A Grand Night at the Commons

Hello ECC fans. The second Monday night in June started out in grand fashion for Excelsior Covenant softball. On a picture perfect night at the Commons, our boys were pitted against Faith Presbyterian Church one word comes to mind, defense. Kyle Small was on the mound and by the end of the second frame, the score was knotted at 4 runs a piece. Little did we know that those would be the last runs that pitcher Small would give up in this contest as the eight players behind him flashed some serious leather. However, the bats seemed to be as cold as the defense was hot because ECC could only manage one run through the next four innings to lead 5-4. Fast forward to the top of the seventh and the script couldn't have been written any better as Steve Anderson and Tim Carlson, AKA the Thumper boys, started the rally off with two straight singles. After a screaming liner to the shortstop by leadoff hitter Jon Volling, Kyle Small filled the bases with a walk. Wanting to be a hero, first baseman Craig Butler got a bit over anxious and popped out to his counterpart setting up the ultimate scenario. Bases loaded, two outs and your team needing a big hit to break the game wide open and cleanup hitter Brian Wiersma delivered with a majestic shot into the night for a grand slam homerun giving his team a commanding 9-4 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning. Well, Faith Presbyterian Church continued to find the gloves of Excelsior defenders putting up a final goose egg giving ECC it's second straight win. Final Score: ECC 9 Faith Presbyterian 4.

In between games, the boys of ECC showed off another talent as they proceeded to sing "Happy Birthday" to Senior Pastor Steve Pitts who was amongst the many fans that came out to support the club.

Question? Could ECC sweep the doubleheader and make it three in a row? Answer. Not quite, but a great effort. After an exciting end to the first game, ECC took on the Catholics from St. John the Baptist Church. The strong defense from the first game didn't carry over to the next as St. John's tallied 4 quick runs in the opening frame. A two run double by first game hero Brian Wiersma and an RBI single by Kit Housh narrowed the gap to 4-3 in the bottom of the inning. Over the next two innings the score was tied twice but by the end of the fourth, St. John's took the lead for good at 9-7. Unfortunately, the rally caps did not appear for ECC in this game as Brian Wiersma lined out to the left centerfielder with a man on the bottom of the seventh to end the game and give St. John's a hard fought 12-9 victory. A valiant effort that came up a bit too short.

Coach Quinlan and the guys will try start a new winning streak next week at Freeman Park starting at 6:30 and 7:30. Word is, the team will have a opportunity for revenge right away as they will play St. John's in the first game of the evening on June 16th. Hope to see you there.