The lights over the Memorial turf diamond were scheduled to power on at 7:30 sharp, right at first pitch. At 7:30, the Needham Rockets, and their coaches and parents, and the visiting team from Parkway, and their coaches and parents all gazed expectantly up at the stadium lights high above the diamond. Nothing. Then, suddenly, the lights burst on above the Needham High School diamond a little ways down the hill. Wrong diamond. All five Rockets coaches took to their phones and called everyone they knew, but no luck: nobody knew how to turn on the lights over the turf diamond. The umpires and coaches gathered and exchanged suggestions. Could we try to make the lighted 90-foot high school diamond into a 60-foot little league diamond? Could we try to get as much of the game in as we can while there was still a little daylight?
The sun was setting over Sudbury Farms. There was enough light to start the first inning, and maybe we could bide our time until we hit on somebody who could help us with the lights.
So, Rockets starting pitcher Steven trotted out to the mound. His fastball was enough to light up the diamond by itself. And he was commanding it superbly, retiring the side on two Ks and a ground ball to second for Jonah who fielded and flipped to first to end a quick inning.
In the bottom half, there was apparently still enough light to see the ball as Roman led off with a single. He stole second on the first pitch to Tom and then advanced to third on a passed ball. Tom ripped one to left field for a single and Roman scored. 1-0, Rockets. With one out, Calvin walked and once on promptly stole second. Ryan walked to put two on for Timmy, who took a big swing at a 1-0 fastball and crushed it. The center fielder made a great catch on the run, though, and then fired to second to catch the runner off the bag. Double play to end the inning.
Still no lights over the turf diamond in the top of the second, but Coach Hasenfus was digging deep into her Rolodex. Working the book in one hand and the phone in the other, she was tracking balls and strikes and dialing up an old friend's father who could maybe get in touch with his daughter who might know someone else's cousin who might know the password to log on to the site that controls the lights over Memorial. Meanwhile, Jonah came out to pitch. He got the first to line hard to short, where Roman made a nice grab. Jonah struck out two more to put up another shutout inning. Still 1-0, Rockets. Still no lights.
Bottom of the second. Jonah had no trouble picking up the ball under darkening skies. He got all of the first pitch and sent it to the gap in left-center, way back, way back... Gone! A four-bagger for Jonah and the Rockets would go up by two. But the fun was just beginning. Alex shot one up the middle for the first of three singles in a row. The next came off the bat of Patrick and the third off the bat of Matt M. Patrick would eventually come around to score on a single to left by Steven. 3-0, Rockets.
By the top of the third, it was just plain dark. The umpire called the coaches together and there was much discussion about what to do, all of which was suddenly interrupted by... a miracle! Coach Hasenfus' old friend's father must have tracked down his daughter whose friend's cousin knew the password because... there was light! Dim at first but gaining intensity until the whole turf diamond was awash in the glow of bright stadium lights. Playball!
Tom came out to pitch the top of the third under the lights. He was commanding a blazing fastball tonight and wasted no time in striking out the side, all looking. A third shut-out inning for Rockets pitching.
The Rockets went in order in their half of the third, and after three complete, it was 3-0, Rockets.
Matt G took the hill in the top of the fourth. Parkway battled, putting two on with nobody out, but Matt kept his poise, did not panic, and just went about making each pitch. Parkway was able to get one run in, but Matt nailed it shut after that, striking out three to get out of the inning with a two-run lead for his Rockets.
A two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth produced another run for the Rockets. Timmy got it going with a double to deep right, and then Jonah doubled to score Timmy. 4-1, Rockets after four.
The Rockets sent Harry to the mound in the fifth. The tough Parkway lineup ignited another rally that put up three runs to tie the game, but Harry did well to stop the damage there. He kept his cool, worked himself into a groove, and retired three in a row to get the Rockets out of the inning.
Tie game going into the bottom of the fifth. Patrick led off. He put good solid metal on a 2-2 fastball and sent it into center field for a single. One on with nobody out. It looked like this could be the beginning of a big inning for the Rockets, but we will never know, because at that moment, at precisely 9:00 PM, the lights suddenly shut off and the Memorial turf diamond went dark. End of game.
This was a strange one to be sure. The Rockets gathered to shake hands with Parkway, and the coaches from both teams and umpires gathered to figure out what just happened. The final call: a 4-4 tie with an option to play the final inning and a half if a win would make a difference to either team in the playoff hunt.
Tonight's game ball went to Jonah, who homered in the second, doubled in the fourth, and pitched a scoreless second inning for the Rockets. All that in just a little more than four innings! The Hustle Award went to Patrick, who battled at the plate to come away with two hits tonight.
The Rockets travel to Wellesley on Sunday. This will be a great challenge for us, an excellent opportunity to test ourselves against the division leaders. See you there!
