Saving the Worst for Last: Cor Jesu 10, Webster 7

Apologies for the delay. We were paid an unexpected visit by the WG Fire Dept. last night, thanks to a gas burner cap that was not properly seated on our stove, resulting in a Carbon Monoxide alert and alarms all over the place, both CO and security, phone calls, sirens. Kind of an appropriate end to the day, because….

We played perhaps our worst game of the year yesterday. We have beaten Cor Jesu, but have also struggled against them, as we did yesterday. Our usually steady defense got away from us (thanks in no small part to playing on Field 2 at AAA, which does not lend itself to good softball, and, to be fair [man, I hate that] also impacted the Chargers defense, as well). Mental breaks were plentiful, including in the third base coaching box, and ragged base running didn’t help. And, for whatever reason, we did not swing the bat as well as we have against better pitching and left the bases loaded in both the sixth and seventh.

I’m not sorry we added this game, because it was only our twentieth of the season and it was exciting and entertaining. Not good, but exciting and entertaining. Batting last was going to be an advantage, as it usually is when we face CJ.

Happily, I was able to get all but one of our 16 players into the action (Sorry, Dazsa) for our last contest and despite having to come from behind, our Statesmen kept up the 3 Es, effort, enthusiasm and energy to the last pitch. I’ll do a more thorough season wrap in the next couple days, complete with final statistics. Suffice to say, had you asked me if I would take 16-4 with a side of trophy back in August, pretty sure I would have taken it.

I was glad all the girls were able to join their teammates at (shop small, shop local) Serendipity for a season-ending celebration. No game pix this time (dead camera battery) so only celebration ones.

This team grew as players and as a team, individually and collectively. I am proud of this great group of young women who represented their school, parents, community and themselves with class all season long. Thanks to the sophomore leadership and freshman followership.

With some encouragement from Coach Kate and a fair amount of trepidation, this (maybe) needs some explanation. Because we're old and can't reach our toes with ease (and because it feels good) my wife and I go (to a former Hancock Tiger) for regular pedicures. My former shortstop has been following our team's success and, because this represents both my personal best at the helm of a Webster team and my highest season win total (tie, 1994), I said I was looking for my own personal celebration demonstration. This is the color she picked, and I thought, why not? Orange & Black, 2016.

3-Peat: Hancock Tournament Champions (Again)

We travelled to Affton Athletic Saturday to defend our title in the Hancock JV Tournament. Hancock HS was where I spent most of my teaching career and began my softball coaching career.

After some initial confusion as to opponent and location, we finally led off against Affton for the second time this year. Like our first tilt, this game also lasted (almost) 3 innings as Josie Krueger followed Jessica Peterson’s double and circled the bases on a hit and a misplay to end the game. Megan Hayes picked up her fifth win the circle with a 2-hit shutout, benefitting from a nifty double play in the first by Maya Litton to stifle the Cougars.

Game 2 pitted us against Parkway South which, behind Josie Krueger in the circle, was less dramatic than might have been expected, ending in a 5-inning 13-1 victory, put out of reach with a 6-run fifth inning. Our Alaskan import, Rebekah Riefle had the biggest hit, with a 2-RBI triple in the third. Solid defense backed Josie’s 7 strikeouts and the Patriots never really mounted any attack.

The championship contest, like last year, pitted us against DuBourg, which tends to bring some of the biggest, oldest looking JV players to the tournament, and then find all sorts of things to complain about. They did, however, bat all 10 team members. Allyson Peters took the ball but suffered a recurrence of her sore arm and we needed Josie to take over as we trailed 1-0 after a half inning. Claire Kellick answered that run with the obligatory Field 2 homer, a shot down the left field line to the fence, seemingly located in Grantwood Village. Five runs in the second, from the middle of the lineup, featuring hits from freshmen Maya Litton, Megan Hayes, Noel Spatola and Jessica Peterson, made my heart happy for those players and relieved any tension and worry. The game may have ended due to the time limit, but the outcome was no longer in doubt, and the Statesmen added their third straight trophy to the collection (we had never won this tournament until our current seniors won it as freshmen; weather cancelled that group’s chance to defend their title as sophomores).

What I really like about the Hancock Tournament, and the reason we play in it, is because we can bat the lineup and give every girl a chance to show off her skills, both at the plate and in the field. I get nervous that such an approach will cost us a winnable game, and when you’ve been as successful as we have been this year, it’s easy to get greedy and lose sight of our goal of building players. But look at the box scores and you can see that every player contributed and we got offensive production from the top, middle and bottom of the lineup. I’m proud of our girls and how they cheered for and supported each other. This trophy belongs to ALL OF THEM.

I’m trying to come up with a unique way to celebrate this season, which represents the most wins of any team I’ve coached in my career. This year has been special for many reasons and, if we can finish with a win against Cor Jesu, will set additional personal and team benchmarks. I have at least one oddball idea, but no matter what else I might decide to do to commemorate this special season, plan on a trip to Serendipity to spoil your dinner appetite after Tuesday’s game–on me, of course.

Coaching is also about teamwork, and I was lucky to have two strong assistants, Chris Fechtel and....

Kate Wylie

Junior Nicole Preston did a great job as our manager; she was an invaluable asset to both the team and me.

Taking advantage of a time gained by the quick win over Affton to reward some overdue stickers recognizing special achievements and games by our players.

We appreciated the support from the seniors responsible for starting this run of tournament success. 

As always, thanks to Amy Jo Love (and her apprentice) for the pix.

Late Game Stampede: Marquette 13, Webster 8

You might think that this was a heart-breaking loss. You’d be wrong.

It was disappointing, for sure, to lose an 8-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning. We had outplayed and outpitched the Marquette Mustangs up to that point. I’m going to take the blame here for having a plan and then not following through. Giving a team as good as Marquette three shots at the same pitcher is just asking for trouble, and it found us. Had I made the pitching change like I planned, well, who knows.

But Allyson Peters was pitching well, and, in fact, struck out the first batter but she reached on a passed ball. We recorded another out (would have been our second), but we just couldn’t get the third to stop the bleeding. Marquette tacked on three more in the sixth, so maybe that plan wouldn’t have worked, but we’ll never know.

Still, you’d have been proud, if you were there, and as I was, to see how we tried to come back, kept our energy and enthusiasm up until we used up our last out on a deep line out hot of our own on a fine running catch by a galloping Mustang. So we’re ready for the tournament tomorrow and are looking forward to defending our title.

I need to prepare our lineups (even though it’s a “bat the line-up” tournament, there is still some thought required), so I’ll wait until later to add the pictures. See you at Affton, 7:15, Field 3.