The Highlanders defeated the Pirates 7-1 at Farnesworth Middle School on Monday night, June 18. The game was closer than the score might indicate as the Highlanders were holding on to a 4-1 lead at the end of four innings. In the bottom of the fifth they were able to push across three more runs. The game was crisply played and took approximately one and one-half hours.
A third consecutive defeat for the Pirates, a team in transition this year. It's been a week for taking our lumps and, hopefully, learning a bit. As for the game, John Kalinski pitched extremely well, throwing first-pitch strikes and walking none. Kevin Jackson smoked two balls, one a rocket down the third-base line and another an absolute bomb to deep, deep center field. How far was it? The geezer legged out a triple.
The Highlanders are yet another team in our league that looks improved, some nice rookies fortifying the lineup and defense, complementing their impressive core of veterans. Personally, I was irritated and unhappy over the loss and my own woeful play, but some postgame conversation with Dunham and Kalinski turned my mood, made me laugh, and helped me realize once again that the league offers far more than wins and loses. As miserable as losing can be -- and admittedly, I am a shallow soul and I want to bang out hits and win -- when all is said and done I enjoyed myself and didn't really, really mind losing to those guys, who play a good game and talk an even better cooler.
