Dear Elder SquiresWednesday April 7
Ryann and Emily both started city league softball this week, and I thought I would take a few minutes to relay some details. I hope you enjoy it.
Ryann's first game was Monday night. Her league is a little frustrating (at least the first game) because these 10-yr-old girls are pitching to other 10-yr-old girls and there are a lot of walks and strike-outs - not a lot of play on the field. Still it was wonderful to simply sit in the bleachers and watch a baseball game where my daughter was participating. It is girls under-handed fast-pitch softball - you know, where the pitcher throws the ball as hard as she can using a style and method that seems to defy all natural logic and prevent any hope for accuracy - now imagine the arm throwing it belonging to a 10-yr-old. Well, there were a lot of ground balls - but not the kind you are probably thinking, but rather the kind where the ball hits the ground somewhere between the time it leaves the pitcher's hand and the time it reaches anywhere near the vicinity of the batter. There were also a lot of "pop-ups"... well, you get the idea. But lest you think these "grounder" and "Pop-up" pitches were not effective, I must add that more than a few of them had to be called as strikes, as some of the inexperienced batters would often flail at almost any offering served up. However, this may also be used to the advantage of the batting team as well, when you mix in the rule that the batter can attempt to run to first base on a third strike that is not caught by the catcher. Perhaps you can imagine the madness and mayhem that resulted, especially when the coaches are really the only ones that know the rules and they are trying to educate the kids as they go. Meanwhile, we spectators in the bleachers are sometimes left to wonder what in the world is going on out there. Well, luckily there is a 4-run rule that requires the teams to switch from offense to defense if they score 4 runs in an inning; otherwise, we may still be there now watching the top of the 1st inning as the opposing team sent batter after batter scurrying to first base either because the strike zone was rarely found, or because the ball was hardly ever cleanly caught by our catcher. But I have to say that I truly enjoyed sitting there as a spectator, and I got a strong feeling that it is a worthwhile activity for these young ladies and their families. Things got better as the game went on, and I'm sure they will continue to improve throughout the season. They only made it through 3 innings before the time ran out (80-minute limit), and Ryann only got to bat once (she struck out on a questionable call), and never had an opportunity to make a play from her position in right field, and we lost by the score of 8-3 (though the score was 8-0 after 2 innings), but Ryann definitely had fun and came off the field with a huge smile on her face after it was over and was happy to have made some more new friends. It was a fun night.Emily's first game was last night (Tuesday). So now we are dealing with 8- and 9-yr-olds. But actually this was a little more watchable, because, although the girls still pitch to each other, there are no walks. What happens is the pitcher gets the opportunity to pitch until one of three things happen, the batter hits the ball cleanly, the batter strikes out, or they reach four balls (we soon found this to be the most common occurrence). When there are four balls, the batter does not take her base, but instead the Coach of the batting team gets to come in and toss up to three (depending on how many strikes had already been called) easy pitches to the batter, and the batter must get a hit on those pitches or it is called a strike-out. So even though the pitching was even less accurate than the night before, the pitching of the coaches did result in some hits and plays in the field. And in this age-group there is no running to first on a third strike. It was fun to watch. Emily was on the bench for the first 2 innings, but I don't think she minded. One of our girls got a pretty good hit past the second baseman and ended up running all the way around to score as the girls on the opposing team committed several errors while trying to throw her out. So we had a 1-0 lead which looked lik it could hold up. Meanwhile, it was finally Emily's turn to bat in the bottom of the third inning (she was on the batting order as the 12th batter out of 12). Our team has several left-handed batters, and so as Emily strode out to the batter's box she initially lined up on the left-handed side as she had seen others do, but couldn't quite figure out how to stand so that she could swing at a pitch coming from the pitcher's mound(as she was facing away from the plate). Finally, one of the coaches saw what was happening and came out to help her know where to stand. This was not the beginning that we had envisioned, but now she was set and ready. After 3 innings of this game, as a spectator, you kind of settle in as a new batter comes up because you have come to realize that the likelihood of the batter connecting on the pitches coming from the arms of the girls was remote at best, so there were usually multiple pitches before anything of interest actually occured during each at-bat. In fact, the only hits that had taken place up to this point were on pitches from the coaches. Well, the very first pitch from the pitcher this time came in a little low, but hittable, and Emily decides to swing the bat. It was by no means a powerful swing, but it made just enough contact on the end of the bat to make a "thunk" sound and send the entire complex into shock as the ball trickled out in front of the batter's box, slowly dribbling to the left of where the pitcher stood. It seemed that there was an instant when nobody moved or made a sound, then suddnely there was shouting from all directions as the pitcher was heading to get the ball and the coaches and fans yelled for Emily to run. I don't know how many times before last night Emily has run from home plate to first base, but it took more than a second for it to register in her mind that she had just hit the ball and was expected to run, and then it took more than another second for it to register in what direction this running should take place. And then she ran. The pitcher had picked up the ball by now and was ready to