UNLUCKY THIRTEENS
If the game kept going like the first innings we'd have lost by 102 runs to 6. I had to search back through the records for the last time we conceded 17 runs in an innings. I was still only at last August and had found games where we conceded 9, 10 and 12 runs in an innings so stopped looking. Blazzers/Flyers games used be very tight, usually hinging on umpire decisions or gross blunders but this time we needed a change of pitcher to close the 1st before they got around a 12-man order twice. Only Gonzaga old-boy Ian, and to a lesser extent Junior, batted anywhere near as well as Ger. All their guys could hit low and hard when they wanted to. Our girls batting was well below par and we never checked how good their girl on 3B was.

So anyway I asked Sun Tzu "Master, what do you say to your team when the other crowd have scored 17 in the first?" He said "when opponents are at ease it is possible to tire them". Good point, that explains why the rest of the game went 12-6 to us. "Yeah, but Sun", I went on, "what if they have about 20 substitutes and confuse us by swopping shirts?". He shrugged his shoulders. After the game he comes up to me and said "A victorious army first wins and then seeks battle". I thought about that one and said "whatever". Down in the pub Sun Tzu started on again "These six are ways to defeat..." I fixed him a glare and he went off to get peanuts. Chen Hao elaborated the six: "... third is failure in training". Yadda, yadda, yadda. Hopefully Tony comes back from China with the knowledge.

Where it all went wrong: Dean-there's-no-I-in-take-the-walk-o takes a walk in the first. There's two outs so the bases are loaded. Ebbsie likes the first pitch. He hits it straight to the SS. Otherwise we'd have won. The GSHR leader-board doesn't change.
Where it did go right: Junior (SS) makes a great catch deepish behind the gap between 1B and 2B and throws to one to get out the runner who'd gone, ending the game on a DP. Oh, and Joe Healy struck out looking.