The season's opener started out well, but after an interminable sixth inning against the hated The Knight Riders, the Sirs of Baltimore watched their chances of winning sail off into the murky water of Swann Park.
In the first, pitcher Michael K, back from off-season surgery, walked the leadoff batter but got the second to sky a ball into the very shallow outfield. Shortstop Adam R waited as it continued to fall. "I was under it for so long, I had time to think about my life. I wondered if I should get a Porsche. I decided not to." He fielded the next two balls as well, flipping a grounder to second basewoman Kristen A to retire the walked batter. Still, the Knight Riders managed to score two runs in the inning.
To which the Sirs responded with four of their own. The early lead was built on some handy small ball that the team hasn't shown in seasons past.
The Sirs put up a defensive wall in the second inning, allowing only one runner on the base path. At the hot corner, James J made an acrobatic catch for the third out.
Back at the plate, Kristen A hit a hard grounder that carried her to second after a misthrown ball. Then, Nick S--who was acquired off waivers (outside Aloha Sushi at 2am)--got his turn to make a statement. In bright white trousers, the youngster hit a deep shot to center field for a two run homer.
When The Knight Riders came up in the fourth, spirits were high for Sir Lord Baltimore, who enjoyed a narrow lead. However, with two outs in the inning, time seemed to stop on the field. A crucial walk loaded the bases and the next batter cranked a line drive sharply into right for a grand slam.
The grass in the outfield was patchy and shorn close across the hard-packed dirt, so balls were prone to roll quickly. It was a feature that The Knight Riders exploited to great advantage.
The grand slam was called back, however, on a technicality. Earlier in the contest, Umpire (or, "Drunkpire") Avery had fervently declared it illegal for anyone to touch a player until the play was called dead. The Knight Riders came to the plate to celebrate the hit like it was a World Series walk off. Thanks to Michael K's attention, their high-five-contact was ruled an out. Two of the runs were called back and the top of the third was over.
"I wouldn't have said anything if they would have swung at a pitch once in a while," K said after the game.
But there was no advantage in it. The remaining innings were payback all around, as the game turned into a grudge match on the field, and Avery issued several make up calls. (At one point, Adam R earned the Sirs an out for carrying a beer over to coach third base.)
Michael K kicked against the pricks again with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the fourth (he had two in the night, this time scoring Emily B who played with a sharp eye and reached base on several occasions), but the score grew out of reach in the next inning, when the opposing bats came alive, crushing the ball all over the outfield. Still, the Sirs defense kept things within reach until the final inning, when it didn't seem they could buy an out. The spread grew to something like 20 to 9.
The inning finally ended on a 9-1 double play, when Adam C managed to snag a line drive and hurl it in to Michael K, who made a leaping grab at second base to tag out the runner who left the bag early.
In their last attempt, the Sirs put a few more runs across (including a 4th homerun for the team from Adam R), but like the US Congress they couldn't negotiate their way out of the deficit.
In spite of the loss, spirits were high after the opening game. "We played well," Joan S (1B) said in a press conference. "I felt like we played as a team, we got out there and did our best. I'm just grateful to the fans, that we get to get out here and just play as well as we can."
The Knight Riders defeated the dreaded Mobtown Beatdown in a previous championship series, a fact which softened the emotional blow of the loss. It looks like your Sirs of Baltimore are off to--at least--a capable start for the new season. Next week they take on Wolfepack and Mobtown in a doubleheader.
