Ostrava Day 4

The team enjoyed another marathon dinner last night. We actually timed the service; it took 51 minutes to get food, and we were hungry! This is what I learned in Swedish: jag är hungrig. (I am hungry). The food was good and Diane and I treated ourselves to ice cream sundaes at the end. It is amazing how cheap everything is here! Dinner at a restaurant runs you around $5-8, so I spent about $9 on a pasta dish and dessert. Not too bad. I passed out again pretty early while reading my kindle with the lights on. Guess those two games took it out of me! Plus the thought of waking up at 7:15 made me tired. 

We got another win in our 10:00 game this morning but it was not one we were happy with. We scored in the first inning, (I was batting clean up!), but the team from Croatia, Princ, scored on an in-the-park HR that was a legitimate single to right field that got by our fielder. We scored a few more but they got on the board again with a few misplayed balls. We need to sharpen our defense. Priya relieved me in the fifth inning and did really well. Princ scored twice, closing the gap by 1 run, but we scored again in the 6th. After an exciting last inning, we held them and won 6-4. That makes us 4-0 in pool play so we clinched first. We play tomorrow at 2:30 and then again at 6. I have a good feeling I'll be pitching those games, so the plan is to rest up today.

The team will need to sharpen up for playoffs. We need to run hard to the bases, charge grounders, figure out bunt defense (someone on first took third again on a bunt--not okay!), and make adjustments earlier in the game at the plate. The next games should be tougher so we will need to play better.