On the wind swept plains of Victory Lane Sports Park, a call from the corn fields whispered across the Launching Pad that is Field 3... The conspiratorial whispers from the first base dugout stayed muted as Larry pitched into the fourth inning with nary a hit by the opposing team.
The 2-0 lead after two, blossomed to 10 in the third and topped at 23 after a 13 run outburst. No one realized the real story... In the dugout,,,
After two innings, the score was still close and discussion turned to Midlife Crisis not scoring any runs. At this point, there was more in what was not said than confirmation of the shutout. After a 1-2-3 third inning, the tension was mounting but no words were spoken about what was going down on the field.
After a 13 run top of the 4th, One Bad Inning led 23-0. This forced Midlife Crisis to score 9 runs just to stay in the game. To do this they needed an OBI type rally. They first needed to get a hit or One Bad Inning History would unfold in front of our eyes. With two outs in the fourth inning,,, a ground ball got by the first baseman,,, and well,,,
Larry faced 3 over the minimum in the 4 inning No-Hit Shutout. A ground ball to third in both the first and second innings that would not stay in the glove, caused the throws to be just late at first base.
Then with two outs in the fourth inning, a third ground ball went to first base and allowed another runner. Slightly misplayed, ticked off Joe’s glove and bounced into right field. The discussion was quick and unanimous, the bounce of the ball was true and an error accessed.
One out to go! The unspoken words between J.R. and Michael were carried between them as adrenaline flowed freely in the near empty dugout. A scary yet lazy fly ball fell deftly into the shortstops glove and history was made by Larry Schouten and the One Bad Inning Defense behind him,,, a 4-inning No Hitter indelibly etched into the fabric of everything OBI.
Congratulations Larry!!! Congratulations OBI!!! Thank you softball gods for allowing us to witness such an awesome event,,, even if we did not speak of it until afterwards.
Both J.R. and I were once again able to breathe following the final out. Wonder I did how long I had really been holding my breath…
Annnnnnnd then Split City showed up in game 2’s 11-20 loss. But who gives a shit?
This night was all about Larry’s No-No… Does not get any more special than that…
