True Foes Clean Up! (7/30)

The long-awaited comeback came back with a vengeance last night as the True
Foes swept a double-header at the Murray Bergtraum field!

We had a full and eager team assembled by 5:30, ready to bury the Diggers. Unfortunately seven was not a lucky number for the other team as the umpire was very hardnosed about having eight players to start the game. He refused to wait until their full team arrived, and so at the official start of the game it was called a forfeit, and the True Foes won. The ump walked away to shoot the breeze with his friend.

Both teams wanted to play though, so we loaned them a couple of our players (we had True Foes in spades last night!) and scrimmaged with a two-swing rule. The rest of their team did show up eventually, and we played an easy, friendly game. It quickly became obvious that even if it hadn't been called from the start we would have won it anyway, without a doubt.

The same ump officiated the second game as well and was in a big hurry to get it started. The Pay Scrubs (the commissioner's team) only had eight players at start time, but that was enough. The sweat and blood had already begun to flow from the True Foes, but we considered it only an excellent warm-up and bravely began what would be our second victory of the night.

We welcomed back some regulars who had been sorely missed in the last couple of games—Glenn Baken came out (pitched the first game), and brought his cousin Matt, who also did the Baken clan proud. Issa was back in action at first base, and with Cleo on second and Softball Dave on third we had our bases more than aptly covered. Wendy proved to be the most dedicated of the ThinkFilm group, and we were happy to have her with us. David Phillips made some great catches in right field, and Glenn in center and Alex Laviola in left really played like pros, remembering each Pay Scrub's batting tendencies and positioning themselves to catch one high flyer after another. Michael Wiese is a quick study at softball and played well in his second time out with the Foes. Shortstop Brian bravely put himself in front of the ball and earned many orange dirt badges of courage last night. Abbey and Willy "Fe-"Brese stepped up and played hard against the Pay Scrubs, and the only time Jason stopped throwing the heat was when the umpire told him he had to mop up the red river streaming down his leg: "Brother, you've got to do something about that blood!"

The only thing more powerful than the True Foes on the field last night was our cheering section: Sarah Finklea brought her sister and Steven with her, Kim, Lee, and Johanna came out, Heather (who is a cheering section unto herself) kept our spirits up through even the dampest, toughest moments of the night, and my neighbor came to see this team he's been hearing so much about—and brought his two cousins with as well. The energy, noise, and positive vibes emanating from the True Foes' dugout were amazing and essential, and we are exceptionally fortunate to have not only a great team but also a killer fan base.

The light was failing by the end of the game. We saw the lights come on along the Brooklyn Bridge, but we could see enough to win with a final score of True Foes 7, Pay Scrubs 6. Game highlights included a long-bomb home run from Alex; more than one strikeout from Jason; speedy and strategic base-running by Brian, Dave, and Cleo; a line drive into right field by yours truly; and many, many more stellar efforts and displays of softball prowess, whose omission I beg you to forgive. The best thing about the game, however, wasn't that we played perfectly or were always ahead in runs, but that we never lost our edge or let ourselves down. We played with determination, enthusiasm, and skill, and it really paid off. Last night, the True Foes put some love into the game, and it loved them back.

The bar was completely taken over by our smelly, noisy, happy, thirsty group, and we stayed and drank long past the hour and the quantity that good sense would recommend. At one point it was decided that this is the year the True Foes will win it all. The playoffs haven't been scheduled yet, but we're in it for keeps this time. The threat of single elimination doesn't scare us: if we play our hearts out as we did last night, there's really no team we can't beat.

GTF