Hey guys. Hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day Weekend!
It was a rough weekend for us. We lost a heartbreaker Saturday to Toyota Automobile, 5-4 in 9 innings. I pitched the last eight innings after coming in to relieve the starter and gave up four runs - I think three of them were earned.
We lost Sunday as well, 4-1 to Toyota Shokki. It was another tough game, and things just didn't go our way. I didn't get to pitch on Sunday. That leaves us at 5-4 now with two weeks until our next game.
Despite the losses, I'm excited to see my dad, who is visiting this week. I'm looking forward to spending some time with him, showing him around and working on my pitching mechanics a little bit. I'm also excited to be coming home in a few weeks and for National Team tryouts to begin. It's a huge honor to be considered good enough to take the field and compete with the best players in the U.S.
With two weeks to regroup, I'm hoping that we can end the first half of our season on a good note. Either way it has been a great experience here in Japan. I'm looking forward to a busy summer of softball back home and then returning for the second half of the Japanese schedule at the end of August.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Disappointing End to the Weekend
Hey everyone. We lost Sunday to Takasaki, so our record is now 5-2. I didn't pitch in the game. Because I had pitched the first seven innings the day before I was scheduled to be used in relief, but the situation never came about for me to go in. The final score was 6-1.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Exciting Victory
After a disappointing, hard-fought loss to Denso, 7-6, last weekend that saw us to fall to 4-1 on the year (but still remain in second place), we came back yesterday to record a crazy 8-2 victory against Sagawa. The game was 2-2 heading into extra innings and then we broke it open with six runs in the eighth. Yamane came in to pitch the last inning. Today we play R. Takasaki in Sagawa.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Offensive Explosion
Hello again. Happy Mother's Day weekend to everyone back home! The weekend started out great for us in Kakegawa, Shizuokoa. After falling behind early we rallied for a 12-1 victory against Shinogi to improve our record to 4-0.
Yamane was our starting pitcher, and pitched the first two innings before I came in for the third with us trailing, 1-0. I gave up a single with one out in the 3rd, but we were able to get a pop up on a bunt and a ground ball to get out of the inning. We came back in the bottom of the inning to score runs four and take the lead. Erina Inoue had a great game, hitting a triple with bases loaded to drive in three of the runs.
In the fourth we held them to a pop-up and two ground ball outs before putting the game away with another great inning offensively. Erina once again came up with bases loade and knocked in three runs with a double to the gap. Tanaka, our third baseman, hit a solo home run, and one of our younger players, Kouda, had her first league hit with a double to left field.
Matsumura relieved me to start the fifth inning and pitched two scoreless innings. Yamane reentered the game in the seventh to close it for us. I guess I was in the right place at the right time, entering the game right before our offense took control, so I was able to earn the win. Overall, I think it was a great offensive game for us, and we feel really good heading into tomorrow. Denso, another undefeated team, was leading Toda Hospital 9-0 when we left the park, so tomorrow should be a good match-up and test for us against them. My friend Megan Gibson, who I did the Nokiona Diamonds in the Rough photo/video shoot with, plays for Denso, so we might pitch against each other. It would be strange to face her all the way over here in Japan, but fun nonetheless!
We'll be heading back to Tokyo after tomorrow's game, so I'll try to check back in sometime tomorrow. If I can't get anything posted tomorrow I'd like to wish all the mom's out there a wonderful mother's day.
Talk to you soon,
Angela
Yamane was our starting pitcher, and pitched the first two innings before I came in for the third with us trailing, 1-0. I gave up a single with one out in the 3rd, but we were able to get a pop up on a bunt and a ground ball to get out of the inning. We came back in the bottom of the inning to score runs four and take the lead. Erina Inoue had a great game, hitting a triple with bases loaded to drive in three of the runs.
In the fourth we held them to a pop-up and two ground ball outs before putting the game away with another great inning offensively. Erina once again came up with bases loade and knocked in three runs with a double to the gap. Tanaka, our third baseman, hit a solo home run, and one of our younger players, Kouda, had her first league hit with a double to left field.
Matsumura relieved me to start the fifth inning and pitched two scoreless innings. Yamane reentered the game in the seventh to close it for us. I guess I was in the right place at the right time, entering the game right before our offense took control, so I was able to earn the win. Overall, I think it was a great offensive game for us, and we feel really good heading into tomorrow. Denso, another undefeated team, was leading Toda Hospital 9-0 when we left the park, so tomorrow should be a good match-up and test for us against them. My friend Megan Gibson, who I did the Nokiona Diamonds in the Rough photo/video shoot with, plays for Denso, so we might pitch against each other. It would be strange to face her all the way over here in Japan, but fun nonetheless!
