Winning 57-1
Tuesday, April 10th, 2007I’m trying to ponder exactly how I’m supposed to feel about Bridgewater State’s 57-1 win against Newbury on Monday afternoon.
Newbury was playing its third varsity baseball game ever, having lost the previous two by the eminently reasonable scores of 5-1 and 5-3 to Maine-Presque Isle. But the Lincoln basketball analogy and the Rockford football analogy continue to ring in the back of my head.
For the hoops-challenged, Lincoln poured it on against Ohio State-Marion in December to the tune of a 201-78 win. The Rockford football game was a 105-0 shellacking of Trinity Bible in 2003.
Both of those were games against severely outmanned clubs, as apparently was this one. (Not much of a stretch to assume a team playing its third-ever varsity game joins that group.)
Wouldn’t it have been possible, somehow, to limit the damage to something in the 40s? The low 50s? Shouldn’t the number of runs be lower than the attendance, or the game time temperature? I’m fully aware that Bridgewater State emptied its bench quite a bit and one pitcher got his first two innings of the season to protect a 47-0 lead, but I couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps the heart of the Eagles’ order might’ve taken a seat as well. (The starting No. 2-3-4 hitters went a combined 18-for-24 with 26 RBI.) There are four pitchers who have thrown three innings or fewer through 14 games that might’ve been able to manage a couple innings in the outfield.
Even if you don’t want to risk a pitcher, perhaps just make sure the heart of the order comes out before the bottom of the order.
I know, I wasn’t there. An SID friend of mine earlier tonight who has been through a 70-plus-to-nothing football score reminds me that it’s hard to know what that’s like sometimes. And I’ve been to some 60-plus-to-nothing football games. This just strikes me as being worse.
But I’d like to hear what you think.
