Eddie James brought his unflinching enthusiasm and amazing skills to the field again this season as the Zeppelins faced off with the DOTD-Design team. LED fielded 12 players, racked up 11 hits, and scored four runs against Design. Along the way, several Zeppelins stood out for their offensive and defensive performances, including Eddie who arrived late after a conference call and took command of the field, personally putting out the first three batters he faced.
Eric Burton (Business Incentives) played a great shortstop and Russell Richardson (Business Development) made several great catches in the outfield. Victor Moore (Melissa’s husband) and Eddie added superb defensive plays to the mix. Outstanding on offense, Jayson Newell (Business Development) went 3 for 3 with 2 RBI’s and Leigh Ann Burton (Eric’s wife) added two RBI’s for the Zeppelins. She has been officially notified that she is now a permanent member of the team.
Design struck first with three runs in the top of the first inning. LED was a little rusty and needed an inning to sweep out the cobwebs, but it didn’t take long for the Zeppelins to strike back and even the score.
In the bottom of the third, Coach Linda Regira (Policy & Planning) started off with a single down the third base line. Eddie made Linda look great, pinch-running his way around the bases to become the first Zeppelin to cross the plate. Melissa Moore (Business Incentives) added a single which moved Eddie to third with a textbook slide. Jayson then added a two-RBI single to plate Eddie and Melissa. Leigh Ann then provided a sacrifice shot to score Jayson. The inning concluded with the score tied at 3 to 3.
In the bottom of the third, Steven Grissom (Deputy Secretary) walked up to the field just in time to hear his name called as the next batter in the lineup. With no warm-up, he knocked a beautiful single up the middle. Eric followed up with another single to move Steven into scoring position and it looked like the Zeppelins were going to add more runs when the Design center fielder made a spectacular play to rob Victor of a great hit, ending the inning with no runs scored.
Linda kept her title alive by taking another spill on the field. THIS time, it was self defense. Taking a rotation at catcher, Linda had to quickly duck a hard foul-tip heading straight at her nose. The batter graciously assisted Linda back to her feet. Eddie was heard saying “her head was there one second then it was gone….like a turtle.”
LED did not ultimately walk away victorious, but a fun time was had by all. And just for future reference, we shouldn’t be scheduling after-hours meetings and conference calls on game days!
The Zeppelins will face the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) team #2 at 6:00 on Tuesday, July 2 at Independence Park.
Singles: Eric, Dennis, Linda (2), Melissa, Jayson (3), Matthew, Eddie, Steven.
RBI’s: Jayson (2), Leigh Ann (2)
Many thanks to all who STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE for LED.
PLAYERS: Christian Pennington (Business Incentives), Dennis Barbier (Equipment Manager), Eddie James (Business Development), Eric Burton (Business Incentives), Jayson Newell (Business Development), Leigh Ann Burton (Eric’s wife), Linda Regira (Policy & Planning), Matthew Wattigny (FastStart), Melissa Moore (Business Incentives), Russell Richardson (Business Development), Steven Grissom (Deputy Secretary), Victor Moore (Melissa’s husband).
FANS: Jayson’s wife Beth and Russell’s son Mills and daughter Libby.
