LeoPalace21 14, Toda HP 1

Hi again...

I don't have all of the official stats translated from today's game yet, and since we have the day off tomorrow it might be Tuesday before I get them to you all, but here's a recap from what I can remember. It was all very exciting!

The atmosphere of these games is unlike anything I've experienced before. Each team has an official "cheerleader," who leads the cheering section and is accompanied by a band. They have certain rituals that they go through before the game, and will cheer for you specifically when you do something good. Most of them are male, and they yell very loud and have a large drum to accompany them.

The game started out a little rough...I think I was a little TOO excited. The first pitch was a strike, but on the second pitch I let a change-up go a little too quickly and it was immediately sent over the fence. After that, I settled in with three K's in a row. We answered with four runs in the bottom of the first. I pitched four total innings, allowing three hits (the other two were singles) and recorded somewhere between seven and nine strikeouts.

We had an awesome day offensively, with home runs by Natalie Titcume and Kageyama. Our new players hit very well, which was important and should build our confidence as a team. I think we finished with 14 runs on 15 hits.

Yamane pitched the fifth and sixth innings, and one out into the seventh. Matsumura got the last two outs in the seventh to end the game.

I'll get the official game re-cap to you soon, talk to you then..

Angela