Balls Vs. Machine

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright.
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light.
And, somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout,

but there is no joy in Brooklyn --
mighty Bocce Bots have struck out.

It was another seemingly normal day. That was, until we stepped into Union Hall, for we were to face the mighty Bocce Bots, who stormed their way last year into the finals with Electric Company. Last year we played them and lost after only playing against two. This year we were determinded to play by the rules. This was unnecessary to enforce as they had four. Balls A' Plenty was seven strong with Matt, Gabe, Courtney, Erica, Melissa, William, and our old alternate Adam.



Now Adam played for us last year in a game when he was up from Philly and he still had his shirt. I promised him that if we went to a third game, he would likely get to play.

I was determined to beat the Bots, so choosing who to play had become a delicate challenge. Gabe and I had been practicing regularly in the pat 2 weeks, so I wanted to make sure we got some solid court time. Courtney and Erica could only play in the first game. I wanted to come out strong against the bots, and I know that Courtney plays well with me because I tend to keep her calm, and I've noticed that Erica is a little offset by Gabe's natural enthusiasm, so I put her with William. The Bots came out with three points, and eventually made it to four, but never scoring more than one point in a frame. We threw them back with a few high scoring frames and beat them in the first game 7 to 4.

With Courtney and Erica gone, it was left to myself, William, Melissa, Adam, and Gabe. I decided to keep the main team members in, so it was me and William, and Gabe and Melissa on the other end. We played well, but in the end the Bots made better rolls and they got us 7 to 3. We scored those three points after Zeke accidentally moved all the balls from a game that was not finished, and we came back with the points. But it was not enough.

Now I was faced with a difficult decision. Do I keep the same four in, or do I add Adam and take someone out? I had seen Adam play before, and I remember him rolling very well. Was it too much of a risk for this important game? And who do I take out? It was a tough choice. I decided to take Melissa out and put Adam in. It was hard to choose, but I chose Melissa because though she was making good rolls, that some of them were a little risky and my philosophy against the Bots was to play a slow and steady game without too many risky shots. So I put Adam in. The wildcard...

It proved to be a good decision, for Adam began to roll very well, as did the rest of us. We held on solidly, only giving up two points before beating the Bots in the third and final frame.

The Bots played well, but we played better. If we meet them again in the finals, I guarantee you, we will be ready to win again.

Roll on my people... roll on.