So the Jigsaw crew made our first visit into the playoff arena with little expectation. After limping through .500 season you become a little “meh” about things. I think that attitude might have helped at the start of the game. Like I said, we had little expectation about this game so we were a little looser that we had been in the past. We just went out and played like it was in our back yard. Just a bunch of kids having some fun. And it was fun. People made plays that they hadn’t made all season. Others kept their game elevated like they had played it all season. The thing was, our opponent was playing the same way. Not a lot of offense because there was a lot of defense. In the top of 5th inning the score was knotted at 2-2. In the bottom half they score 3. In their half of the 6th they added 5 more. And that kind of broke our spirit. We were tired and just wanted to sit in the cool night air, lick our wounds and enjoy a cold beer with each other. And that’s what we did.

When I took this job on, all I wanted to do was accomplish one more win each season than we had accomplished the previous season. We started out 1-9. The next season it was 2-8. Then following year we were .500. And this season we were .500 but we made the playoffs. So next season we’ll be looking to add a little more to this thing that is Jigsaw softball. Hopefully you’ll be around to enjoy it with us. But for now the cooler is empty and I’m going home.

Coach

Jigsaw 13 – BLZHYN 1 Who?

Don’t bother trying to figure out the pronunciation of this week’s opponent. It’s an acronym for several agencies that banded together to form a team. Teams get put together in this fashion usually by smaller agencies. Sometimes it works. More often than not it doesn’t. Last night it didn’t. Not by their lack of effort, but by the play of the Jigsaw squad. Once again it was a true team effort. We scored in every inning but one. The runs came in bunches. That’s how you win. A little here, a little there and watch it all add up.

The defense was up to the task as well. Our right fielder threw out a runner with a laser beam throw that was caught right in front of the bag as the runner conveniently slid into the tag. Our catcher caught a foul ball that was almost out of play. And it was our first baseman’s first game of the season! He got on base 3 times, scored a run and made a nice stab to glove a ground ball and get the unassisted out. That’s the kind of night is was. Everything just came easy.

Now we head into the tournament feeling confident and ready to play. And we play a team that beat us by 2 earlier in the season. A chance at redemption! Just another reason for you to come on by and check it out. I’ll make sure the beer is cold.

Coach

Brand X 11 – Jigsaw 9

It was 96 degrees at game time. There was very little warming up (no pun intended), hardly any stretching and no batting practice. Everybody was trying to conserve what little energy we had that the heat hadn’t sapped us of. It’s hard to do anything in sunny 96-degree heat, let alone play softball. And it showed. We scored 1 run in the first 5 innings. 1! In 5 innings! A complete game is 7 innings! That means we were asleep at the wheel for most of this game. We finally found some urgency in the bottom of the 6th and scored 4 runs. Now Brand X-ers were nervous. The laughter stopped. The “we need an out” chatter was louder. And the third baseman kept asking the base coach “What’s the score now?”

In the top half of the 7th inning our defense once again rose to the occasion and they didn’t score. 11-5 and our last chance for glory. In no time at all there were 2 outs. But then it started with a single. Then another. A double that scored one. 11-6! Then it happened. A bases clearing drove over the head of the outfield and it was 11-9! But that was as close as we would get. A ground ball and a throw to first and just like that it was over. Poof…

But we scared ‘em. Scared ‘em good. Plus, I just found out that Jigsaw is in the playoffs. And you’ll never guess who we might run into in the first round? You guessed it. BRAND X! A little pay-back would be sweet. We’ll find out next week after the last regular season game. I’ll let you know. If you’ve got nothing to do, why don’t you stop by, grab a cold one, sit back and enjoy a little United Adworkers softball. It don’t cost nothing…

Coach

So after a 2 week break that included a bye and the 4th of July holiday break, we returned to the diamond to face a pretty good squad of GMR. And for not having played for 2 weeks, we didn’t look too bad. People were hitting the ball well and we kept the opposition from getting too far ahead of us. The middle innings were a little rough but we maintained our composure and managed to score a few runs and keep the pressure on. We found ourselves tied 13-13 going into the 6th inning and what do you think happened? A giant 2 out 5 run rally, of course! Now it’s 18-13. The defense stiffens up for the last 2 innings and doesn’t allow a single run to score and we walk away with the win. Bada bing bada boom.

So now we’re back to .500 and with 2 games left in the season we have a good chance at a winning season and more importantly a chance at the playoffs. Like they say, it’s never over until it’s over. That’s the wonder of Adworkers Softball.

Come on out and see for yourself. Beer’s in the cooler…

Coach

Jigsaw 9 Laughlin/Constable 8

Can I assume that everybody in the room is familiar with the term “nail biter”? Well that’s what we had last night. In the stifling heat under sometimes sunny and sometimes cloudy skies, we battled. Once again they scored first. But we came back to take a 2-1 lead going into the 3rd inning. And then the “nail biting” came into play. Jigsaw didn’t score again until the bottom of the 6th. Meanwhile L/C scored 6 more runs. 7-2. Not good. But in the bottom of the 6th inning things changed. Remember that Jigsaw heart I spoke of in the past? It came into play. We scored 5 runs to knot the score at 7 all. L/C scored 1 in their half of the 7th before we came in for our last at bat. 8-7.

A lead-off triple and 2 good defensive plays by L/C left us with a man on third and 2 outs. Nail biter is an understatement. The dark storm clouds were amassing and thunder echoed in the distance. It was almost like the final homerun scene in The Natural.

Minus the homerun. And the stadium full of screaming people. And the exploding lights. Like I said, almost.

A hard hit ground ball to the 3rd baseman; that bobbled just enough to score the tying run and let the batter reach first base safely! 8-8 with 2 outs and a man on 1st. The next batter hit a fly ball into left field and the runner bolted for second base! The ball fell just fair and the runner rounded 2nd base at full speed! The left fielder reached the ball, scooped and fired the ball back into the infield! But the throw was long. The runner hit 3rd and coast into home! Game over!

As a coach, I don’t like games like this. But it’s nice to know that we can suck it up and get it done when needed.

Next week it’s Cramer Krasselt at Kletzsch Park. Come out and gaze upon the glory that is Adworkers Softball. The first beer is on me.

Coach