Pioneer Revenge: Kirkwood 6, Webster 5

Sorry this is late. I needed time to decompress, not just from this game but the season – which is kind of still ongoing. Congrats to the varsity for their thrilling 2-1 (10 inning) win over the SJA Angels (who apparently abandoned them) in the first round of the district tournament.

So how much sleep did I lose after this season-ending loss? Well, some, for sure. Lots of “What ifs….” some involving coaching decisions (Might there have been a better order? Should I have walked that #8 batter {who was really the Pioneer #4 who was late to the game} in the bottom of the seventh? Should I have put some pressure on with a couple 1-out bunts?), some involving umpiring (over which I have no control, but when the Kirkwood coach notes on what would have been Strike 3 “that’s been a strike all day [and it had been]” that then turned into a flared windy single by the eventual tying run with 2 out….

Despite Myah King serving as a one-woman wrecking crew (4 for 4 and her fifth shot over the boards into a strong wind), Caitlyn Boyle giving her those runs to drive home, and stalwart pitching from TK, Kirkwood kept creating new paths to tie the score and eventually push across the winning run in one of the most exciting games of the year.

Well, turnabout is fair play and Kirkwood scored two in the bottom of the seventh to erase the run we scored in the top of that inning to regain the lead, ending our winning streak at 10 games and sending us to Serendipity with a final record of 20-2, which looks pretty darn good when you see it in black and white. And if you’d told Coach Cerutti and me in August that we could “settle” for 20-2 or take our chances, I’m pretty sure we would have said we could “settle.”

But we also wouldn’t have wanted to miss this season with these girls, no matter the record. You can look for a season wrap up later this weekend or early next week, but this was my message in the post-mortem and the fitting last words for the last regular blog post of 2018: “I.Love.This.Team.”

Does This Count? Webster 3, Parkway West 1 (Sort of)

   I'm guessing, not really.
   Parkway West said they didn't have a "real" JV team and could we play a few innings after the varsity contest.  We took half our JV and filled in the rest with varsity players who needed some time or time in their non-traditional positions. Now that I think about it, I'm guessing what they really didn't have was a JV pitcher, except for one playing full-time in another spot on the varsity.
   Apparently by "a few" innings West meant 3, no matter how quickly they went by. We had enough time and light for another inning (and might have had more had they not taken IF warmup between games?!?), but it was 3 and out. I think they were re-thinking their position as we were leading 3-1 at the end of the third, but they lined up and we kind of had to do the same.
   Just to vent a little, I have no problem with the freshman pitcher throwing, despite the fact she played a full game for the varsity. But I am questioning why they felt the need to have her hit, as well, given that she had 3 extra-base hits, including a home run about 15 feet above the fence on the foul pole (which really ought to be called the "fair pole," but I digress), especially with two other players on their sub-list. 
   But Karma sometimes has a delightful way of making her presence known as Noel Spatola took a great route going back on the rope the Longhorn player hit to make a spectacular catch. It was fun (for me, at least) to get briefly reunited with AP, JoJo, Claire and Elise who joined with Carissa, Kelly, Hannah, Taylor, Jessica and Nicola to frustrate the home club. Some victories, even imaginary ones, are more enjoyable than others.
   Lindbergh tomorrow, and we'll give the girls who practiced today first crack in the lineup tomorrow. I always look forward to visiting Lindbergh. First, I like their JV coach. Second, I've spent the last two springs there as a maternity leave sub (and turned down a gig this fall). Third, the principal and social studies department head are former students (and my yearbook editors at Hancock) and I expect I'll get to visit with them before the game.

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.

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.