throw it to first. She wound up and tossed it way beyond the reach of the girl at first base and the ball bounced off of the fence and out toward shallow right field. Meanwhile Emily was now running her hardest toward first base and it was clear that she would make it there safely. I had told her before the game not to worry (she had expressed many worries - she likes to know details about what she is getting into before she gets into it) because if she got on base there would be base coaches to tell her what to do. As she roared toward first, I'm sure she must have heard the first-base coach yelling to keep going... so she did. Now the first-base coach realized that she should have been more specific in her instruction, as Emily was heading into right field, so she yelled above the crowd for Emily to get to second base and stop, and somehow Emily heard the directive and realized she needed to change direction and found her roundabout way to second base, and stood there as the other team brought the ball back into the pitcher. She later told us that when she got to second base she was shaking. But oh what an exhilarating few moments those were. From there, Emily kept her eyes on the next coach at third base. The next batter hit one of the coach's pitches and made it to first, and the third base coach sent Emily around third and she made it home safely. (Somewhere there is a lesson in here about listening to our base coaches in order to make it home safely, maybe another day.) Long story short, the next inning the other team scored a run and had runners on first and third before we finally got the third out and the game ended with us ahead 2-1. Emily had scored the winning run. And another Squires girl left the field with a huge smile on her face. We will enjoy it while we can.I can't wait to go to another game.Sunday April 11Just to update on softball, Ryann's next game is not until Monday April 12. But Emily had a game on Thursday night. It was pretty exciting again. They ended up winning by the score of 2-1 again. Emily did not even get to bat this time because she suffered a slight injury while in the field in about the second inning. The opposing team has a girl that looks (and plays) like she is about 12 years old, and she got up to bat and really walloped a hard grounder past the third-baseman right at Emily who was playing a very shallow left field. I think it only took about three bounces before it got to Emily. She tried to get her mitt in front of it but it glanced of and hit her directly on the knee. The ball did not get too far from her and, even though she was crying, she found the ball and threw it back in. Meanwhile the girls made a couple of overthrows and the runner ran all the way around the bases to score their only run. But Emily did her job. Unfortunately she came out of the game and did not feel like going up to bat when it was her turn. Not that anyone really cares too much about the score, but they did win. Hopefully, Emily will not let this affect the way she plays the next game.Anyway, that is the softball update for this week. We love you and pray for you. Keep that eternal perspective. Love,Dad
Ryann and Emily both started city league softball this week, and I thought I would take a few minutes to relay some details. I hope you enjoy it.
Ryann's first game was Monday night. Her league is a little frustrating (at least the first game) because these 10-yr-old girls are pitching to other 10-yr-old girls and there are a lot of walks and strike-outs - not a lot of play on the field. Still it was wonderful to simply sit in the bleachers and watch a baseball game where my daughter was participating. It is girls under-handed fast-pitch softball - you know, where the pitcher throws the ball as hard as she can using a style and method that seems to defy all natural logic and prevent any hope for accuracy - now imagine the arm throwing it belonging to a 10-yr-old. Well, there were a lot of ground balls - but not the kind you are probably thinking, but rather the kind where the ball hits the ground somewhere between the time it leaves the pitcher's hand and the time it reaches anywhere near the vicinity of the batter. There were also a lot of "pop-ups"... well, you get the idea. But lest you think these "grounder" and "Pop-up" pitches were not effective, I must add that more than a few of them had to be called as strikes, as some of the inexperienced batters would often flail at almost any offering served up. However, this may also be used to the advantage of the batting team as well, when you mix in the rule that the batter can attempt to run to first base on a third strike that is not caught by the catcher. Perhaps you can imagine the madness and mayhem that resulted, especially when the coaches are really the only ones that know the rules and they are trying to educate the kids as they go. Meanwhile, we spectators in the bleachers are sometimes left to wonder what in the world is going on out there. Well, luckily there is a 4-run rule that requires the teams to switch from offense to defense if they score 4 runs in an inning; otherwise, we may still be there now watching the top of the 1st inning as the opposing team sent batter after batter scurrying to first base either because the strike zone was rarely found, or because the ball was hardly ever cleanly caught by our catcher. But I have to say that I truly enjoyed sitting there as a spectator, and I got a strong feeling that it is a worthwhile activity for these young ladies and their families. Things got better as the game went on, and I'm sure they will continue to improve throughout the season. They only made it through 3 innings before the time ran out (80-minute limit), and Ryann only got to bat once (she struck out on a questionable call), and never had an opportunity to make a play from her position in right field, and we lost by the score of 8-3 (though the score was 8-0 after 2 innings), but Ryann definitely had fun and came off the field with a huge smile on her face after it was over and was happy to have made some more new friends. It was a fun night.Emily's first game was last night (Tuesday). So now we are dealing with 8- and 9-yr-olds. But actually this was a little more watchable, because, although the girls still pitch to each other, there are no walks. What happens is the pitcher gets the opportunity