The Electricity is Out!

This past Sunday, we had the big game against the undefeated Electric Company. I had been anticipating this game all season. They're a solid team with a winning record at Floyd's as Dr. Strangeballs and they won the finals last season at Union Hall. They're also a great group of people and I really enjoyed playing with them. Last year they beat us pretty hard, and next to the Bots, they were the only team I truly wanted to beat this year. They may have had a better record than us, but I wanted them to know that going into the finals there would be a team out there they would have to work to beat.

I was a little worried about the game because it seemed a lot of people were out of town or not able to make it. It ended up being myself, Jay, Melissa, and Kat. Courtney showed up but our game was so late in starting that she eventually had to go. Our 3:15 game didn't get rolling until 5:00pm. Ridiculous.

So, it was four of us, which was actually a benefit as they only had four as well. That way we'd be playing the same people with the same people each round.

The first game is was me and Kat on one side and Jay and Melissa on the other. At first, it was a one point game, and we made them work for their points. But in one frame, the Electric Company missed their key shots and left the court open for a three pointer for us. The first round ended 7-2.

Now I was a little wary going into the second round, as I figured we might get a little too cocky, which is dangerous against a solid team like the Electric Company. I kept the teams the way they were, and, sure enough, they spanked us with 7-0. They made a clutch 3 pointer and we weren't able to make up any points.

In the final round, I switched things up and the teams were Kat and Jay and me and Melissa. The Electric Company scored two points right off the bat. But the key frame came down to me and Melissa. The Electric Co. put the pallino really short and their first ball about 4 inches behind it. I answered their shot and put my ball 3 inches behind the pallino, right in front of their ball. They were not able to move the pallino deeper or get a closer ball, and their last shot put the pallino right against the left railing, with four of their balls deeper than our one ball. We had an open court for 4 points. Melissa and I made delicate curved shots aimed at the right railing (a difficult shot because our balls had to land only 4-5 feet from us to the extreme left) and we landed each one, giving us a commanding 4 points, making the score 5-2. Kat and Jay squeezed out another point, making it 6-2. Then it came down to me and Melissa. Mel threw a mid-ranged pallino, but put her first ball a little too deep, leaving the Electric company an open space for theirs. I surveyed the situation and decided to switch from the delicate shot to the school of hard knocks. I put the pallino near the back. Then they answered by pushing it tot he left railing, so I had to make another hard knock shot, moving the pallino to the middle next to two of our balls. They couldn't keep us from the point giving us 7-2, and taking away the Electric Company's undefeated status.



So there you have it. We are now positioned to be a middle seed in the finals, provded we keep winning. Middle seed is always a wild-card position, because you aren't playing top or bottom seeds until later on. Instead, you play other middle seeds. Either way, we've made our message loud and clear: Watch your Balls in the Finals, because we've got plenty!