Parent's Night 2010

    It seems like a long time since we last played Alpha. I was talking with Sheila Meyer in church and she was suffering from softball withdrawal.  She said she almost had to come and just watch practice.  Instead, I took her outside and we played catch with some Pine cones...she is fine now.  So I guess we are in the second season.  When playoffs start, that will be the third season... That is a lot of seasons in one year.  The end of the season is tooooo close.  The new schedule is..... Frederic this Thursday at the new field located near the football field in Frederic.  Then on Monday we play at Superior which includes varsity and JV.  At that point, the JV is done for the spring and will hopefully join their summer teams. The Cumberland, Osceola, and Amery games are lost and will not be made up.  The varsity will head to the playoffs.  Don will be attending the seeding meeting on Wednesday night. Most likely we will earn the #1 seed since we are the only undefeated team in the region.  St. Croix Central will most likely have the #2 seed. It will all be based on other coach's votes.  If they believe that SCC has played better teams, they could get the #1 seed.  We will find out on Wednesday night.  I will let everyone know in the newsletter following Thursday's game at Frederic.

First a couple of updates........Kelcy, Jamie, Jina, and Nic!

 My time to brag:   Kelcy graduated from Notre Dame four years ago with a degree in biological sciences.  She now graduates from UW Madison School of Pharmacy.  She is now officially a Doctor of Pharmacology......after 8 years of college.  She will be accepting a residency at St. Luke's Hospital In Milwaukee. 

Congratulations Kelcy!

See everyone at the next game!

Jamie Lund, member of the 2006 state championship team, is a member of the Bemidji state softball team.  For the season, Jamie led her team in hitting during conference games with an average over .300  Congratulations Jamie!

After Kelcy's graduation, I went to the River Falls Graduation to watch my niece Marta Pedersen graduate.  Katie Ryan, Kerissa Nelson, Connar Graves, and Riley Yurigan were a few of the students also graduating.  Tera Nelson also earned a master's degree.  It was a busy weekend.  Virginia Ryan was there with her camera and row of Ryans...  Now Jina has showed up in the softball pictures many times, so she found it fun to take my picture.  The way it looks, Sandra was making excuses for me.  So thanks Jina this could be a first.

Dear Mama Guenther in Austria.  There is an American tradition that foreign exchange students get a tattoo.  I just want you to know that I did not have to pay for it.  It was done for free.  Don't worry, it didn't hurt much!  There are other traditions but I don't think you want to know.....

And now for the game.....finally....

For starters thanks to Unity for moving up the original game to 4:30.  Thanks to Luck for playing late and allowing us to celebrate Parent's night before we played.  Thanks to all the local Bike people that make it special for our players. 

    It had been a long 12 days since we played last.  There was a little rust to be had.  Unity is an improved team in many sports and softball is no different.  Michelle started the game with a strong first inning as she struck out two of the hitters.  In the Grantsburg half, Tiffany hit the first pitch deep to left but it was snagged by Unity.  Unity made many good plays in the field tonight.  Even though Michelle and Kylie singled, Grantsburg did not get any runs in the first.

    Grantsburg would score a run in the second taking advantage of Romo's double down the line.  Sarah picked up the RBI with her first of four consecutive hits.  Even though Grantsburg kept the pressure on Unity by loading the bases in the third, only one more run would cross the plate.  Unity was making all of the plays necessary.

    Grantsburg would add a few more runs and the score stood at 7-0 after 5 innings.  It was Parent's night and the bench was cleared.  To Unity's credit they took full advantage of this opportunity.  In the 6th inning they would score 5 runs cutting the lead to 2.  And in the 7th inning, they would score the lead off batter and place the tying run on first base.....  It made for a verrrrrrrrry close finish.  Michelle came back in and struck out the last two batters preserving the win for the Pirates.

Michelle smirks as Romo does her Jumping Jack thing                            Romo to Kylie and another runner gone.

For the game Grantsburg would score 7 runs on 14 hits and 4 walks.  Unity would score 7 runs with 0 hits in the first 5 innings but then 3 hits and 5 walks in the last two innings. For Grantsburg, Michelle and Sarah had the hot bats collecting 3 hits each.  Kylie had 2 hits of her own.  Other hits were by Tiffany, HD, EC, Annie, Romo, and Cody.  Unity had played a good game.  Luck had already arrived for game 2 so the finish was watched by quite a crowd. 

Romo wonders why that ball didn't stay in her glove!

We knew we were in trouble when we had 3 runners on third!

Between games the Bikes showed up as the tradition continues.

Parents:  Being a parent is a tough job....but very rewarding.  Thank you parents for all you do.  Thanks for allowing the time for practices and games.  Thanks for all the time you give to your children.  Thanks for the gloves, the bats, and the support.  Thanks for loving your kids when they are good...and loving them more when they play terribly. Thanks for putting ice on the owies..and listening to what they have to say.  Thanks for thinking they are the best on the team and should play each moment...that is what parents are for....  Happy Parent's night...your children are wonderful...and very talented.  Thanks for sharing your child with the rest of us.  Remember parents, if you find a picture you like on this page....right click it, save it, bring it to Walmart and print it. Most of the pictures are of lower resolution but a 4 x  should be just fine...and if you feel lucky, get an 8 x 10. 

    Game 2 was with Luck.  Before the game, one of the things agreed upon is either the 10 run rule after 5 innings or the 15 run rule after 3 innings.  For this game, Grantsburg would only bat twice scoring 8 in the first inning and 10 in the second.  Michelle pitched the first 2 innings while Sam pitched the 3rd.  Grantsburg actually had 11 different players with an RBI.  EC was the only person to get 2 hits.

SAFE at the plate!

Sam takes one off the NOGGin'  (Thats a run!)

Heather makes a GREAT effort in right field......wow!

TWIS:  This week in softball was 12 days.  We played dodgeball, we played soccer. We sat in the rain and pouted.  It was a long time.  There was rust...lots of rust.  The field was cement until we poured 45 minutes of water on the infield.   Next game is at Frederic.  They have done well.  With tonight's win we will make our first goal...Conference Champion.  Even if Frederic beats us, we will remain tied.  So congratulations 2020 Pirates....Thanks to Scott and Greg for most of the pics.  Time to get back into the groove.  Mollie had a GREAT year at Winona...leading her team in many categories including HOME RUNS>> Don flew to Colorado to watch her play. Romo to Kylie...great job.  EC pick-off..sweet.  Romo to the wall...oops!  Sarah's bat was HOT.  New handshake...  Tiffunky.  Gab almost hits 2 bombs?  The crowd was big.  WHO called the cops????  was it because of Sam??  HD injured her quad....what a catch in right. Sam used her head tonight.  Sarah smacked the ball around.  That is all for today.... we will all get back into the groove. Frederic then Superior....then the tournament....  Ing made it to the game.  Michelle has rules while at MOA.... Austin is in charge.  Don heads to the seeding meeting tonight. He also had puppies...amazing isn't it?   It was a beautiful night at the ball park. It was Greg's night for softball.  Hi Sena...Sam runs the bases as if she were used to poor throwing arms..be careful!! Thanks for coming...I hope you used a coupon and got in free.

   
      

If  you can start the day without caffeine,

If  you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and  pains,

If  you can resist complaining and  boring  people with your troubles,  

If  you can eat the same food every  day and be  grateful for it,

If  you can understand when your loved  ones are too busy to give you time,  

If  you can take criticism and  blame without resentment  ,

If  you can conquer tension  without  medical help,

If you can relax without  liquor,   

If  you can sleep without the aid of  drugs,  

You are probably the Family dog....

  I think I saw this dog relax after the first game.

SYBTF