13 May 2011
WHAT A GAME!!! On Thursday
night (May 12th) two power house teams in our Senior Division met
head-to-head for the third time in what was a great display by both teams of
their heart and genuine sportsmanship.
The ladies of the Rockets and M.A.G.I.C. in the Senior
Division showed their grit and skill on the field in a game that remained
close throughout (in slow-pitch softball terms) and went 7 full innings.
The Rockets took the initial lead going ahead on 4 runs scored early in the
game. But the M.A.G.I.C. showed their “magic” with their bats and scored 6
consecutive runs in a single inning during the middle of the game. The
Rockets were visibly upset after the M.A.G.I.C.’s 6-run inning and could’ve
gotten down, but they didn’t and tightened up their game and played hard
defense during the remaining innings. The two teams went back and forth,
each one trying to provide that knock-out inning but neither could. Both
teams showed their defensive prowess and kept the runs to a minimum for most
of the game. After the big inning by the M.A.G.I.C. the hits didn’t come
so easily, but when they did some of them were loud and deep into the
outfield. One of those big hits came from Xiomara Reyes of the M.A.G.I.C.,
who in the 5th inning crack one deep into left-field and caught
the Rockets off-guard a bit. A big hit worthy of being compared to that of
Ken Griffey Jr. when he first hit the big leagues. The Rockets' outfield
was able to recover and keep Xiomara’s hit to a double. Defense became the
name of the game and each side showed great skill on the field. But, it was
the M.A.G.I.C.’s display of sportsmanship that is praiseworthy as when the
Rockets short-stop (Janette Lambert) was injured on a ball that bounced
badly and hit her square in the throat. Jeanette tried her best to
follow-thru on the play, but was visibly hurt and went to the ground on her
knees. Both team benches cleared immediately and went to her rescue to
check on her condition and provided her aid. After a short delay, Janette
was able to walk off the field on her own and remained in the dug-out until
the next inning. The response by the parents and players of both teams
clapping and cheering her as she walked off the field is an example of
sportsmanship that all of us in the PWLL should follow. Janette would later
return to the field at 2nd base the following inning. She played
well during the entire game, but it was in the 6th inning that
she distinguished herself during a critical point in the game. The magic
was trying to add some insurance to their game lead when she made a
spectacular catch in the shallow outfield, making a “snow-cone” catch in her
glove. (A snow-cone catch is when the ball is half-in/half-out of the top
of the glove). Her catch prevented the M.A.G.I.C. from increasing their
lead and gave the Rockets a chance to catch the M.A.G.I.C. going into the 7th
inning. This was a very exciting and fun game to watch all night. But as
with any sport, one team wins and the other comes up short and on this night
it was the Rockets turn to come up short. But in reality, both teams won
because they each fought and played hard leaving 100 percent of their effort
on the field. The final score was 9 to 6 in favor of the M.A.G.I.C. with
the M.A.G.I.C. taking both 1st place in the division and a 2 to 1
lead in head-to-head competition. But don’t fret… these two teams will meet
again two more times before the end of the regular season and maybe in the
tournament. So check the Senior Division game schedule and consider coming
out to watch these two teams go at it again as I think it will be Magic to
watch all the softball hits that Rockets into the air.
If you have any questions regarding the league, please
feel free to contact me at my email address
president@pwlassieleague.org.
