five runs.
Somewhere Sports stayed hot with another five-run inning, helped along by a Michl triple, while Ridge Energy answered with three more behind doubles from Rabideau and Ramon.
Then, for one brief inning, everybody remembered that defense is part of softball too.
In the third, Glory Days and Somewhere Sports were both held scoreless, while Ridge Energy managed just one run.
That defensive peace and quiet didn't last long.
Glory Days came right back in the fourth with five runs, highlighted by a LoPiccolo triple, with Gil, Hill, Doyle and Pablo among those crossing the plate.
Somewhere Sports was shut down for the second straight inning, while Ridge Energy added three more behind hits from Deloach, Nestor, Rabideau and Ramon.
And after four, this thing was still anybody's game:
Glory Days 11 | Somewhere Sports 9 | Ridge Energy 12
Then Ridge Energy found another gear.
Glory Days added one in the fifth, Somewhere Sports put up three, but Ridge Energy answered with five more as Deloach, Nestor, Griffin, Boito and Cruz all crossed the plate.
Still, Glory Days wasn't going quietly.
The top of the lineup went back to work, with Hill, Doyle, Pablo and Anderson helping close the gap and keeping the pressure on.
Somewhere Sports, meanwhile, just couldn't get the offense going again, managing only one more run over the sixth and seventh innings.
And Ridge Energy?
Apparently there was still plenty left in the battery.
They put up another five runs in the sixth, creating a gap that even a late Glory Days push couldn't overcome.
By the time the dust settled:
Ridge Energy 22
Glory Days 17
Somewhere Sports Bar 13
Glory Days 17
Somewhere Sports Bar 13
With Ridge Energy sitting comfortably at 22, there was no need for the Home/Field team to bat in the final inning.
Ridge Energy started hot, survived a close battle through four innings, and then simply pulled away.
Twenty-two runs. No last at-bat needed. I'd say Ridge Energy had more than enough juice to finish this one.
Great game, guys. Ridge Energy finished with 22 runs and plenty left in the tank.
My six-month-old laptop, on the other hand, apparently needed a better sponsor.
