No Fear of Flyers: Webster 14, Lindbergh 4

For a few minutes there it looked like Lindbergh’s Flyers were going to bomb our winning streak as they jumped out to a quick 4-run lead in the first inning before we found our rhythm and footing. But thanks to a clutch 2-out at bat by Taylor Smith, we cut the lead to 4-2; the bottom of our order, always dangerous, loaded the bases and, with some strong baserunning, turned that 2-run deficit into a 2-run lead by the time the dust from our slides had cleared.

We had been scouted by Lindbergh and so Myah King added to her record with her fourth and fifth intentional walks of the season; Marko made them pay, though, with two sacrifice flies and a 2-run double. Again, this was a team win against a dangerous team, with every player, including the newly activated Zoe Weik, back from concussion protocol – and just in time as we lost Alyssa (Venus) Moran for the rest of the season with a broken foot.

I don’t want to start summarizing a season that still has half a dozen games to go, including maybe our toughest league contest tomorrow against Northwest-Cedar Hill (I’m so old I remember when they were called Northwest House Springs, and I have no clue when or why that changed) in Bug Heaven (I just put my Deet out) (NOT at the high school: Northwest Jefferson County Sports Complex, 4900 Byrnesville Rd. House Springs, MO 63051). But this team continues to amaze me, playing so hard for their school and their teammates. I don’t know what the season has in store for us, but I can tell you it’s been a pleasure working with these young women who represent their team, their school, and themselves with class. Our record stands at 15-1.

Thanks to Karen Smith for the photos below.

Caitlyn Boyle stole 3 bases, including third here, to move her total for the season to 29.

Freshman Myah King got two (more) intentional walks, hit a triple in between, and added five put outs.

Taylor Smith has played all over the field this year, including shortstop today as Alyssa Moran's injury forced us to move Nicola Rikand out to CF.

Zoe Weik made her return to the team by dropping a beautiful bunt down to move the game-ending run to third, where she (Friday) was driven in by Nicola Rikand's game-ending single.

After a rough first inning, Taylor Knapp shut the Flyers down with lots of pup ups to notch her 14th win in the circle.

Huh! Whoda Thunk? WG17, Summit 2

In the post-game post mortem, Marko confessed what I think all of us felt. “I didn’t expect this kind of game coming in.”

Even with a slim 3-2 lead after two innings, it sort of felt like we were farther ahead than that. And just like that, we were. Five Statesmen crossed the plate in the third, nine more in the fourth, we cleared our bench, gave TK an inning off (Coach Confessions {not Coastal Confessions, that’s a Jimmy Buffett song}: I didn't realize we had the 15-run lead until Nicola closed out the Falcons and Dave Knapp (I think) said, “Line it up!”).

To be fair, Summit was short-handed and became shorter-handed after an injury to their catcher reduced them to their 9 remaining players. Nevertheless, during their warm-ups they didn’t look a candidate for the 15-run mercy rule. They threatened but we didn’t panic, closed out each inning limiting their damage, unloaded our bats, and then clipped the Falcons’ wings.

Alyssa Moran lead off with a long triple and Myah King and Lydia Beggs added multi-hit games. Before we knew it, it was time for the bus ride home. We also had a strong defensive game, but still with room for improvement. It’s important to remember that our players are still learning the game, their strengths, and sometimes new positions. They are also (very quickly) learning how to be a team and a family, and the coaches are extremely pleased at how that is coming together.

Seckman’s Jaguars (tomorrow at home) have been a tough program for us and we expect a good game. I have confidence in the girls; they’ll be ready. But for now, enjoy the photos from the bench and Andrew Graning.

Emmy Gary slides home on a wild pitch.

Ivy Clark makes the tag on a perfect throw from Nora (Marko) Marcinkiewicz to end the second inning and stifle the Falcon threat.

Myah King went 3 for 4, hit four balls hard.

Lydia Beggs drives one of her two hits.

Ivy Clark slides in under the Summit catcher's tag in the first inning.

Nora Marcinkiewicz makes a tough catch on a foul pop by the fence.

Taylor (Friday) Graning closes out the game throwing out a runner from 2B.

Nicola Rikand finished out the game with a scoreless fourth inning.

Taylor (TK) Knapp picked up her fourth win of the young season. 

Zoe Weik brings in the 17th run to create a 15-run lead.

Ready or Not -- 2018

After two weeks of practice, we have had to make all sorts of difficult decisions. Thankfully, one we did NOT have to make was whom to tell she won’t be playing softball. Oh, and apologies for not having updated the Blog Header. That is coming when I am permitted to sit without an elevated leg for more than 15-20 minutes!

But due to the efforts of Bryan Gibson, Don Sanders, and many others from the Feeder League, as well as the commitment from the girls themselves, we will be adding a third team so that all 40 girls who said they wanted to play softball for Webster High School will have the opportunity to do so. We welcome Ashley Pickett (a former player) as the coach of that team and Mike Sulve (a former Webster and collegiate baseball player) to the mix of coaches who will be working with the girls this season.

We haven’t had a third team in over a decade, when I returned to the program as the freshman coach. It is both exciting and a challenge as we juggle players, playing time, facilities, etc. Nevertheless, it is a challenge to which we are looking forward.

We will be adding softball-only shed in right field and moving our home dugout to the first base line. There are plans for more facility improvements, as well, and we’ll be doing some more  season-prep field work this Sunday morning (8/19), for those who would like to contribute their time and energy. 

While the varsity traveled to Fox for their annual preseason jamboree, We had our own intrasquad scrimmage today, and except for a coach forgetting how old he is and suffering an injury, it went well. Fortunately Coach Pickett, just out of sick bay herself, picked up the slack, so we were able to learn more about our players and their various  skill sets.

We have a few pictures of our day, thanks to Mrs. Sammon. But first, we will add the schedules for JV Black and JV Orange. Speaking of the latter, if you should see Jerry Collins, thank him for his hard work in securing a 15-game schedule (9 regular season, 2 3-game tournaments) in August. We are looking forward to seeing you at your daughter’s games.