Monday, March 29, 2010

St Jude Alpha Puts GO in the Hurt Locker

The Greenville Oaks softball team resumed play on Monday night after have a week off to play in the snow. The week off came at a good time as the team was desperately needing to nurse some injuries from the first week. The game started at 6:30 pm which has its advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, sometimes it is difficult to get to the game on time because of traffic and other things that get in the way. On the other hand, sometimes it's nice to get home early enough from the game to watch The Hurt Locker for the first time.

The Greenville Oaks team fell short yet again on Monday night with the final score resting at 12 - 10. GO couldn't climb out of an early hole to catch the mighty Alphas of St Jude. The game did not go without some significant bright spots for GO, which held a team below 20 runs for the first time this season. The reason for this tremendous defensive turn around? Rookie pitcher Grant Glolver made his pitching debut for the fighting Oakies, and he pitched a tremendous gem. Although Glover struggled early in the game, he found his stride late in the game and managed to hold St Jude to one run in the last three innings.

He had help though. Sparkling plays in the field provided some fantastic defensive web gems. Everyone contributed on the defensive side, with John Garrett chasing down fly balls in right field, the powerful double play combination of Blake Wattenburger and David Strickland, and Brian Edwards holding runners from his catchers position. "It was a great team effort," said Coach Brokaw after the game. "We are disappointed that we didn't get the win, but we definitely can take away some positive things from this game."

On a side note, Coach Brokaw remains one of the few coaches in the metroplex to have not failed a drug test in the last two years. He also remains one of the few players ever to strike out looking in slow pitch softball.

One of the larger stories of the game was the return of Shane Collins. Just when it appeared that GO would have to play the entire game shorthanded. Shane came to the rescue in the first inning, and he later added a homerun to cut into the lead in the fifth inning.

Greenville Oaks begins the spring season at 0 and 3 for the first time in Spring League history for the team. They will attempt to break into the win column next week. Until next time, So long everybody.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

2 up 2 Down Down Down Down!

The Greenville Oaks Spring 2010 season is underway, and they got started on Monday night with a Double Header against Chase Oaks and Christ the Servant. When you check the box score you will see a story in the numbers that says that Greenville Oaks had a bad night on the field. In game one, Greenville dug themselves an early hole as they showed a some first game jitters. It proved to be a hole they could not climb out of, as Chase Oaks went on to win that game 20 something to 12.

The second game was a different story, but unfortunately a similar result. The Greenville Oakies jumped out to an early six run lead, and the defense managed to hold Christ the Servant to 2 scoreless innings to start. Unfortunately, the merry-go-round began for Christ the Servant, and they went on to steal game two 20 something to 8.

It is the first time that Greenville has started a season 0-2, but Coach Brokaw seemed to look on the bright side of things. "I was really proud of the way our team fought tonight," said Brokaw. "I look at these spring training games as practice for the real thing. We had a lot of great at bats tonight. The defense was a little spotty, and pitching was horrendous, but those are all things that hopefully we can get worked out before opening day."

Apparently no one told Brokaw that the season had actually started. Result: 2 losses.

However, the real story of the games were not the numbers that you will find in the box score. The real story lies in a rarely looked at side note in the game programs...The Injury Report. So for the first time in this blogs history, I present to you THE INJURY REPORT...

1) Shane Spencer - Did not play. Spouse suffering from a swollen jaw. Out for 2 weeks.

2) Blake Wattenburger - Played (knocked out of game 1). Knee contusion. After getting off to a great start, Blake took a screaming grounder right off the knee near the end of the first game. Listed as Day to Day.

3) James Manley - Played (Had to leave after game 1) James played a great game behind the plate as the catcher in game one, but due to a condition that is currently being called "spousal early morning drop off syndrome" he had to retire early. Listed as Day to Day.

4) Dustin Swart - Played. Dustin had to fight through a diagnosed tear of the groin muscle when he made a great lunging play at first base to get an out. He needed assistance from teammates in order to get out of the splits position. Listed as Day to Day.

5) Clay Platt - Played. Suffering through what is called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. This is an injury similar to something Jarrod Saltalamacchia suffered from last year when he couldn't quite throw the ball back to the pitcher. In Clay's case, Doctor's have begun to notice that his arm is so strong that he seems to have a mental block that does not allow him to hit a cutoff man. It is a hard diagnosis for a player, because it is not known what causes the problem. For now he is listed as day to day.

6) David Strickland - Played. Strickland ran into some problems with what is called an extreme case of cramps. Wait...I meant Charley Horses. I'm not sure what is was called, but he was clearly in pain, but managed to finish both games. Day to Day.

7) Cade Thompson - Played. Cade came in with a pre-existing issue that he carried with him through the off season. He has some cartilage issues in his knee that he fought through to finish both games. Day to Day. (Interesting note...Cade pitched to 3 batters tonight and had 3 walks.)

8) Mike Mabry - Played. Dealing with a tough case of roid rage. Day to Day. (Had the team's lone homerun.)

9) Bryan Brokaw - Played. You could see him literally getting older with every pitch. He started game 1 age 26. Ended game 2 27. Tough night for the pitcher. Day to Day.

10) John Garrett - Played. He has been diagnosed with a case of "Oops...I shouldn't have told him to go home." He struggled as third base coach, but he played a great game in the outfield. We'll call him day to day as well.

11) Michael Shivers - Played (reluctantly). Shivers is suffering from a mild case of emotional anxiety attacks. It started when, what appeared to be Dr. Kellum, hit a screaming line drive that breezed inches away from Mike's face. Needless to say, the entire event was a little too much for Shivers to handle. He couldn't figure out why a doctor and an elder would try to hurt him like that. With the appropriate medication, Shivers should be back next week. Day to Day.

12) Randy Way - Played. Dead arm. Randy even voiced concern that he may not be able to play at all before the games because he threw out his arm warming up. A little ice and heat, and he should be back next week. Day to Day.

13) Brian Edwards - No apparent injuries, but he did suffer from identity theft. The pitcher for Christ the Servant called himself Brian Edwards for the entire night. Questionable.

14) Grant Glover - The only player to make it through the evening without any injury. Clearly Grant's off season workouts paid off, as he clearly was the most well-conditioned athlete on the field. His only illness may be color blindness, as he has an inability to see the orange bag right next to first base. Probable.

Not that excuses are being made, but Greenville Oaks had the deck stacked against them on this night. With a week to lick their wounds, the team will be ready to take on the next challenge next Monday night at 7:30.

Update: Off season strength and conditioning coach Randy Way has been let go. No replacement has been named as of yet. Stay tuned...

Monday, March 15, 2010

Wanted: Team Manager

We are looking for a volunteer team manager.

Job summary:

Keeping the stats during each game.

Skills needed:

Good Penmanship
Ability to stay focused on the game regardless of any good conversation going on around you.

To apply, please send application to bcbrokaw@gmail.com

Monday, March 1, 2010

Let the Games Begin!!!

Although they extinguished the winter olympic flame on Sunday night, that doesn't mean the competitive juices must die. The Greenville Oaks softball team is on its way from Surprise, Arizona this week, fresh off of a great spring training.

The team is set to take on First United Methodist next Monday, March 8th, at 9:30 pm. The games for the spring will be hosted at Ford Field 2. This Spring will prove to be the first full season with playoffs for whcih the team will have an opportunity to compete. Coaches Bryan Brokaw and Mike Mabry enter their second year at the helm.