This game started out with a bang. Two bangs, to be exact.
Roggi's/Melzen's began the game with 4 runs in the top of the first, putting TeamOSI 4 runs in the hole before they had even got a change to bat. Things looked bleak for an Open Solutions team that had barely scraped together 10 players to take the field. Then Darren Murray led off the bottom of the first with a single. But one single is not 4 runs.
The Roggi's/Melzen's outfielders then moved in because "a girl" was coming up.
Amy "Boomer" Baldwin then promptly sent the ball soaring over the left fielder's head, who stood wide-eyed for a stunned moment before turning to run after the ball. Darren scored and Amy ended up on third with a triple. She then scored on a sac fly. R/M had a 4 to 2 lead.
In the second inning, Amy came to the plate again, this time with the bases were loaded. The R/M left fielder, though, had learned his lesson and was playing respectfully deep.
But not the center fielder.
Amy sent another shot over the head of the center fielder for her second triple in two innings, driving in three runs. Amy had accounted for all 5 Open Solution runs in the first two innings and TeamOSI had a 5-4 lead.
Unfortunately, that was to be their first and only lead in the game. R/M scored 6 runs in the third inning, and 3 more in both the fifth and the seventh. Open Solutions managed only two hits over the next four innings and entered the seventh down 16 to 5.
Still, memories of the miraculous seventh inning comeback against Team Gnarb rattled around the bench. And when Tom Tartaro, Barb Kimball, and Vin Musumeci (who had three hits in the game) lead off the bottom of the seventh with singles, the team got excited. Caylene Frechette then drove in a run with a fielder's choice. Darren Murray stepped up to the plate with one out, two men on, and Basher Baldwin on deck. Things looked good.
The team looked to the stands for support from their loyal fans. They had the best fans in the league, and if anyone could help them get this rally going in was their loyal...
Okay, they thought. We'll have to do this on our own.
But then Darren flied out to center... Or did he? No, the center fielder trapped it... Or did he?
Should the runners run? Is it a fly out or a hit? Who knows. So Vin runs to third; Caylene goes halfway to second; Darren nearly runs past Caylene...
Fly out or hit?
Hit or fly out?
Is there an ump in the house?
Finally the ump raises his turtle-fast fist, signaling an out, but it's too late for the TeamOSI runners. They are all hopelessly out of position and R/M tosses the ball in for an easy game-ending double play.
There were some after-game fireworks as Darren blasted the ump about the fly out call... or the non-call... or the non-call that suddenly became a call. There was talk that maybe they'd come to blows and TeamOSI was all set to watch the show. But nothing happened. The ump was wise enough to just walk away.
Then again, at 105 years old, he should be wise.
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