Week 2 Provides A Tale of Two Cities For Bammel Softball

Associated Press - Wire Feed

It was the best of times and worst of times for Bammel in Week 2 of the fall co-ed softball season. The Bammel Green Machine (2-0-0) continued their "season of Great Expectations" with a sound 13-6 victory over the Romans 16:16 franchise. The Bammel Purple Crush (0-1-1), however, looked to quickly turn the page on this chapter of their story after getting the Dickens knocked out of them in a 14-1 loss to Champions Orange on Monday evening.

The Green Machine entered Week 2 with a few tweaks to the roster based on player availability. The lineup for the 7:30pm game featured CJ Ballard, Cordan Ballard, Brandi Ballard, Caleb Sanderson, Dennis Huff, Carley Pope, Erik Peterson, Brent Ballard and Kent Pope. The defensive alignment remained fluid throughout the contest as manager Dennis Huff made use of several line shifts and player pairings. In addition, Kay Lee Gibbs continued her return from an ankle injury at the catcher position but doctors have not yet released her to resume hitting activity. The team exploded like a thoroughbred out of the gate with a 5-0 lead after two innings. Romans 16:16 would mount a late charge down the latter inning stretch and the score sat at 10-6 through five frames. However, the Green Machine would not be denied on this evening as they held off the late charge to finish with their second win of the season.

The Purple Crush lineup card also required a few updates based on travel conflicts for a handful of their veteran players. The Purple Crush starting eleven included David Winton (lc), David Freidank (1b), Robyn Archer (2b), Dennis Huff (dh), Macy Archer (rc), Danielle Savaria (c), Jonathan McCalister (lf), Laurie Brittain (rf), Jason Dyniewski (ss), Mandy Chan (p) and Erik Peterson (3b). The Purple Crush knew they faced a formidable Champions Orange opponent but only found themselves down 2-1 after two innings. The defensive stand would not last, however, as Champions put big numbers (5 runs) on the board in the 3rd and 5th innings while the Purple Crush lacked any spark with the bats on this night - taking the loss, 14-1.

Win, lose or draw, several Bammel players made notable contributions on the field while earning pivotal fantasy softball points for their ecstatic owners. The Ballard family built upon last week's performance by fielding the first father-mother-son-son combination in world history! Brandi Ballard set the tone early with an RBI ground out to notch the first run of the game. Brandi also demonstrated a strong and mostly-accurate arm as she made multiple catch-and-throws from the pitcher mound to Brent Ballard at first base. Caleb Sanderson made his 2013 debut and did not disappoint from the cleanup spot with a 4-for-4 night at the plate and three runs scored. Kent Pope followed the lead of his daughter, Carley, by getting on base this week and scoring two runs. In fact, the Popes and Ballards accounted for seven of the team's 13 total runs.

While generally stifled at the plate, the Purple Crush did receive a little life from special guest designated hitter Dennis Huff who went 2-for-3 and scored the only run of the night. Macy Archer also finished 2-for-3 on the evening but it provided little consolation to a team who felt like their offense had been hidden under the proverbial bushel. (Hide it under a bushel? No!) On defense, Jonathan McCalister displayed great range in left field as he came close to making several diving and reaching grabs. Robyn Archer continued to show her versatility at second base with excellent glove work on pop-ups and sharply hit ground balls.

Sadly, Josh Kasinger's absence was felt at shortstop as Jason Dyniewski stumbled out of semi-retirement to man the position. While treated to a few flashes of his former skill, most of the capacity crowd witnessed several botched fielding errors and numerous erratic throws. In fact, Jason made so many throws in the dirt to David Freidank, Mandy Chan and Erik Peterson that some scouts in attendance started referring to the player/coach as Tim Tebow.

ADDITIONAL GAME NOTES: Josh Kasinger was not available for the game on Monday night due to a voluntary assignment to the Double A league in Abilene. Christopher Russo was a pre-game scratch due to a flight through the Bermuda Triangle. Cassie Miller, Taylor Huff, Collin Dyniewski and Eric Winkler did not make an appearance due to return flight delays from international ports of call. Dr. Bob and Bobby Stewart were tied up with soccer contract negotiations. Special thanks to those assisting with the game scoring as well as to David Freidank and Kent Pope for their contributions to the post-game devotional.

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Make your plans now for Week 3 softball action as the Bammel Green Machine faces Champions Orange at 7:30pm followed by the Bammel Purple Crush in an 8:30pm night cap against a deep Spring Creek squad on Monday, September 23. All games are played at the baseball field on the Northland Christian secondary campus.

Come out and cheer on veteran slugger, Laurie Brittain, as she strives for the 1,000th hit of her professional softball career!

See you at the ballpark!