Baseball in Fairfield

 

Shawn Sailer made sure my spot was saved

Two outs.

A one-run game.

Crosstown rivals playing to the last out.

But, as it goes in baseball, you have to get all of the outs. In pro ball, that's 27 outs over nine innings.

In high school, it's 21 outs over seven innings.

And Fairfield Warde High School made sure Fairfield Ludlowe didn't get that 21st out. They tied the game with a clutch base hit by Paddy Galvin.

So seven innings weren't enough between these two teams.

Eight weren't sufficient.

Nine didn't suffice either.

No, it took ten innings before Warde hung a six spot on the board and ran away with an 8-2 win against their rivals.

So, why am I writing about it?

Well, thanks to Brunswick changing their game to tomorrow, I was free today. I produced another podcast for Hunt Scanlon but that was all I had.

Yet I saw that Warde and Ludlowe were playing. Originally, the plan was for me to call that game as I have a few times before, including last year at Fairfield University. But with Brunswick originally having a game scheduled for today, I backed away.

Then came the schedule change.

Then it hit me that I could be available.

And then, following the production of the podcast, I was available.

I worked out the details with Shawn Sailer, and it is true that Fairfield should be "Sailerfield" or some way to honor him. He cares so much about both teams and is so diligent in everything he does. 

So, without the 20 hours that apparently are necessary to prep for a game, I made up my scoresheet and hit the road for Fairfield.

Oh, and Sean decided to come along. Now, before you tell me how great that is, he's not dumb. He knew I'd take him to dinner after the game.

But, yeah, traffic. Nearly an hour to get there when it should not take that long.

Then there's the question of wifi/cell service at Kiwanis Field in Fairfield. But allow me to be more specific: there is no wifi there and cell service is shaky.

So, what I'm saying is, this broadcast was a risk.

But, thanks to Shawn Sailer, I showed up to a reserved place in the booth (booth?!?) and a chair, which is a bit of a commodity. Shawn even made sure Sean had a place to sit.

And I had just enough cell service to survive the game. Plus the audience was fantastic. I heard no complaints so I'll take no news as good news.

The game was pretty good. It was 1-0 after one inning and stayed that way into the fifth when the Ludlowe Falcons made it 2-0. The Warde Mustangs scored in the sixth and the fateful seventh before adding the six in the 10th.

So the drama faded but I enjoyed the experience. We survived technically and everyone seemed OK.

Well, maybe with the exception of Fairfield Ludlowe.

But I made good on the dinner offer and we're now back home.

That's baseball, as they say.