Leaving On A Good Note. BG vs Montigny

Hey y'all. I am tired as shit but as promised...I am giving you one last post before I leave for Italy. Absolutely loved the comments. Ian, Don't worry, I'll be lookin for some gifts for people back in France...maybe the bumper sticker where Calvin (N Hobbes) pissing on a Chevy emblem, Alex, dude...I have probably worked more over here in three months than you have in your whole life, Emily, thanks for keepin up and like the support about the pics, Karly, you're a darlin' for talkin to me on Facebook, Tiff, my only advice about teaching lil ones is maybe just a swift slap across the head is in order, Mom and Dad, thanks for talking to me after my games and I will be keeping in touch when I am in Italy. Now to everyone else who reads, Lemme hear ya.

I will start with Friday. Olivear and I pretty much schedule Friday nights as dinner/jam session night. It was great. I made a pasta dish and Olivear had a French delicacy planned. Crepes. Now, maybe it is just me, but I thought crepes were a breakfast thing. But not in France. You can have crepes at all times of the day with whatever you want to put in them. So Olivear closely instructed me how to make a perfect crepe. I added deli ham, tons of cheese, and a sliver of butter that melted over the thin cake. It was phenomenal.




For dessert, we made dessert style crepes. Lemme just say my banana chocolate crepe was delicious.



After a good dinner, Olivear made our way down to our studio. Olivear's girlfriend, Marie, said that we played too loud last time so we had to play in the basement of the building where Olivear's flat is. At first glance, it is a small dungeon, but we brought some chairs and some lights down to make it our own. The acoustics that the basement bring out are just great. So we had whiskey filled drinks and played until our fingers couldn't move. It is great to hear both of our guitars ring out. We are at the point where we can just tell each other a chord arrangement and put together a really good melody. Just a good night.


*Olivear and I in our studio*

Saturday. Nothing much happened. Both Cadet and Softball games were cancelled due to lack of players on opposing teams. This happens a lot. So I conducted a practice with both teams on the field and we played a mixed scrimmage at the end of practice...it was fun but I could tell all the kids were pissed that the games were cancelled. I went back home, heated up a pizza, and just crashed. I had to get ready for Sunday's games vs Montigny.

Now if you have been keeping up...You know that Montigny is 2nd behind us, 3 games back. This double header is huge. Not only huge in the race for first in our division but also because of the fact I am going to miss next week's games vs GIF, 7th place. So we just need to atleast split with Montigny to ease things over with the BG club concerning my departure. So let's just jump into it...

Game 1: Bois Guillaume Woodchucks vs Montigny Cougars
Time: 11:30
Weather: Sunny, beautiful
Attendence: 25

Montigny is a pretty big club with a really nice field. It is the only astro-turf field in France with a good grandstand in the background. If you look at one of my first posts of the pre-season games...you will see the field. It doubles as a soccer field in the outfield, so lemme just say it is really deep. Hard ground balls through the infield can go for triples.


*Marc and Me*

Marc, our Canadian ace, got the start for us. This guy is good. About a 82-85 mph fastball with a D1 slider. He usually just shuts teams down.

First inning. We struck first off a double by Bernie. God, I love this guy. 1-0.
Marc shut them down in the bottom of the frame.
The beginning innings for us were pretty slow and even slower for the other team. I got the most ground balls at shortstop that I have had to field in a long time. I wanna say atleast 8 6-3's. Before my next at bat, the umpire says to me in a broken English,

"Montigny must really hate you." Followed by a chuckle.

They hated me even more because I laced a RBI double down the right field line after he said that.

So after some hits by us and errors by the other team, we found ourselves out front with a 5-0 lead.
Bottom of the 6th. First two batters get extra base hits. The next batter hit both of them in. 5-2. Ok...no problem. I told Marc that those runs don't mean shit and that we got'em. He walks and HBP's the next two batters.

Well fuck.

We got two outs and they are threating to put two more runs up with their next batter. The next play was incredible.

Marc throws a dirty slider, but it stays over the middle of the plate and the batter laces a flyball into the gap. I was sure that it was trouble. All of our hearts stopped except for Pierre's, our right fielder...

