TAP-ed out

The Empty Pitchers split a doubleheader against TAP to close out the month of September, taking Game 1 in an 8-7 nailbiter, before the wheels fell off in Game 2.

Things hummed along for the Pitchers for the first couple innings of Game 1 at least, with the Pitchers pushing 2 runs across in the first, and with two outs on the board, posting another 3 runs in the second inning. Clinging to that same handful of runs, the Pitchers held a 5-3 lead heading into the final frame, when TAP's bats suddenly found life in the top of the 7th. With the Pitchers knocked back on their heels, TAP put 4 runs across the plate in a hurry, and the Pitchers found themselves battered, bruised and down by 2 runs. 

Thankfully, ringer ATL (6-7 on the day) and rookie Richie hadn't seen this script before. ATL got on base with a single, and was joined aboard by Richie, who followed with a single of his own sandwiched between 2 female outs. A huge RBI double from Alex and an even huge-er single from Julie brought lefty David to the plate, who with little fanfare smacked an opposite-field hit to drive in the winning run. (Thankfully, Murph was able to just barely leg her way into second base before the throw in.)

Sadly, the Pitchers melted under the hot September heat in Game 2, as a series of errors in the bottom half of the first lead to an unearned TAP lead and the Pitchers failed to find the fight to get their way back into the game.

The excuses came from every corner of the Oval, as players lamented the burden of playing with a 1-and-1 count, the minimal shade to be found along the third-base bench, and the stress of again facing Koach K's unrelenting stare following her return from a two-week sojourn. As Julie and Lisa plotted the demise of TAP's second basewoman (she of myriad theatrical backpedals out of the batter's box whenever a pitch came within 3 feet of her), it was clear the hot summer sun had gotten to the Pitchers.

The Pitchers managed a scattered single or 2 each inning the rest of the way, but could never string anything substantial together, falling by a final score of 9ish to 3. David and Damian did get it done at the top of the order, each with 4 hits, and as Damian pointed out numerous times, in lobbying hard for future lead-off consideration, he did score all of the team's pitiful 3 runs in Game 2.