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Despite the disappointing outcome, it really was a remarkable season, with Re-Entry one hit away from an undefeated season and an eleventh championship. My hats off to all of my teammates for the great ride!

In the Championship game vs. the Master Batters, Re-Entry jumped out to a quick 1--0 lead as Andrew led off with a triple to deep left field, and scored on Taylor's ground ball out to the third baseman. Yahoo followed with a deep drive to left center field. As he approached third base, Howie (coaching at third) took a chance and sent Yahoo home. Unfortunately, a terrific relay throw from the left fielder to the shortstop to home plate, with the first baseman covering resulting in an out at home on a very close play. In retrospect, with only one out, it was a chance that shouldn't have been taken. That potential run would eventually be the difference in the game, although it was certainly way too early to know that. Nevertheless, it was clear that we were up against the best fielding team in the league.

The Master Batters put a runner on third base with one out. The next batter popped out to Clara at second base and failed to move the runner. With two outs now, the next Master Batter hit a flair down the left field line between the third baseman Yahoo and the left fielder Eddie. Yahoo made an amazing effort and managed to reach the ball, but it glanced off his glove and fell between him and Eddie. The Mater Batters had tied the game up at 1--1.

What followed was a defensive clinic put on by both teams. Howie made two difficult catches of flairs in short left center field, gloving the ball in both cases with his back to the infield. Later on in the game, with a Master Batter runner at first base, the runner attempted to go from first to third on a single to right center field. A.J. fielded the ball cleanly and through a strike to Yahoo at third base to gun down the advancing runner and earn the Re-Entry web gem.

Unfortunately, the Re-Entry bats were mostly silent in the middle innings. With runners on first and second and two outs, Howie drove a ball down the right field line that curved foul at the last minute. On the next pitch, he hit a flair to left field, and the Master Batter left fielder made a nice running catch to end the inning. That out was the beginning of ten consecutive Re-Entry outs. Meanwhile, the Master Batter hitters were equally unproductive until the top of the sixth inning, when one of the Master Batters hit a mammoth drive to deep left field well over Eddie's head for a two run homerun. Later in the inning, the Master Batters pushed across one more run when a throw by Eddie from left field to the catcher was off line. The Master Batters now had a 4--1 lead.

But Re-Entry was not ready to give up. Howie led off the sixth inning with a double over the left center fielders head. Two batters later, Andrew followed with a line drive shot into the left center field gap for a two run homerun, and Re-Entry had narrowed the score to 4--3. Unfortunately, two quick outs ended the inning.

The Re-Entry defense held in the top of the seventh, so it was now down to the final at bats. Alexa led off the seventh inning with a single to right center field, and our leading RBI man, A.J., was now the batter. It looked like a storybook ending, when A.J. hit a deep drive down the left field line. Yes, a two-run homerun to win the Championship! Unfortunately, to the surprise of this observer, the umpire called the ball foul. I am convinced that this was the wrong call, since I stood on the left field foul line (near the third base coaches spot) to track A.J.'s winning homerun. The umpire was slightly off line when he made the call, and with the warped Field 3 configuration, it is perhaps not surprising that he made the wrong call.

So, A.J. had to return to the batter's box and try again to be the hero. He then scorched a line drive in the direction of the third baseman. The third baseman caught the ball and immediately threw to first base, as Alexa tried to return to the bag in time. Once again, the umpires were not kind to us, as they called Alexa out on the double play (on a very close call). That call could have gone either way (although on a similar play when Re-Entry was defending was also called in favor of the Master Batters). Sadly, that one play took the air out of Re-Entry. Katie was the final Re-Entry hope, but she hit a weak ground ball, which the third baseman was able to handle, and the game was suddenly over. Instead of a 5--4 victory, Re-Entry was on the losing end of a 4--3 heartbreaking loss.

