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Late K.O. earns W for Dodder.
By Sean 'Santa Claus' Bredin (comes out to play once a year, and is magic).
Dodder Dynamoes 21 - 20 BatPak
"And so the score was 5-4 to Dodder after...."
"Oh, another tight match between Dodder and the Pak...."
"..... no, you interrupted me.... it was 5-4 after the 1st, not after the 7th..."
How the conversation might have gone the morning after the game around the water-cooler in an imaginary Softball Ireland HQ. On a blustery - yet also sunny - night (a lethal combo just missing an occasional sun-shower) Batpak and Dodder served up a slugfest unlike any in my memory. The tone for the game was set early, Batpak galloping into a convincing lead with 4 runs in the top of the 1st on a triple by Emma and a double by Drew. Dodder replied swiftly and positively to take the lead in the bottom of the 1st, a large exclamation mark being applied by Noeleen with a grand-slam. We knew we were in for a long night there and then. The field in Tymon Park was set up for a big score with a strong wind and a low sun behind the batters, and a pitch that sloped away from homeplate, especially in right-field. Treacherous conditions for the fielders.
It turned out to be a game of 3 phases.
Phase 1: How to Hit (aka the first 3 innings....)
Runs were traded back and forth for the first 3 innings and by the time the dust settled after the bottom of 3 it was 18-11 to Dodder, we'd been around both orders a gazillion times and scorekeepers were anxiously searching bags for a 2nd scoresheet. Drew had a homer and 2 doubles by now, the 2-3-4-5 hitters for Dodder had scored 3 runs each.
Phase 2: How to Field (aka the next 3 innings...)
Suddenly those hits starting finding gloves. I think the wind may have dropped slightly also. Either way, from 18-11 after 3 it became 19-13 after 6.
Phase 3: The Endgame (aka the 7th inning....)
'Trailing by 6-runs in the last inning' is a gun-barrel Batpak have stared down in the past and
overcome, notably the IOST final in 2005. So even at 19-13, you're telling yourself you have a chance, though not necessarily expecting a win. There's definitely a never-say-die attitude in the club and it showed again here. After a leadoff out, some hits followed to make it 19-15.
With 2 outs, 3 clutch hits in a row plated 5 more runs. A 2-run single by Ben, an rbi-triple by Carol (laser beam down the left-field line) and a 2nd homer of the game for Steve (2-run dinger, his second of the game). Suddenly Batpak had a 1-run lead, 20-19. An epic comeback was almost complete, but 3 more outs required.
Dodder, to their credit, kept their nerve. Ken led off with a single and came around to score the tying run. Sarah followed with the winning run and Dodder had eked out a narrow win after a match they looked destined to win most of the way through. Both teams emerge with a lot of credit from an entertaining game. The league is still alive and kicking and will go down to the wire.
Liquid replenishment was undertaken in the Pines shortly afterwards followed by a top-up in Bruxelles and the obligatory haute cuisine from Chez Abrakebabra before the usual lively 20-minute repartee in a cab home.
BatPak MVPs;
Male – Steve Trundle (batting was phenomenal, 4-for-5 with 2 homeruns including the go-ahead shot in the top of the 7th with 2 outs, shading the male MVP over Drew's pinpoint pitching and 3-for-5 hitting)
Female – Emma Kilbride (3-for-5 with 3 runs scored' performance edges female MVP over Carol's clutch triple in the 7th)
Other LLPD Week 11 Results;
Castleknock Bearcats 6 - 13 Marlay Martyrs
Renegades Red 17 - 7 Sluggers
Blazzers 3 - 12 Oddsox Green
