full circle
This morning eating lunch at work, I checked my e mails and noticed my daughter has a playoff game the same day at 6. I decided to meet my daughter at the pool after work so we can get home earlier and with the hot day decided to fill our cooler with ice and water. (after cleaning it out since Sara's awesome punch was the last thing in it.

We get to the park and no one else was there. I called Carrie to check my e mail to make sure we were at the correct place and we were. Her first game in 50 degree weather was there and now seven weeks and 40 degrees later, we were at the field which still needed work to make playable from the weekend rain. I helped the coaches from the other team to rake the footprints out of the field and the drying compound onto it. By six, the field was in as good as shape as can be expected.

However, only five of her teammates were there. According to her coach, one had her tonsils removed last week, one was out of town, one quit, and one was too tired after swimming all day. Two others were trying to get to the field and stuck in traffic and one they had no idea. When two of them showed 25 minutes later, they were able to start. The ninth player got there during the bottom of the first inning.

Her team which was seeded 12th out of 15 was very outclassed by the 5th seeded team. Their pitcher struck out six of the first seven batters faced as the pitcher on Erin's team walked 13, hit one batter and gave up two hits in two innings only retiring one batter allowing the maximum 5 runs in each. After Erin drew a walk to lead off the third, the next three batters made an out, one of them putting a ball into play.

After another pitcher allowed the maximum five runs, two of Erin's teammates drew a walk and I thought she would get another at bat but the player before her struck out to end the season with a 15-0 four inning no hit loss. Had it not started to get dark at eight PM or if there were lights at that field, they would have continued the game.