Play Ball! Webster v. Affton Tomorrow

Weather permitting and the (Gravois) Creek don’t rise, we have our first pitch tomorrow at Affton Athletic Association fields, immediately following the varsity contest. The Cougars are a little short on players, but rather than cancel the JV, they will try to supplement with leftover or little used varsity players. I’m hopeful that will make the game more competitive. The JV will take the bus with the varsity (around 3 p.m.) and have the opportunity to cheer on their teammates for a while before getting ready for our own first pitch. I would expect we would start no sooner than 5:30, and, of course, perhaps later.

Before revealing the tentative (always tentative) starting lineup, let’s share some news. The Thursday game against Nerinx Hall at Kirkwood Athletic will apparently start around 5 p.m., assuming logistics can be worked out with the umpires. We have added a September 20 game at home vs. the Oakville Tigers. Expect that one to be competitive and a challenge. We are also looking to add a second game with Kirkwood, details to be announced.

Those games are to compensate for two others teams, Parkway North and Parkway West who will also be fielding hybrid JV squads, but without the Affton advantage of lights those games may be curtailed. It also kind of builds in insurance in the event of a rainout that cannot be rescheduled. Activities Director Jerry Collins has done a good job trying to ensure we get to play a full schedule.

The girls have done a great job in running a supportive but competitive preseason, making our job as coaches very difficult in deciding the lineup for this first game. In all my years of coaching (30+ years now), the starting lineup for Game 1 has never been the starting lineup for the season finale. I don’t expect 2017 to be any different. But below is (probably) what we’ll look like as we take the field tomorrow. Join us for another exciting season of Webster softball.