Tigers vs. Onyx
February 28, 1998

L 8-6

Hello and welcome to The Tiger's Den! Today's guest columnist is Tony the Tiger...

What a g-r-r-r-r-eat day to begin Spring softball! The day started a little on the cold side, as the Tigers got prepared for the big parade. The Tigers were the hit of the parade, with really cool tiger facepainting done by team mom Kelly. Kelly's work was G-r-r-r-r-r-eat! ...ok, the "G-r-r-r-r-eat!" routine may start to get annoying, so I'll use it more sparingly.

The Tigers (I love that name!!) hit the field for the game a few hours later. Our opponent was Onyx. We both came into the game undefeated (well, it was our first game :-) ). Before the game even started, the Tigers had a couple of heroes. Kristen was fighting the flu for the past few days --but she didn't want to miss the opener. Neither did Michelle, who got tagged in the eye during warmups. Oh...I guess you wanted to read the game highlights. Sorry it took so long -- it's my first time as a guest columnist

The Tigers were the home team and thus, in the field first. The first hitter for Onyx smacked a grounder to left field for a double. She scored on the next hit. But then the Tigers bared their fangs and showed some g-r-r-r-r-eat defense! First, Sarah snagged a line drive to shortstop for the first out. Then Alissa fielded a grounder and got the forceout at first. Finally, Kristen struck out the final Onyx batter.

It was the Tigers turn to do some hitting -- and hit they did! Sarah lifted a high drive to right field to start us with a double. Melissa followed with a blistering grounder to shortstop (and Sarah did some nifty baserunning to avoid the tag). Alissa got hit by the pitch and was awarded first. To the plate comes Rachel D., with the bases full! After their pitcher threw some strikes, the count was full -- Coach Rodney came in to throw only one pitch and Rachel smacked a double!! Two runs score and the Tigers celebrate! Then Serena cracked a single (and drove in a run), followed by a single and RBI from Caitlin. Lisa then came to the plate with 2 runners on and no outs -- Lisa then proceeded to get a hit off their pitcher (a tougher feat than hitting off the weak-pitching Coach Rodney). That drove in our fifth run. Wow!! Tigers lead 5-1 after one inning.

Onyx came to the plate in the second inning with revenge on their mind. Four straight hits produced 2 runs. Then Kristen started heating up. She struck out 3 straight batters! In the bottom of the second, the Onyx pitcher started finding her control. Kristen did get a hit to start the inning. Michelle struck out swinging (hey, I love seeing a player taking her cuts at the plate). Rachel F. got a wild double to drive in Kristen. Then Onyx showed some strong defense by throwing Sarah out at first (a g-r-r-r-r-eat play by their shortstop). One more strikeout and we went into the third inning up 6-3.

In the third inning, Onyx got in a serious hitting mood...they hit hard, ran fast, and scored 5 runs. The Tigers went into the bottom of the last inning trailing 8-6. The Onyx pitcher really was in a groove. She struck out the first Tiger. Rachel D. did tear into a pitch are ripped a double to the outfield. But the Tiger rally fell short and we lost 8-6.

The girls played hard and the coaches coached well. Coach Rodney didn't have too hard a time in picking the game's Top Tiger. Sarah's snag of a hard hit line drive, plus her opening double to right field made her the Top Tiger! And yes, Sarah was g-r-r-r-r-eat!! Congratulations Sarah!

It was a strange game -- the Tigers looked untouchable early and Onyx looked unbeatable late in the game. I expect to see the Tigers win lots more games in the future. But I must say, it feels g-r-r-r-r-eat to start the season!!

-- Tony  (click here to find out more about me)