Winter Haven had three teams on the field today.
Technically.
One of them shall remain nameless, mostly because apparently their bats would like to remain anonymous as well.
The visiting Nameless Team scratched out one run in the first and another in the second. Then came an impressive stretch of three straight innings of 3-up, 3-down. In the sixth, they mixed things up a little and went 4-up, 3-down, before eking out one final run in the seventh.
Hey, nobody can accuse them of being inconsistent.
But in fairness, we can't put ALL the blame on those missing bats. Rabideau had a lot to do with keeping them quiet. His pitching kept the Nameless hitters off balance all game and gave them very little to work with.
And while their offense may have taken the day off, Team Nameless definitely showed up on defense.
Vandenberg made an AMAZING catch on the mound — and this wasn't some little dribbler back to the pitcher. That ball was SMOKING! Somehow Vandenberg got a glove on it and made one heck of a play.
Then there was Pete Gelesky at home plate, making not one but TWO heroic catches to stop Team Wally runners from scoring. Those two plays saved a pair of runs and gave the Nameless Team something besides their batting average to talk about after the game.
Meanwhile, the real offensive battle was taking place between Team Hill (Sitting/Middle) and Team Wally (Fielding/Home).
Team Wally came out swinging and scored in every inning they batted except the fifth:
5 in the 1st, 5 in the 2nd, 4 in the 3rd, 4 in the 4th, a little rest in the fifth, and then 5 more in the 6th on their way to 23 runs.
And check out the top of that lineup:
Nestor — 3-for-4
Rusty — 3-for-4
JD — 4-for-4 with a HOME RUN
Rusty — 3-for-4
JD — 4-for-4 with a HOME RUN
Michl - base hit and a HOME RUN
Griffin — 4-for-4
Pablo — 3-for-4
Griffin — 4-for-4
Pablo — 3-for-4
In fact, the top six batters accounted for 19 of Wally's 23 runs.
Which does make you wonder...
Who the heck set up these teams? 
But Team Hill wasn't about to quietly go away.
After scoring just one run over the first two innings, their bats suddenly woke up in the third. And with two outs, they exploded for 6 runs.
They weren't finished.
Team Hill piled on 7 more in the fourth, closing the gap on Team Wally. They followed that with 4 more in the fifth and another run in the sixth.
What had looked like a runaway was suddenly turning into one heck of a comeback.
And here's where Team Nameless gets to take a little more credit.
With Team Hill threatening to complete an amazing rally, the Nameless defense held them to just 2 runs in the final inning, putting an end to the comeback.
Team Hill certainly wasn't hurting for hot bats:
Testa — 5-for-5
Woodsby — 4-for-4 with a HOME RUN
Williamson — 4-for-4
Tutrani — 4-for-4
Cruz — 3-for-4
Gil — 4-for-4
Woodsby — 4-for-4 with a HOME RUN
Williamson — 4-for-4
Tutrani — 4-for-4
Cruz — 3-for-4
Gil — 4-for-4
And then there's Amy.
She sent two balls DEEP into center field today. Both were caught, but don't let that fool you — she was ON FIRE!
Boys, you might want to start backing up. Once Amy gets her game fully back, those balls aren't staying in anybody's glove.
So the final takeaway from today's Winter Haven action:
Team Wally brought the runs.
Team Hill brought the comeback.
Team Nameless brought the defense... and apparently left their bats in the parking lot.
Team Hill brought the comeback.
Team Nameless brought the defense... and apparently left their bats in the parking lot.
Although after the way Rabideau pitched today, maybe those bats deserve a little less of the blame.
Another fun day of Winter Haven Senior Softball — see you on the field!