Time to Retire? Kirkwood 18, Webster 9

Give Kirkwood credit. We jumped out to a 6-run lead, but the Pioneers refused to circle their wagons and hunker down. Instead, they went on the attack, ran the bases aggressively, continued to put pressure on us, and we cracked, dropping our overall record to 9-7.

With two players injured and two more just out of their sick beds, we had trouble adjusting both mentally and physically. The 9-run deficit does not reflect the difference between the teams. I think we win 4 or 5 times if we play them 10 times, but the Kirkwood coaching staff has done a great job of improving their program.

But if I've ever lost to Kirkwood as a JV coach, I don't remember it; we won the last two years in extra innings each time, results reflective of their improving program. Oh, the shame....

We swung the bats pretty well, paced by Alina Castro's 4-for-4 game, which included a 2-run homer in the first. However, we had trouble getting the ball to stick in our gloves; neither did we seem as mentally sharp as in previous games and had trouble responding to their aggressive base running.

That happens, so you move on, keep working hard (no complaints on that score), and work for a win against Northwest Cedar Hill tomorrow. Then we try to finish our last week of the season with a rush. We will only have a 23-game schedule as McClure North changed their mind about making up the rainout which was scheduled, and then unscheduled, for October 5. 

So we'll finish at the Hancock Tournament and try to defend our championship status.