by Jeff
6/28/2010 2:48:00 AM
Ball Busters Keep on Bustin'.... With fresh attitudes and some fresh faces your Ball Busters took the field Friday night looking to continue its recent surge of consistent offense and determined, flawless defense. Friday night was no exception. With an unannounced appearance by Boss Bachrach who delayed his Friday night sojourn out east to lend support to his rising team; the Ball Busters did not disappoint. With a thorough thrashing of our opponents Centro Properties by a score of 10-1, the Ball Busters are now confident that a playoff appearance is well within reason. Such thoughts just a few weeks ago would have seemed foolhardy. Not now. Not with this team. Not when you get consistent hitting throughout the lineup and stellar defensive fielding that shuts down every hint of a rally by our opponent. Other than one error in the early going that resulted in one run scored by our opponent, from the second inning on no runner got any further than second base. A remarkable achievement in a softball game. Again, as circumstances dictated, we auditioned four new players to help the cause and field a complete team. With some of our regulars unavailable to play, Shannon, Katie (Matt Conroy’s sister) Vincent and our own Matt Shapiro donned the Bachrach blues and all contributed to the resounding victory.It seems that every week someone else steps up to the plate and delivers in the clutch. However, for someone to have the chance to hit that huge bases-clearing homerun there has to be someone on the bases to begin with. All season that catalyst has been Jeff Segal. Friday night was no different. Jeff went 4-4 Friday night spraying line drive hits to all fields and with his deceptive speed and unorthodox style of running, creating havoc for the defense and even getting purposely caught in a rundown between 2nd and 3rd base and with the confusion he created eventually resulting in two more runs being scored. You definitely hold your breath when Jeff pulls one of these stunts but, in the end, they mostly work out. Sports, like recruiting, is about delivery. Jeff Segal delivers. Bravo Jeff!Such was the case in the first inning Friday night when Segal stepped to the plate. Hitting a shot to the left center field gap, Jeff got us off and running and by the time the first inning was over, the winning runs had already been scored. We eventually loaded the bases for The Man of the night to step to the plate. Larry Villar, coming off a stellar 3-deal week in the office, was about to let his good-fortune and hard work at his desk transcend to the baseball diamond. With great dramatic flair with the bases loaded and two outs and a full count, Larry smashed a towering homerun to right field that made the now infamous crowds that gather deep in right field to sunbath scatter for their lives. By the time the right fielder caught up to the ball, Larry was already rounding third base and trotted home with ease. That’s right, a Grand Slam! A Grand Salami! A four bagger! Just like that we were up 4-0 and this time we would not relinquish the lead. Bravo Larry. Offense was only half of the story this night. Our defense might have played its most complete shut down effort of the year. Again it started with Jeff Segal. Accounting for the most defensive put outs in the game, every smash down the left field line that seemed to have a promising future would die tragically in the bottom of Jeff’s glove. In a moment of honest objectivity Jeff said to me after the game that he “finally feels comfortable out in left field”. In softball, left field becomes the position that fields the majority of balls hit to the outfield; so it becomes a critical defensive position. Jeff, you’ve got it down! Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the continued wizardry of Oliver Hernandez in center field. His defensive gems are so commonplace that sometimes they go overlooked. Not Friday night. He has the speed of a gazelle and is flawless in his execution. Friday night he had four putouts that, once again, would not allow the opposition any momentum. If Oliver doesn’t make those catches, the game could get very interesting. Bravo Oliver.Finally, I would like to speak about the Women of Bachrach. We have mixed and matched a variety of players this year based on availability. This band of women have included Lauren, Alex, Kim, Katie, Alicia, Barbara, Naomi, Shannon and Danielle. The most prolific and versatile female player we had has been Lauren Haak. We have asked a lot of Lauren throughout the year. She has played 3rd base, 2nd base, short field and catcher. Not an easy task when you don't know each week where you are going to play. She has had superb games and a game or two when she got roughed up but she always arrives with an outstanding attitude. She does everything she can to help the team win and is an excellent hitter. She is the cornerstone of our female contingency. Bravo Lauren! Two new faces shined on Friday night. One is Matt’s sister, Katie, who is one helluva ballplayer. Keeping in the Conroy family tradition, Katie scorched hit after hit Friday night that made her brother and the rest of the Ball Busters very proud. Bravo Katie! Then there’s Shannon. Arriving in NYC just three weeks ago from Santa Barbara, California Shannon is thrilled to be in the Big Apple. How Segal recruited Shannon and knew she was available is beyond me but there she was Friday night on the field and ready to play and impress. And impress she did. Making a sliding one handed back handed stop of a ground ball smashed to 2nd base, Shannon fired a laser to first base to get their fastest runner. Bravo Shannon! Naomi returned for her second game and is an exceptional softballer. With a rocket for an arm and an outstanding hitter, Naomi showed brightest in right field Friday night. On one play, a line drive was smashed to right field and its low trajectory found Naomi charging trying to make a one-handed catch. After what seemed to be a spectacular grab, somehow the ball squeezed out of her mitt and fell to the ground as Naomi did the same. The attempt was amazing enough and although she did not get the result she wanted, Naomi deserves all the accolades for a spectacular try. Just being in the right position on that ball proved for everyone to see her athleticism. Bravo Naomi! With the return of Barbara this week for our all important double-header on Wednesday night, I think we will field our strongest female team ever!!So that’s it. With another resounding victory in the books, we take a whole lot of momentum and confidence into our big double-header showdown Wednesday night. That confidence and enthusiasm spilled over into an Irish pub on Friday night where we celebrated our victory for several hours. We were joined there by our sole supporter at the game in Jeff Segal’s girlfriend Nicole who fit right into the camaraderie we all shared. By the dozen or so lip locks she put on Segal in the Pub, I guess she was pretty pleased with Jeff’s efforts on the field as well! There were some other negotiations in the Pub as well with front-men and wing men and even wing women doing their best to do what we do best….create opportunities and close deals!! But that story will remain in the clubhouse for now. At this point, I believe we are all keepers of the faith. Even Boss Bachrach, I believe, was duly impressed with our efforts. To be continued…..Jeff
Ball Busters
Subscribe