Sir Lord Baltimore 7, Mobtown Beatdown 13

It was a school of hard knocks on Tuesday, as your Sirs of Baltimore were felled by the bats of the Mobtown Beatdown. Final score: 13-7, which is a two-point improvement since the teams last met.

The contest started slowly on the chilly evening, with an uncharacteristic strikeout for the consistently effective leadoff batter, Mike B. Next, Adam R -- back to the top of the order -- was put out on a grounder to second base, and Emily B's tap was no match for the Beatdown.

But the Sirs defense allowed only one baserunner in the bottom half of the inning. Starter Michael "K" K also dealt a strikeout to the first batter. He had three or so on the night, as well as a couple walks.

And, in the top of the second, Michael K stroked a shot deep into center field and legged out a homerun, putting the Sirs onto the scoreboard.

But then trouble started for the Sirs when the Mobtown Beatdown plated six runs. And just as it seemed like there was no end in sight for the long inning, out number three came when RF Adam R connected with 2B Kristen A, who snagged the throw out of the dirt and applied the tag in a fluid motion, like a seasoned veteran. It was an inspired play, indicative of the kind of grace that makes softball more than a game.

The Sirs responded to the big inning on their next at bat, drawing a couple bases on balls. Michael K's walk brought in Adam R. Next, Michael and Emily B scored on a two RBI fielder's choice off of the productive bat of Kevin D. Then, with Kevin still on base, Adam "Ace" C walloped a two run homer into the darkness at the edge of the field. It was the farthest this reporter has seen a ball fly during regulation play. After a moment, the left fielder returned with the ball.

"How long was I gone for?" he asked.

"Just like thirty seconds."

"Seemed longer," he said, then he recounted a story about an epic, wintry battle he'd just witnessed, between a lion, a witch and four children. "The lion died. Oh, here's the ball," he said in conclusion, and the game resumed.

But it didn't resume well for Sir Lord Baltimore, who couldn't keep their bats working. While the Beatdown continued to hit away, the Sirs fell silent. However, in another bright moment, this time verging on the comedic, Michael K managed to stretch a Joan S grounder into an RBI from second base with patiently aggressive base running.

For the Sirs's final inning on the field, closer Joan S came in for what was nearly a Mobtown Shutdown. Snagging a hard hit comebacker, she attempted a pickoff throw but a half-step out of time. She allowed a walk, but then struck out the next batter. After that, the opponents scored a few more runs on a liner to right field.

In the end, it was the accumulation of close calls that sealed the fate of Sir Lord Baltimore. As James J put it after the game, "We were just too timid." Enough said.

Sir Lord Baltimore takes on the dreadful OSK at home next week, at 8pm. OSK slaughtered SLB when they met in September.