A couple of observations to end the spring season. There is no doubt that the Master Batters were a superb defensive team. However, on many occasions while batting, they attempted to quick pitch before the Re-Entry defense was ready. This was not a one time occurrence---indeed it looked like this was a strategic effort to gain an (unfair) advantage. On a number of occasions, we demanded that the Master Batter pitcher hold off until the Re-Entry defense was set, and on those occasions the Master Batters complained as if they were being insulted. It was a bizarre display of gamesmanship---really inappropriate for Intramurals play that honors good sportsmanship. Ultimately, we will remember the unfathomable foul call on A.J.'s potential winning homerun. Nevertheless, it should not have come down to this. The cold Re-Entry bats ultimately doomed our Championship dreams.

Despite the disappointing outcome, it really was a remarkable season, with Re-Entry one hit away from an undefeated season and an eleventh championship. My hats off to all of my teammates for the great ride!

Championship game log

First inning

Andrew triples to left field.
Taylor grounds out to the third baseman. Andrew scores.
Yahoo triples to left-center field. Yahoo is out trying to score.
Alexa grounds out to the shortstop.

Second inning

Third inning

Fourth inning

Fifth inning

Sixth inning

Seventh inning

In a semi-final rematch against the Alpha Psi/Sigma Pi, Re-Entry countered a first inning Alpha Psi/Sigma Pi run with four of their own. Andrew and Yahoo set the tone with two solo homeruns. A.J. contributed an RBI double scoring Alexa who had singled. A.J. took advantage of a depleted Alpha Psi/Sigma Pi squad with no catcher by scoring on Katie's ground out. In the top of the second inning, the Re-Entry defense took charge. With one out and a runner on first and second, Clara fielded a ground ball and threw to Taylor at first base. Taylor alertly noticed that the lead Alpha Psi/Sigma Pi runner was trying to score, and a perfect throw to Alexa at home plate gunned down the runner for the inning ending double play and first web gem of the game.

Re-Entry added two more runs in the second inning. With Howie on third base, Dana popped out to the shortstop. With no Alpha Psi/Sigma Pi catcher, Howie tagged up and headed for home, and scored just ahead of the first baseman who had sprinted home to take the throw from the shortstop. Andrew followed with his second homerun of the game, and Re-Entry had a 6--1 lead. Re-Entry added another four runs in the third inning, mostly with small ball consisting of four singles and a double. The Re-Entry offense finally hit full throttle in the fourth inning, with a ten run surge (which ended the inning due to the ten run rule). The team batted around, with the big blows courtesy of a three run homerun by A.J. and a two run homerun by Andrew, his third of the game. A.J. came up for a second time with the bases loaded and delivered a double to drive in the final two runs of the inning. The score now stood at 20--2 and the outcome was no longer in doubt.

In the top of the fifth inning, with one out and an Alpha Psi/Sigma Pi runner on first base, Clara fielded a slow roller to second. Her only play was at first base, where the second out of the inning was recorded. Once again, the lead Alpha Psi/Sigma Pi runner unwisely tried to advance by taking an extra base. But Taylor was ready with a strike to Yahoo at third base for the tag play to complete the double play and the second web gem of the game. Re-Entry added two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning despite a double play which started with a line out to the third baseman by Clara. The third baseman juggled the ball before securing it and Katie took off from second base. As a result, Katie was out when the ball was thrown back to second base, although this call was in error, since Katie had the right to advance once the ball was initially touched by the third baseman. Given the score, Re-Entry did not lodge a protest. Instead, it added two more runs with three consecutive singles.

With the game out of reach, the Re-Entry defense relaxed in the sixth inning. Due to a number of miscues and terrible bounces (due to numerous ruts in the Field 3 infield), Alpha Psi/Sigma Pi pushed six runs across the plate before Re-Entry recorded the third out of the inning. Having some self-esteemed restored, Alpha Psi/Sigma Pi generously agreed to end the game after six innings of play to provide sufficient time for the Championship Game which was to follow.

Semi-final game log

First inning

Andrew homers to right-center field. Andrew scores.
Taylor flies out to left field.
Yahoo homers to left-center field. Yahoo scores.
Alexa singles to left field.
A.J. doubles to center field. Alexa scores.
Katie grounds out to the second baseman. A.J. scores.
Eddie flies out to right field.

Second inning

Third inning

Fourth inning

Fifth inning