Winning Ugly Can Be a Good Thing

 

The game had just ended and two Brunswick players came out to right field to take the camera back to put it away.

"That was a tough one," I said.

"You say that every time," came the response. "But you're right."

The scoreboard said the Bruins won 4-3 over King School.

For me, it started with four trips to and from my car. So, follow along here.

1) Walking to my booth in right field with my backpack, equipment case, and table, as well as a cup of coffee.

2) Walking back with the camera in its rolling case and the tripod.

3) Realizing I needed a different audio cable from my mixer to the camera, I made a trip over for that. In the process, I stopped in the dugouts to get the lineups.

4) While fixing the snack table that I use, I dumped a large portion of the coffee*. So, I walked back one more time to get a towel.

* For the record, no equipment was damaged. In fact, only the grass and the table took a hit. I used the towel to mop it up.

Then I could finally write the lineups down and set my defensive alignments on my scorecard.

I then checked LocalLive to make sure we were on the air. The stream will often go live for a stretch long before the game. It's not uncommon to have a 20-minute head start, which allows me to tune in remotely and listen to my voice. I'll do some kind of a preview hello to hear if I'm too loud, soft, etc. Most importantly, it's to confirm we're on the air.

In this case, there was no picture. So, I called the office. I don't know how it ultimately got fixed but that crisis was averted. Otherwise, I was preparing for an audio-only call.

But with no return call from the office, I went on and called the game.

It was a warm day, with the sun glaring on all of us. After the multiple trips to and from the car, as well as the setup and stress of that, I was worn out.

Hopefully, the audience couldn't tell as I called the game. It became business as usual.

The game, however, was anything but normal.

In the King School first inning, the Bruins allowed three runs -- unearned, I might add -- on no hits with four walks, a wild pitch, three errors, and three strikeouts. Also, the Vikings left three on base.

The Bruins cut it to 3-2 on a Connor Jones double that looked like it was going over the wall for a grand slam. It would have given the Bruins a 4-2 lead but they had to settle for being down one.

So the game marched on. 

Both teams would miss chances to add to the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth. The Bruins already had two outs when the Vikings committed three errors in a span of four batters. The last error produced the tying and leading runs.

So, if you're keeping score, the Bruins scored two runs on no hits with three Vikings errors and three runners left on base.

When it was all over, the Bruins won 4-3. There were eight hits total in the game with eight errors and 21 runners left on base.

The Bruins had picked up their 12th win of the year and were secure as the two seed heading into next week's FAA conference playoffs.

I'm back at it with lacrosse and "The Clubhouse" tomorrow.

Games like today happen. They're ugly in nature but prove the mettle of a team when they can grind out a win. They build character and serve as a reminder that it's a team game.

Oh, they're hell to keep a scorecard on but it's also a solid win when a team gets the "W."

I packed up and went home to watch hockey and get ready for the next one.

That grind I talk about never ends.