A Summer in Skövde, Sweden: "Yes, the mercy rule is in effect"

My first waking thoughts on Wednesday morning: "Game day, game day!"
I woke up very excited for the first games of my summer. We were playing Gefle at home, and thankfully the weather forecast was good. We got to the field at 10:00 to help put up the homerun fence. Uniforms were distributed before warm ups, and I got #16, but quickly switched when I found out #12 was available, meaning I would start and finish my softball career in the big 1-2. :)

A great photo opportunity!

My coach read the roster a half hour before game time--I was starting pitching and hitting fifth! It had been about 6 years since I'd had a live at bat so I was curious what the day would bring. In the first inning, I quickly realized that my speed alone was enough to be successful against this team. One grounder to SS and 2 K's later, we were up to bat. Lina, our #4 hitter, hit a home run so the bases were cleared for my first live at bat. Luckily, the pitching wasn't too quick, but I was still a little anxious...so I swung at my first pitch. High fly ball behind second base. It probably would be an out in the States, but it went for a single in this game! Woo hoo! I think we scored about 8 runs in the first inning, and I quickly learned that the mercy rule was in effect, 15 runs after 4 innings. Victory!

My first at bat in 6 years!

During our half hour break, one girl was assigned to bring pasta salad so the team refueled. (Clearly the connection between softball players and food is universal). The second game went similarly, but our defense got some more work. I was the DH (can you imagine?!), so I got two at bats. We finished that game in 3 innings, 20-0. I was a little worried that all of our games would be like this, but I think we started off with one of the weaker teams in the league.

Stats for the day
Pitching--4 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit (kind of), 12 K's (4 in one inning because of a drop third), gotta figure out how to get some ground balls!
Hitting--6 plate appearances, 4 for 5 with an error, 1000% OBP (!!!!!), 1 double, 1 BB

Overall, not too shabby, Skovde. At the end of the game, both teams lined up across the pitcher's mound, and the team captains said thank you to the umpires, fans, and the other team and then we shook hands. I'm looking forward to our next games.