We'll be heading back to Tokyo after tomorrow's game, so I'll try to check back in sometime tomorrow. If I can't get anything posted tomorrow I'd like to wish all the mom's out there a wonderful mother's day.
Talk to you soon,
Angela
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Gearing Up for a Big Weekend
Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't been able to update the blog for a couple of weeks. We had a week off between games, so I took advantage of that opportunity to do a little bit of traveling and sightseeing. But before I get into that let me tell you how the softball side of things is going.
We are doing very well. We won both of our most recent games to improve to 3-0. After waiting a day to play because of rain and then being delayed another hour because of wet field conditions, we were able to get in our game against Taiyo Yuden and won, 2-0. It was really windy that day, but I was able to pitch all seven innings, allowing five singles and a double. I don't really think about the stats when I'm playing, and they are not translated for me unless I ask, so usually I'm not positive about the exact number of hits or strikeouts.
The next day we faced Honda and won, 6-1, to improve to 3-0. In that game I pitched five innings, allowing two hits and one run with a walk.
Since those games, our schedule has been a little different. We were able to take a couple days off after playing Honda, since we had another two-week break between games. I was able to take a short trip to Hakone, which is located in the mountains and close to Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately, it was a little hazy around Mt. Fuji, so we only caught a few glimpses. The next day we took a trip to Kamakura, which is located on the Pacific Ocean just south of Tokyo. We stopped by the beach to see the Pacific from Japan and enjoyed shopping on the streets. Kamakura is well-known for its large bronze statue of Amida Buddha, which was built in 1252. It was 13.4 meters tall (about 44 feet), so it was quite a sight.
This past weekend we had exhibition games against Toda Hospital and Honda, two teams we have already played, in order to prepare for our upcoming games. Yesterday was the last day of Golden Week, so things will start to get back to normal. Golden Week is when there are several holidays grouped together, so everyone has a brief vacation and there can be a lot of additional traffic because of the travelers and tourists. We've been able to practice and train during the mornings since the other girls on the team do not have to work.
We leave today for our next two games and will practice there for the next two days. Denso, one of our opponents, is also 3-0 after its first three games, so this will be an important weekend for us. We play Shionogi first on Saturday at 10:30 a.m., followed by Denso Sunday at 1 PM. Our schedule continues to get tougher the next few weeks, as we will have two games per weekend for three weeks. It will be nice to get into more of a routine, and start to see the league shape up as more games are played.
Hopefully I will have internet access this weekend and be able to update you on how we are doing. If not I'll be sure to let you know when I get back to Tokyo.
Take care and have a great weekend. Talk to you soon!
Angela
We are doing very well. We won both of our most recent games to improve to 3-0. After waiting a day to play because of rain and then being delayed another hour because of wet field conditions, we were able to get in our game against Taiyo Yuden and won, 2-0. It was really windy that day, but I was able to pitch all seven innings, allowing five singles and a double. I don't really think about the stats when I'm playing, and they are not translated for me unless I ask, so usually I'm not positive about the exact number of hits or strikeouts.
The next day we faced Honda and won, 6-1, to improve to 3-0. In that game I pitched five innings, allowing two hits and one run with a walk.
Since those games, our schedule has been a little different. We were able to take a couple days off after playing Honda, since we had another two-week break between games. I was able to take a short trip to Hakone, which is located in the mountains and close to Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately, it was a little hazy around Mt. Fuji, so we only caught a few glimpses. The next day we took a trip to Kamakura, which is located on the Pacific Ocean just south of Tokyo. We stopped by the beach to see the Pacific from Japan and enjoyed shopping on the streets. Kamakura is well-known for its large bronze statue of Amida Buddha, which was built in 1252. It was 13.4 meters tall (about 44 feet), so it was quite a sight.
This past weekend we had exhibition games against Toda Hospital and Honda, two teams we have already played, in order to prepare for our upcoming games. Yesterday was the last day of Golden Week, so things will start to get back to normal. Golden Week is when there are several holidays grouped together, so everyone has a brief vacation and there can be a lot of additional traffic because of the travelers and tourists. We've been able to practice and train during the mornings since the other girls on the team do not have to work.
We leave today for our next two games and will practice there for the next two days. Denso, one of our opponents, is also 3-0 after its first three games, so this will be an important weekend for us. We play Shionogi first on Saturday at 10:30 a.m., followed by Denso Sunday at 1 PM. Our schedule continues to get tougher the next few weeks, as we will have two games per weekend for three weeks. It will be nice to get into more of a routine, and start to see the league shape up as more games are played.
Hopefully I will have internet access this weekend and be able to update you on how we are doing. If not I'll be sure to let you know when I get back to Tokyo.
Take care and have a great weekend. Talk to you soon!
Angela
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