Danny’s rec league team, the Braves, had their ups and downs this season, but somehow they managed to go into the playoffs ranked first. (Danny couldn’t figure that out.) There were four teams, so they would have one play off game and one final game. The Braves would play against the Cardinals who had several of Danny’s friends on it, including the good hitting / pitching / first-base combo of John M. and Scott S.

Gramalie and Grandad came out for what turned out to be a perfect evening for baseball. It was clear and cool. Kathy and I were also there while the girls were at Sunday school.

Danny put on a great show for his four biggest fans. He started off as catcher with Hutto pitching. Hutto pitched well, and Danny aggressively defended the plate. There was a threat at third, but they held the Cardinals to 0 runs in the first inning.

Danny bats clean up, and with one man on second, he came up to the plate. Two outs and the count went full with Danny fouling a couple of hard hits outside the third base line. One foul almost took out his coach.

We were all yelling “base hit” hoping to drive in the man on second. Danny’s last hit was a solid connection, and the ball sailed over center field and cleared the fence by six feet. Home run! Braves were up 2 – 0.

With the Hutto-Cashel pitching combination, the Cardinals reached third base all three first innings, but could not score. Danny came into pitch the fourth inning, throwing mainly fast balls.

John M. is a great hitter. He’s hit Danny twice and Danny has struck him out twice during the season. Danny was throwing great, but John got the bat on one, and hit it almost to the fence in right field. He got on second, and that would lead to the Cardinal’s first score. Danny was determined to make that the last score. It looked like he added another 5 m.p.h. to the rest of his throws, including a very quick throw over to first to catch a Cardinal trying to jump back. The first basemen was equally surprised that he caught the ball. It even knocked him off balance and he fell on his rear end (while applying the tag!)

The third man in the line, Dean A., up is very smart base runner and had managed to steal third. I told Dad how I like Danny batting behind him so he can drive him in. Danny likes to draw the throw over to first or second to generate a run. As I was telling this to Dad, Danny was walked. He ran down to first, watching the pitcher, who was not paying attention, so sure enough, Danny rounded first to draw the throw. Danny saw that even the second baseman was not positioned correctly, too far in front of second base, so he decided to go for the steal. The pitcher threw the ball to second, but Danny ran in behind him, and meanwhile the man on third scored. Score 3-1.

Danny would be knocked in making the score 4-1, the final score.

Kathy and I cannot recall a game where Danny got to do so many things in one game, so Gramalie and Grandad picked a good one to drive out for.

The next day at school, Danny and John M. were debriefing. Danny had to reschedule work to make that game, and he told John, “I’m glad I was able to show up for that one. Not sure we would have beat you guys if I hadn’t.” John said, “No kidding… you made all four runs happen!” (As if Danny didn’t know.)

We had a big sports Saturday with Mary Claire and Kelly both playing soccer, and Danny playing baseball.

Kelly saw a lot of action playing at the YMCA field. She was on defense and the other team was HUGE. (So most of the game was spent on Kelly’s side of the field.) She played fierce and unafraid of the MONSTER girls. Kelly’s team didn’t have subs, so she battled the entire game.

Our favorite moment was when Kelly took the ball from back, middle field and curved out to the right around three different ENORMOUS players. She moved it up the side until the opposing team kicked it out. One of the GIANT girls said “We can’t let her dribble down the line like that!” Kelly is always very aggressive about retrieving an out ball and throwing it back into play. She uses her head and usually gets the ball to an open teammate. The “Magic” held the score to 0 – 0 until the very end when the AMAZON women’s team scored.

Mary Claire played forward and goalie. In between tieing her shoes, she played her usual speedy game. It was a close, but the Blazer’s took the lead early and held it. Kathy and I huddled under an umbrella in the drizzle, and I was able to grab a couple of good photos.

Danny’s game was was exciting. He pitched the first three innings. He had a good first inning and really enjoyed striking out one of his old teammates, John M. The second inning was terrible with a lot of walks and errors, and the Braves went down 4 to 1. In this league a pitcher isn’t allowed to go more than 3 innimgs. We were a little surprised when the catcher came out to pitch the 4th inning. We were even more surprised when Danny came out to catch! The switch worked, because the team came back and tied the game 4 to 4. Danny had some great throws down to second base and first.

The end of the game included a controversial call at home plate when the other team’s winning run was ruled an out. The runner failed to slide into home, mowing over a surprised (but unhurt) Danny who was trying to make a play with a throw in from the outfield. A wild pitch to the next batter allowed a man on third to try at home. Danny was able to scramble back to the ball and toss it low into the pitcher’s glove for a just-in-time tag at home. It was perfectly executed and the third and last out of the game.

The coach thought Danny did a great job catching. He was surprised to find out he hadn’t caught a game since he was eight.

I told Danny that high school baseball may be played at a higher level, but rec league sure delivers a lot of excitement and fun.

We need help naming the Geocache we are going to hide on Tybee Island in Dad’s honor. We already have the ammo box (dark green) and have painted on the sides:

OFFICIAL

Please Do Not Distub

Dad has filled it up with Civil War souvenirs including belt buckles, dollars, and uniform buttons. However, the contents of a cache turnover as people take things out and put things back in. We could tape photos or something on the inside lid and decorate the log with a Civil War theme to help maintain the theme. And I think we should hide the cache near the old fort at the lighthouse.

Dad suggested a name with C.S.A. (Confederate States of America.)

Kathy suggested something with Smut in it…. “Smut’s Revenge.”

I was thinking about taping a photo of the cigar boys from Anna Maria Island and calling it “Smut’s Rough Riders” or maybe “Smut’s War Chest.”

Ideas on what we can name the cache? I want to set it up before we go down so that I know it is ready to go. Please post a comment.