Did You Get Your $2 Worth? WG 18, Fox 0

I hope the fans who forked over the $2 for admission to watch our softball game today (if you think their facilities are nice, you should see their superintendent’s office – what, too soon?) felt like they got their money’s worth. Personally, schools ought to pay people to watch JV sports, not the other way around. Both umpires took the time to compliment our players, both for their skills and approach to the game.

I’m not sure why it (also) irks me that the Fox coach, for the past two seasons, seems to think we shouldn’t be thumping them as we have. Or maybe he’s just annoyed at his own team. In either case, facts are facts. The game against the Warriors went from a scoreless tie after one inning to over before Fox batted in the second. Taylor Knapp recorded her second career no-hitter despite their coach trying slip in a “greasy ball” to the point the umpire finally admonished him to quit (this one lasted four innings), the bats came alive, the batting eyes were sharp, well, you get the picture.

Actually, the pictures are below as we moved to 6-0 (so no reason for me to be cranky) and the girls have well-earned a day off (optional – short BP for those who are so inclined) ahead of our Monday home contest against Parkway Central. We’ll have an intense practice Tuesday prepping for an expected tough match at the field of the JV of defending state champion Marquette on Wednesday. That, plus Thursday’s Festus contest, should prepare us for the FZW Tournament (rescheduled) next weekend.

Speaking of rescheduled, if you haven’t added the postponed Lindbergh and Kirkwood games to your calendar, pencil them in on October 3 and 9, respectively. Oh, and the girls are developing some serious photo skills.The first five pix are courtesy of Andrew Graning, but the rest are JV Black; their lens work was as hot as their bats!

Ivy Clark slides home on a passed ball/wild pitch.

Marko showed some pop with her bat, contributing a triple and single to the onslaught.

Sarah Sammon took the last inning, recording all three outs on Ks.

Nora Marcinkiewicz establishes rapport with the umpires and helps her pitcher adjust to sometimes seemingly floating strike zones. Lots of props from the Blues (not the hockey team, despite the color of her gear).

This is how you get a lead. (Alyssa Moran) 

And the result of this attempted steal..... (Wait for it....)

Safe at second with her third stolen base of the year. (Nice slide, too)

TK was dominant in the circle, notching her second career No-No.

Caitlyn (Speed Racer) Boyle worked on her bunting/slapping technique to great effect.

Meanwhile, over in the Fox dugout, the Warrior coach whined, "She was safe? How could he miss that call?" Ummm, he clearly didn't. [Sorry, Coach Kate]

Taylor (Friday) Graning slides home safely after a good read.

The swing of Ivy Clark that cleared the bases with a 3-RBI double.

Pitchers apparently should never be glad a ball-strike call went their way when Myah's at the plate. A line drive to follow  is a safe a bet as, well, its' a safe bet. Just sayin'....

Nicola Rikand played a solid SS as the next two pix demonstrate.

Just your routine 6-4 force out as Friday takes the throw from Nic.

Friday was there, but why throw when you don't have to. Also, of note, while the score was 12-0 at this point, check out the movement of our LF, Myah King. Our Outies have been OUTstanding all year in moving on every pitch, every play.

And a No-No deserves two pix, don't you think? TK picks up her (and our) sixth win.

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.

2 Hot 2 Play 2 Long: Webster 16, Parkway North 0

When I learned the reason for the postponement of our game with Parkway North, that they wouldn't have enough eligible players until today, I pretty much anticipated how this would go, because it meant they had run around on the first day of school recruiting bodies to play softball. Even at that, they had just 9 players; not even all their prospective subs were eligible.

We took advantage to sub in early for this conference game, after the first time through the lineup. For all that, the girls did a good job of moving up in the box and waiting on the slow pitcher to hit several balls hard. We stopped stealing early and our pitching and the little defense we were required to show were too good for the Viking bats. Not more to say about this.

Tomorrow against Francis Howell Central should be much more challenging and enjoyable. Thursday we travel to Hazelwood West. We will have a short practice Friday to get ready for the Saturday tournament. I'll post more details and the bracket tomorrow.