Thrilling Victory and Agonizing Defeat

Baseball is such a difficult game to play.  It is impossible to succeed in every situation as the New Market Rebels previous two games illustrate.  Needing a win on Sunday to maintain their spot in the playoff picture, the Rebels scored one in the 8th against the Covington Lumberjacks, a team 1/2 game ahead of them, to make the score 5-4.  Tying the game on a sacrifice fly in the 9th, they still had the bases loaded with two out.  Up stepped first baseman Francisco Ramirez who promptly lined a single to left for the game-winning RBI.

Ramirez, known as "Franco" is an enthusiastic kid from the University of Rio Grande (pronounced "Rye-O Grande") in Ohio.  A tall, left-handed hitter, he has a smile and a fist bump for everyone he sees and he is happy to be spending his summer in New Market.

Fast forward to last night.  The Rebels trail the Woodstock River Bandits 3-2, and against whom New Market maintains a slim 1.5 game lead for the final playoff spot.  In the 6th, Jordan Owen led off with a single only to be cut down stealing.  Ramirez doubled to left, a smash that might have scored Owen.  In any case, Franco was stranded at second.  In the 8th, with runners at first and second and none out, Franco again stepped to the plate.  Asked to sacrifice, he fouled off a bunt before grounding into a fielder's choice and then was promptly doubled off first on a line drive right to the first baseman for the final out of the inning.

Ramirez, succeeded at exactly the same rate, going 1 for 4 in both games.  One night you hit an opposite field single at exactly the right time and then  hit a booming double at exactly the wrong time the next night.  Baseball is, indeed, a difficult game to play.

Despite a leaf-off single by Jordan Walton in the 9th, the Rebels had no more late-inning magic left, at least for this night, and they lost 3-2.  Leading Woodstock by half a game, the Rebels' final six contests are against the top three teams in the Valley League.  The season that we dreamed about when the winter was dumping so much snow on us six months ago has six days left . . .