Friday, September 18, 2015

“An athlete's greatest glory lies not in never falling, but in rising every time he falls.” (Norm Van Brocklin)


The long delay since the Zeppelins’ last game on August 12 found the team with a few cobwebs that had to be worked out.  The DCFS team practiced during the layoff, and it showed.
DCFS got on the board quickly and managed to score in every inning except the fifth, when LED got them three-up, three-down.  They took the lead from the start and LED could not catch them.

The Zeppelins didn’t get a hit until the second inning when Gary Beadle hit a shot to right field.  Eddie James followed with another shot to right which pushed Gary to third.  Both were left stranded and LED didn’t get another hit until five batters later in the third inning.  With two away Chelsea Harris hit a single to left field but was also left stranded.  In the fourth, Corey Dorsa hit a single to right center and a few bats later Gary hit a double which put both he and Corey into scoring position.  But it wasn’t meant to be as both men were left stranded again.
It wasn’t until the top of the sixth that LED managed to get on the board.  Chelsea started the rally with a single to left center, followed by a single from Russell Richardson.  Corey then hit a double which scored Chelsea and put Russell on third.  Jayson then hit a single to left which scored Russell.  Devin Harrison then hit a sacrifice fly to score Corey.  The Zeppelins had put three on the board but were still trailing.

The team struggled a bit defensively except for Chelsea who made several outs, including two spectacular ones, at second base.  She played so well that the opposing dugout cheered their defenders to “get that second base girl out since she’s been putting us out.” Katie Richardson also made a great play at third but when she threw the ball to hubby Russell, who missed it at first, she reminded him that he needed to “come up with it next time.”
After sitting out the first inning awaiting his turn in rotation to the outfield, Jayson grabbed a cold one from Anne Villa’s ice chest and announced that he had just had his “Superman juice” and was ready to play.  The powers obviously did not include flying (or maybe he needed the cape to go along with the juice) because he didn’t manage to stop the homer that flew about 30 feet over his head.  Out of nowhere DCFS recruited a ringer for the playoffs who sent three over the fence, including the one that sailed past Jayson.  A little fishy….

Gary summed it up best when he said, “I know we lost, but I had a lot of fun.”

The Zeppelins have to wait until next year to wallow in the fun again.  Thanks to all the players and fans who supported the team all season long.

Many thanks to all who stepped up to the plate for LED.
Singles:  Russell, Corey, Jayson, Devin, Gary, Eddie, Eric, Katie, Chelsea (2)
Doubles:  Gary and Corey
RBIs:  Corey, Jayson and Devin

PLAYERS:  Anne Villa (Undersecretary), Chelsea Harris (Louisiana Job Connection), Corey Dorsa (SEC), Devin Harrison (Business Development), Eddie James (Business Development), Eric Burton (Business Incentives) Gary Beadle (IT), Jayson Newell (Business Development), Katie Richardson (Russell’s wife), Russell Richardson (Business Development) and Rachelle Kilgo (Business Intelligence).
FANS:  Paula Bryars, Mills Richardson (Russell’s son), and Chelsea’s beau Brandon.