Softball 2004 - Salem #2

Back to Salem for the Late August tourney. This one was at the Moyer Athletic Complex - four purpose built softball fields.

The main reason we go to tournaments is to have dinner at a restaurant with our pals and not worry about messes or money. See how happy they are? And the best thing? They get to go swimming after dinner. It can't get much better than that!

The entrance to the Moyer Softball Athletic Center in Salem Virginia. It has four softball diamonds structured like a four leaf clover, with that building in the center. Its pretty nice because the dugouts have their own bathrooms. The concessions are about twice as costly as they should be and about 1/2 of what you'd pay at a movie theater.

The first game of this NSA tournament single elimination - we were set to play this red team called "Southside" . . . again. We had just beat them to take second seed in the tournament. You can just make out our entire team in front of #2 and #19 - our girls are about a foot shorter on average.

The Playaz in the dugout getting ready. Coach E. demonstrates the ideal way to offer a handshake.

Out for the coin toss. Again, note the significant height difference between the red and blue teams. They're even taller than Coach E.! BTW, we lost the toss.

Here's our left-handed first baseman digging in at the start of the play. She's alway's ready to charge the bunt, with the second baseman coming behind to take the throw to first - its a pretty play!

Here's our Cannon Arm Catcher! She comes out of the box like a rocket and puts the ball on target to second base every time. Pretty sporty dance step too!

One of the strong utility players. She can do nearly anything - pitch, infield, outfield, sing, etc.

Here's another utility player getting ready to take a pitch. Note the ball coming in from the right going right towards the boomerang in the catcher's hand.

Every team needs a cadre of strong pitchers. One of our most accurate pitchers gets ready to relase a little pepper. Behind her, she has the confidence of third and short. She likes Apples and Jack and can sing too!

A bunt is pretty useful if it can be laid down accurately without going in the air or too far towards third. This one worked, as the batter pulled the bat to take the force of ball. She made it to first.

Here's one of our best scorers. She makes a run every time our players make a run. She also makes the same number of hits and errors.

Another hitter getting some tips from Coach E. This time, he demonstrates

This wasn't our day - we lost the first game of the single elimination. Here, the Playaz come out to express their most sincerest congratulations to the winners.

The Second Part of the Line after the Last Loss

The second half of the team coming out to congratulate the winning team. As in all NSA games, sportsmanship tops the list of objectives.

Final Meeting and Review of the Successes

No tournament can end without coming together and putting all the hands together in a circle and hollaring something. Sometimes, it takes some extra effort, especially after a loss. However, this team is starting to play like a team, so its getting easier and easier.

If you look close, you can see the standings of the Playaz and the other teams in the tournament. This score doesn't reflect the last seeding games. After that, the Playaz were 2 wins, 1 loss - pretty good for such a young team.

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