He gets such a good beat on this rocket and makes an over the shoulder leaping catch. Just incredible. We just exploded with joy. Pierre was so happy that he jumped into our huddle in front of the dugout as we were praising his name. That catch saved the game.
In the top of the 7th, we put up 4 more runs with the help of a triple by Marc...yes our starting pitcher. You could say he helped himself out big time. Montigny went down in order in the bottom of the 7th and we got the victory.

I can not tell you how relieved I felt. Now I didn't have to worry about my holiday anymore. It was effecting my batting and Olivear had told me that he could see it. I told the guys I was so proud of them. I told everyone to forget the game, get a second win, and most importantly to have fun this game. I love having the player/coaching power. I love being able to step back and look at baseball from a different angle. I took that role in my last season at DU and it was amazing, but I love that these guys really listen to what I say. I am their SS, power hitter, coach, and friend.

Game 2: Bois Guillaume Woodchucks vs Montigny Cougars
Time: 2:00
Weather: Still perfect
Attendence: 40

Montigny has really good support. It really nice to see people in the stands supporting their team playing a sport that is miniscule compared to other sports in France. Vincent, a lefty, got the start for us. Vincent got the win against Montigny last time and we figured that his floater would work its same magic.

Montigny was not fooled this game. We went down in order in the top of the frame and they jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Vincent was doing well but was throwing too many pitches and was getting wild. We had managed to tie it up 2-2, Pierre led off with a hit, I walked, and Bernie hit a 2 RBI double.

4th inning. I warmed up on the side of the dugout to get loose in case I needed to come in. First batter for them hit a shot deep into the left side hole. Romain dove and missed the ball but I was running right behind him in backhand position...

Now I have to stop and tell you something. All my plays to this point were pretty routine allowing me not to throw the ball hard at all to get the out.

On this play...I had to use the gun.

I backhanded this play deep in the hole, like I have done all my life, and fired a frozen rope across the infield. It beat the runner by a step.
The whole crowd stood up and clapped at my play. It was awesome. The umpires and other team members said that they have never seen a play like that. It was just really cool. Vincent got into trouble in the same inning and I took the mound. I got us out of the inning without a scratch.

2-2. We went down in order in the 5th. I took the mound and started getting careless. I was leaving my fastball up and the other team took advantage. They got a couple of hits and sacrificed a run in, going up 3-2. I cursed to myself and decided to use the knuck even more. It got the next guys to strike out and we finally got out of the inning.

Top of the order up for us. Olivear, Arthur, and yours truly. Olivear and Arthur struck out swinging. Then I make my way to the plate. I gotta tell you that my little rituals are the same over here. Strap the gloves a couple of times, walk behind the umpire, say a silent prayer to myself, spit behind the umpire, and make the sign of the cross on the plate.

Jean-Luc then yells at me from 3rd base.

"Hit a homerun and we are tied."

I laughed.

I thought to myself..."Well, I'll try."

First pitch.

I absolutely swung as hard as I could.

It was the longest ball ever recorded on Montigny's field.

It felt great. Dead center field.

Tie game 3-3.

I took the mound for the bottom of the 6th. I have to tell you that I pitched really well but the batters duckfarted some balls that landed for base hits. I had one out though without giving up the leading run. I then threw a great knuck. The ball knucked right onto the absolute end of the guy's bat and it was enough to sacrifice the runner in. 4-3 Montigny. I got the next guy out and we were down to our last 3 outs.

We all put on rally hats but it wasn't enough. We went down in order in the last inning. So we split with Montigny.

I was happy to still be up 3 games on them. I think everyone was happy with the outcome and I am sure that Jean-Luc is going to sleep better during my absence. So that is a good thing. I got compliments from the other team for my shot and I went to go fetch my ball. I tossed it to Jean-Luc and said I wanted him to have it. He was happy and we made our way back home.

Now to prepare for Italy. I leave tomorrow at 6:30pm and get into Florence around 10:30. I also want to mention to you...that if you are in the Springfield area, turn on Scott Puryear's and Ned Reynold's Sports Talk Radio Show tomorrow, Monday, morning from 9:00-10:00am. I am doing a short phone interview. So that should be fun.

One thing I have to share is that I love digging into my little old Italian language reference book and re-learning the phrases. I will probably post when I get back to France, Wed. 18th, but will try to when I am in Italy. I miss you guys and will talk to you soon. Au Revoir.