to pitch until one of three things happen, the batter hits the ball cleanly, the batter strikes out, or they reach four balls (we soon found this to be the most common occurrence). When there are four balls, the batter does not take her base, but instead the Coach of the batting team gets to come in and toss up to three (depending on how many strikes had already been called) easy pitches to the batter, and the batter must get a hit on those pitches or it is called a strike-out. So even though the pitching was even less accurate than the night before, the pitching of the coaches did result in some hits and plays in the field. And in this age-group there is no running to first on a third strike. It was fun to watch. Emily was on the bench for the first 2 innings, but I don't think she minded. One of our girls got a pretty good hit past the second baseman and ended up running all the way around to score as the girls on the opposing team committed several errors while trying to throw her out. So we had a 1-0 lead which looked lik it could hold up. Meanwhile, it was finally Emily's turn to bat in the bottom of the third inning (she was on the batting order as the 12th batter out of 12). Our team has several left-handed batters, and so as Emily strode out to the batter's box she initially lined up on the left-handed side as she had seen others do, but couldn't quite figure out how to stand so that she could swing at a pitch coming from the pitcher's mound(as she was facing away from the plate). Finally, one of the coaches saw what was happening and came out to help her know where to stand. This was not the beginning that we had envisioned, but now she was set and ready. After 3 innings of this game, as a spectator, you kind of settle in as a new batter comes up because you have come to realize that the likelihood of the batter connecting on the pitches coming from the arms of the girls was remote at best, so there were usually multiple pitches before anything of interest actually occured during each at-bat. In fact, the only hits that had taken place up to this point were on pitches from the coaches. Well, the very first pitch from the pitcher this time came in a little low, but hittable, and Emily decides to swing the bat. It was by no means a powerful swing, but it made just enough contact on the end of the bat to make a "thunk" sound and send the entire complex into shock as the ball trickled out in front of the batter's box, slowly dribbling to the left of where the pitcher stood. It seemed that there was an instant when nobody moved or made a sound, then suddnely there was shouting from all directions as the pitcher was heading to get the ball and the coaches and fans yelled for Emily to run. I don't know how many times before last night Emily has run from home plate to first base, but it took more than a second for it to register in her mind that she had just hit the ball and was expected to run, and then it took more than another second for it to register in what direction this running should take place. And then she ran. The pitcher had picked up the ball by now and was ready to throw it to first. She wound up and tossed it way beyond the reach of the girl at first base and the ball bounced off of the fence and out toward shallow right field. Meanwhile Emily was now running her hardest toward first base and it was clear that she would make it there safely. I had told her before the game not to worry (she had expressed many worries - she likes to know details about what she is getting into before she gets into it) because if she got on base there would be base coaches to tell her what to do. As she roared toward first, I'm sure she must have heard the first-base coach yelling to keep going... so she did. Now the first-base coach realized that she should have been more specific in her instruction, as Emily was heading into right field, so she yelled above the crowd for Emily to get to second base and stop, and somehow Emily heard the directive and realized she needed to change direction and found her roundabout way to second base, and stood there as the other team brought the ball back into the pitcher. She later told us that when she got to second base she was shaking. But oh what an exhilarating few moments those were. From there, Emily kept her eyes on the next coach at third base. The next batter hit one of the coach's pitches and made it to first, and the third base coach sent Emily around third and she made it home safely. (Somewhere there is a lesson in here about listening to our base coaches in order to make it home safely, maybe another day.) Long story short, the next inning the other team scored a run and had runners on first and third before we finally got the third out and the game ended with us ahead 2-1. Emily had scored the winning run. And another Squires girl left the field with a huge smile on her face. We will enjoy it while we can.I can't wait to go to another game.Sunday April 11Just to update on softball, Ryann's next game is not until Monday April 12. But Emily had a game on Thursday night. It was pretty exciting again. They ended up winning by the score of 2-1 again. Emily did not even get to bat this time because she suffered a slight injury while in the field in about the second inning. The opposing team has a girl that looks (and plays) like she is about 12 years old, and she got up to bat and really walloped a hard grounder past the third-baseman right at Emily who was playing a very shallow left field. I think it only took about three bounces before it got to Emily. She tried to get her mitt in front of it but it glanced of and hit her directly on the knee. The ball did not get too far from her and, even though she was crying, she found the ball and threw it back in. Meanwhile the girls made a couple of overthrows and the runner ran all the way around the bases to score their only run. But Emily did her job. Unfortunately she came out of the game and did not feel like going up to bat when it was her turn. Not that anyone really cares too much about the score, but they did win. Hopefully, Emily will not let this affect the way she plays the next game.Anyway, that is the softball update for this week. We love you and pray for you. Keep that eternal perspective. Love,Dad
Ryann in Right field
Emily up to bat
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