Lineups Matter

Thanks to a lightning storm, our Thursday game was cancelled.  This gave us the 1st place seed overall and allowed me to play the lesser experienced girls in the key positions on Friday.  I was also missing one of my top players, so effectively, two strong players would be out for each inning as I would have 11 players available for just 10 spots.  We struggled to put together outs in a consistent manner and fell behind quickly due to a 6-run 2nd inning.  I admit that started to waiver on my strategy and let some of the top kids play the infield for the last two innings, to see if we could come back.  This combination of 3rd & 4th graders was able to hold the team to just 1 run in the last two innings, but our bats fell short by one run in the big comeback.

The next day, we played the same team in the Semi-final game of the playoffs.  Using a lineup designed to put the players in their best positions (but still sitting everyone equally, as I'd have 12 players for 10 spots), we were up early and it was never close.  11-3 after four innings and the game was called at that point due to time limit and rain.

The rain forced the championship game to be moved to Sunday.  This had an unexpected benefit to me as my weakest player failed to show.  This would allow me to not sit anyone from my top 5 fielders.  As the other team had all 12 players, their top players would need to sit for one inning each.  The combination of good defense from both sides and that lineup difference led to a 5-2 victory.  The final game was a nail-biter, as no one scored more than two runs in an inning.  We had the bases loaded with no outs, but a base running boo-boo on a pop fly put us at 1st and 3rd with two outs.  We were able to get one run from the inning, but it wasn't enough to make us feel comfortable.

Speaking of feeling comfortable....This was the 1st time that the girls had experienced playing for a "championship" and you could tell (and they admitted to) the girls were nervous.  No one wanted to make a mistake that cost the game.  It was interesting to see the effect of competition on a team that was designed for instructional/recreational games.  The close score added to the intensity, so it was up to the coaches to keep the girls relaxed and "brushing off" any mistakes.  Of course, that meant calming our own competitive nerves.  I think we did okay.