Learning from their mistakes was something the Angry Dragons had trouble with. Tuesday night, NEON proclaimed that old trend dead.
Fueled by the return, and season debut, of Allen "All Day" LeMay, NEON persevered through a sloppy defensive 1st inning en route to an 8-4 victory over Kickin GrAss.
Kickin GrAss took advantage of two uncharacteristic dropped balls, one by Zach Brown and one by Chad Buege. A double knocked home 2 runs, giving GrAss the lead. Things could have spiraled out of control had a couple of CSC veterans not put a stop to the bleeding.
Matt Devieney raced down a deep drive in the left-center gap. After gaining control of the ball, he turned and fired to shortstop Kevin Luther. Luther then dropkicked home to a sprinting LeMay, who tagged the GrAss runner at the plate for out #1. Later, with the bases loaded, Luther turned an unassisted double play to end the inning, limiting the damage to 2 runs.
NEON responded in the home-half of the frame with a run of their own, slicing the lead in half. Erin Olson got the offense started with a single, followed by a Luther triple, scoring Olson for NEON's first tally.
"I won't say that we were nervous after GrAss got their 2 runs, but it was definitely a wake-up call for us", Player/Coach Buege said. "We passed a tough test today. Our guys and gals showed that not only are we tough physically, we're tough mentally. That's the kind of skill set required to do damage in this league."
NEON (2-0) seemed to take the first-inning miscues personally and drive its ire into its offense, getting a balanced attack from all slots in the lineup. Rookies Lance Ramm and Kate Montague each notched their first hits and runs of the season, and P/C Buege rebounded from a hitless first week with a solid 3-3 performance, raising his season batting average to .500. Luther and Devieney also went 3-3, Olson and Patrick Heckman were 2-3, and LeMay 1-2. Brenda Rush's quest for the first perfect batting average for a CSC season continued in the 2nd inning with a single, but was dashed in the 4th. She finished 1-3.
"It felt really good to be back out on the field and to be back with teammates," said LeMay, who returned to action Tuesday night for the first time since the Fall of 2008. "I think we have a nice blend of talent here, and it's gonna be a blast seeing what I can add to an already robust lineup."
Playing in front of their home crowd for the first time this season, the support from the fans was not lost on the players.
"We'll play anybody, anytime, anywhere and like our chances," Staci Gyekis offered. "But when we're on our home field, we know that we have the best fans in the league. They become NEON's 11th (wo)man, and that makes it tough for anyone playing against us."
It may have made things tough for the home team as well--at least, initially.
"I haven't played on this big of a stage since Gus Macker 2000," Brown said. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little on edge in the first inning. Just looking around and seeing all the signs and jerseys was a little overwhelming. But you can't beat the support we get from our crowd. The fans are the reason we play, and we leave it all out on the field for them every week."
NEON's season-long pursuit of perfection continues next Tuesday with CSC's highest-rated offense, We Got the Runs. WGR has posted 28 runs through the season's first two weeks. NEON counters with the stingiest defense in the league, surrendering only 4 runs in 2 contests, and committing only 1 error.
One inning's worth of defensive lapses could not keep NEON, and the spirit of their fans, from shining brightly yet another week.
News and Notes:
2B/RP Staci Gyekis is being listed as day-to-day, following a double-quad pull suffered in the first inning. Buege is hopeful to have her in the starting lineup next Tuesday, but won't rule out having her rest a week.....While the season is in its infancy, plans are in motion for the first-ever "Fan Appreciation Night". Details will be posted as soon as they're finalized....
Perfect recap, Sir. Way to give credit to the fans - they really kept us in the game. Looking forward to next week's post.
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