Close wins against Caserta

My first home games here in Forli, Italy were both close wins against Caserta. This weekend's games were a lot more fun than last weekend because the games were very exciting and came close in the 7th inning. It was also a lot of fun because... well... winning is fun. Here is the link to the English recap of the game (scroll down to the bottom of the link to find our game- Forli vs Caserta): http://www.fibs.it/it-it/Italian-Softball-League-Forli2c-Collecchio-and-Bussolengo-split-Division-B-in-two.aspx?IdSection=674

But here is my quick recap highlighting the excitement.

Game 1:
We had a comfortable 9-4 lead going into the top of the 7th, when a girl from Caserta hit a grand slam to make it close. We managed to get out of the inning and win the game 9-8.
**Our announcer, Mattia, corrected me and said "the grand slam actually tied the score, so it was even more exciting than you think! :)" .... unfortunately my memory is not good enough to remember exactly how we ended up winning but I do know that we ended up winning 9-8

My stats for game 1:
2 for 3 with a double, intentional walk, 1 RBI, 2 runs

Game 2:
We were winning 3-0 in the top of the 7th but we weren't able to hold them as they managed to score 3 runs and tie up the game. I led off the bottom of the 7th with a single in the 5 6 hole, got to 2nd on a wild pitch, and tagged on a fly to right field and made it to 3rd base. They intentionally walked our next batter because she hit in the runs earlier in the game... and they intentionally walked the next batter to make it bases loaded and have a force play. Marta was up and hit a line drive to right center so I easily made it home and scored the winning run. Final score: 4-3

My stats for game 2:
1 for 2, intentional walk, 2 runs (including game winning run in bottom of 7)

Italian Softball League 2014 Standings and Leaders
Of the 6 teams in Group B (Forli's group)-- 3 teams are 4-0 (Forli, Bussolengo and Collecchio) and 3 teams are 0-4 (Caserta, Unione Fermana and Parma). Next week we play Bussolengo (away), one of the other undefeated teams.

Here is a link to Forli's half of the division of the Italian Softball League (Group B) and the 2014 Standings and Leaders in a variety of statistics: http://cnc.fibs.it/cnc/softball/2014/sl/totali/regular-b/lgsumm.htm

Here are the current stats of my team: http://cnc.fibs.it/cnc/softball/2014/sl/totali/regular-b/forli.htm

After the Game Pizza
Our games started at 6 pm but it was around 11 pm by the time they both ended. Our manager told us ahead of time that he was taking us out for pizza after the games. I was imagining what we used to do at Ohio when we had pizza after weekend games... about 10 large pizzas to share. Not in Italy. A few of my roommates and I went back to the apartment to shower quickly and then we met our team and coaches at a nice pizza restaurant nearby... at MIDNIGHT! This was a sit down restaurant with actual silverware and menus. Apparently the restaurant stayed open for our team... oh and the Caserta  team was at the restaurant as well! Everybody ordered their own individual pizza. I ordered a generic pizza: salsiccia (sausage), while one girl got a pizza with anchovies and capers, and other girls even got pizza with french fries on top! (My mom asked if that was their version of a California Burrito.) There were pitchers of drinks to share with everyone at the table. Some with water, a few more with Coke, and most of the pitchers were filled with beer (which definitely was the drink of choice.) After we were done eating, the waitress asked who would want coffee and more than half of the table raised their hands. This wouldn't usually surprise me because this is what most Italians drink after dinner... except it was TWO IN THE MORNING! Oh well, I guess the Italians really do love their coffee!

Overall, it was a very exciting day and I had a lot of fun with softball and my teammates. Apparently on Wednesday we play a game against a German team. I don't really know the details but I'll keep you updated!

Ciao!