Last Friday afternoon, the DC Bullets had a chance to make a big move in the New York Media Softball League standings, as they matched up against the High Times Bonghitters on the Great Lawn in Central Park.  Just two weeks prior, the Bullets had come up big in a 5-4 nail-biting win over the High Times gang.  Things didn’t go so well in the rematch.

Both teams came out cold in the early innings.  The score was deadlocked at zero after three full innings, as both teams scuffled to put runners on base.  The Bullets managed only a pair of two-out singles in the second, by RF Adam Staffaroni (2-3), and third, by P Larry Ganem (1-1).  After CF Neil Hiremath (2-3) got the fourth started on a positive note, singling, the heart of the order went down on three consecutive fly outs.  As the pressure mounted on both teams to push someone across the plate, the Bullets tightened up.  The Bonghitters, however, seemed more relaxed and noticably mellower with every passing inning (you make up your own theories as to why), and they seized the momentum with four runs in the last of the fourth.  They’d tack on four more in the fifth and two in the bottom of the sixth.

Adam Staff’s one-out single was again the only Bullet hit in the fifth, as the DC squad managed only four singles through the first five innings.  In the sixth, SCF Joel Press (1-1, run), 1B Laura Demoreuille (1-2) and Neil Hiremath strung together one-out singles and loaded the bases.  Again, heart of the order: SS and team captain Adam Schlagman (0-2, RBI) lofted a sacrifice fly to shallow center, bringing home the team’s first run and leaving them one more out to work with.  Unfortunately, 3B Mike Lorah (0-3), who’d been as hot as anybody coming into the game, managed his third routine fly out to center field, smashing the Bullet rally.

Trailing 10-1 as the seventh inning opened, LF Jay Kogan (1-3) tried to jump-start the team with a leadoff single, but the Bonghitters’ pitching put the screws to the DC batsmen again.  Three more pop-ups, including a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch in foul territory by High Times’ first baseman for the final out, put an end to the route.

The 10-1 loss drops the Bullets record to 5-5 (2-3 in NYML).

Game Notes:

In seven innings Friday, the Bullets had only eight hits, all singles, and only four of those hard hit.  Six of twelve hitters in the line-up failed to reach base even once.  We’re going to have to step it up, boys.

The Bullets are back in action Thursday, at 5:30pm, on Central Park’s North Meadow, Field #2.  Local fans can come see if the DC squad can thaw their ice-packed bats.

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