Almost… Semi-Finals vs. The Syndicate 5/31

Still smiling after the game! Front row: Cameron, Lauren, Triffid, Hayden; Second row: Kristina, Emily K, Nicole, John, Zeb, Bryce, Emily H; Third row: Gustav, hiding behind Emily K (though you can see his shoulder); Mark, Tyler, Colin, Jessica

The final day of May came on Sunday & brought with it the final day of the Underdog Irving Park spring softball season. The schedule called for us to play The Syndicate at 1:30, with the other semi-final matching Basic Pitches & BAM, with the winners playing in a 4:30 final. It was a beautiful day & just about perfect for softball.

We’d played a close game against The Syndicate earlier in the season, as they won 13-12 with a 2-run comeback in the bottom of the 7th. They are a formidable team, but we also knew we had a shot.

Zeb: big home run to open the scoring, & a big double in the 7th!

In fact we opened the scoring as Zeb hit a long home run in the top of the first, but The Syndicate came back in the bottom of the inning to score three. However, with one out in the top of the second, Colin doubled, & yours truly followed with a single to score him. Triffid then blasted a drive to center; the outfield had been playing in, & it turned into a clean 2-run homer. Mark then tripled, & Nicole drove him in on a fielder’s choice ground ball. Although The Syndicate scored one in the bottom half on a double & single, Colin initiated a fine double play to end the inning, & we led 5-4.

Lauren: two solid hits & a run batted in

We were held scoreless in the top of the 3rd, & then in the bottom of the third, after the first two batters were out, The Syndicate strung together a triple, single & double to score 2 runs & take a 6-5 lead. But we weren’t daunted. In the fourth with one out, Emily K singled, & then after the second out was recorded Colin doubled & yours truly followed again with a two-run single. We had the lead once again—& we held The Syndicate scoreless in the bottom of the 4th!

Emily K: big hits in the 4th & 7th!

Yours truly: 2 for 3 with 3 rbis - I will take that.

Hayden had yet another big hit!

The 5th looked to be our inning. Mark led off with a single, & Hayden followed with a base hit. Cameron then singled to drive in two runs, & Emily H followed with our fourth consecutive hit. After two outs were recorded, Lauren singled to load the bases, & then Bryce hit a 2-run double. We had a lead of 11-6.

Emily H had a 2 for 3 day & finished the season swinging a hot bat!

Mark: another great game at the plate & in the field - 3 for 3.

Bryce had another great day: double, triple, 3 rbis

Sadly, the bottom of the inning belonged to The Syndicate. There were lots of clean, powerful hits, & also some errors on our part. Still, it should be noted that both Colin & Bryce made great plays to record outs, or it could have been worse. When the dust had settled, The Syndicate had scored 7 runs to take a 13-11 lead.

Triffid's home run (obviously not pictured here) was a huge blow in our second inning rally, & a 2 for 3 day overall!

We got one run back in the top of the 5th when Colin hit a booming home run to left center. Triffid & Mark tried to keep the rally going with 2-out hits, but we weren’t able to get them across. Then The Syndicate rallied for 6 more in the bottom of the inning to lead 19-12 going into the 7th.

Colin: major power as evidenced by his 6th inning homer. Also a 3 for 3 day

There isn’t any quit in the Underhanded Compliments, however. Cameron led off the inning with a double, then with one out Gustav singled & Zeb doubled to drive Cameron in. Lauren drove in Gustav on a ground ball out, then Bryce tripled to score Zeb. Emily K singled to send Bryce home, & with two outs we had the tying run on deck in the person of Colin, but it was not to be. The final out was recorded, & The Syndicate took the game 19-16.

Gustav had a big hit in the 7th & had a great season overall, despite playing through an injury

To recap the rest: Basic Pitches defeated BAM soundly in their semi-final 19-5, & then dominated The Syndicate in the finals 22-6. We finished in third place (of 9 teams) for the season with a record of 5-3-1, which is a strong finish indeed. It was a fun season, & most of the team got together at Old Town Brewing Company afterwards for pizza & cold beverages!

Final Standings

Great season! Really proud of this team.

 
Later this week: Summer League begins!


 
Some of the photos in this post were taken by Jessica & Mark. Thanks!