Rain and GAA players fail to distract a determined BatPak.

By Dave Lee Travis, the Hairy Cornflake.

BatPak 10 - 5 Blazzers

Softball, the summer sport that should be played in dry, warm conditions on lush playing fields manicured by full time groundsmen!  Alas, Tuesday evening's game at home to Blazzers was quite the opposite.  Displaced from its usual pitch by 22 under-eight soccer players wearing shorts longer than their legs, BatPak sourced a second pitch around the corner, the game looking like it was the only event on in the whole park given the drizzle, grey sky and howling wind.  Joanne, one of our two new female members of the squad immediately got herself into Coach Barry’s good books by carrying his bag for him while he checked the area with his divining rod to ensure there was no chance of a water logged pitch later in the game.

And so the game started.  Blazzers started spritely with a hit through the outfield from Dermot, who could however only reach third.  The first and second innings were uneventful in terms of softball, with BatPak’s captain scoring a solitary run.  Aside from the game, our friends from Scoil Ui Chonaill GAA, whose one-dimensional brains could not compute running across a pitch, so started their training run straight through the outfield.  In a park that has over twenty pitches, and with at least two available in the immediate proximity the arrogance of these brain dead numskulls was truly dumbfounding.  However, not to be perturbed the two teams continued the game.

BatPak’s second inning ended rather abruptly when, following a warning to Lorna Mullen for throwing the bat, Tom ‘Forrest’ Ryan hit a line drive over the pitcher’s head and between the two centre fielders; a certain home run!!  “Batter Out” was the call from the umpire, deeming Ryan to have narrowly missed the catcher’s head with the bat.  Ryan did not hear, and turned first base heading to second, head down like a 100m sprinter.  “Batter Out”!! the call was repeated, this time louder.  Ryan continued his run but finally grasped the reality of the situation when he saw the Blazzers fielders heading into the dugout and his team mates taking the field.  A shame as the hit deserved at least a triple.

BatPak used the ‘fourth’ce to run in five runs following hits from Anne, Dave, Tom and Ben.  Blazzers managed one in the top of the fifth to finally get on the scoreboard, following a strange play by Emma Kilbride at short-stop when, having almost taken a fantastic catch, found herself on her knees, ball in hand with her back to second base.  Plenty of time however to turn and lob the ball to Jon Barry!?  Emma pirouetted on one knee and in seemingly slow motion lobbed the ball to... the pitcher’s plate.  But ‘Pak immediately replied with another two runs, which had Peter Mullen (coaching Third Base) not stood Batfink-like to parry a throw to the Blazzers fielder at Third, could have possibly been more.  The umpire made the call that Peter had interfered with play, calling Emma out on third.

The game was meandering to an end, with the weather worsening everyone’s rain gear was see-through.  Two more runs in the bottom of the sixth meant that Blazzers went into the last inning 9 runs behind.  Given their previous six innings everyone sensed a rapid end to the game which would allow refuge to be taken at the nearest watering hole.  But a mixture of hard hits and comedy fielding from the home team led to Blazzers running in four more runs before  finally popping up to the infield for their third out.  The idiots from Scoil Ui Chonaill GAA were now playing a full blown match through the outfield but this could not dampen BatPak’s spirits as they took another win.

Yet again Annie Kiely led the way for BatPak’s ladies with 3/4, while Ben Emerson, one ear to his phone throughout the game hit 3/3 including a triple to right-field, despite the lack of base coaches.  Peter Mullen and Dave Pepper both hit 3/4.  BatPak did what they needed to do on a wet, cold and uncomfortable evening and remain top of the Leinster League Premier Division.  Unfortunately two other games were victim of the weather, these will be played at a later date.

BatPak MVPs;

Male – Dave Pepper
Female – Emma Kilbride

Other LLPD Week 8 Results;

Castleknock Bearcats 5 – 22 Dodder Dynamoes