Hot and Cold

Pool Play Game 1
Beechmont Sno-Ball Classic
North Oldham Knights 1, Louisville Longhorns 8

Admittedly, it would be somewhat of an exaggeration to report that it was so cold this past weekend at the aptly-named Sno-Ball Classic baseball tournament in Beechmont that, during pre-game warm-ups, players were wearing earmuffs and even ushankas, the traditional, yet undeniably fashionable, fur winter caps famously worn by Russians, but also favored by various nomads of central Asia and sundry inhabitants of the Arctic region. In the spirit of full disclosure, it must be noted that Ryan Hamilton removed the ushanka that he had been wearing before he actually left the dugout and stepped onto the field to work the kinks out of his chilled soupbone.

Andrew Littlefield’s ears stay toasty during pre-game warm-ups

while teammate Matthew Higgins attempts to warm his paw.

Nevertheless, compared to the downright balmy 80+ degrees at game-time of the previous weekend’s Sunday afternoon affair in which the Louisville Longhorns played, the sub-40 degree temperatures and accompanying brisk winds that bit through the Longhorns’ summer-weight Under Armor jerseys felt like weather more suited to mushing Huskies in Alaska’s Iditarod sled dog race than swinging Louisville Slugger 3X Composite Technology bats in a frigid early-spring baseball tournament in the River City.

Despite the Siberian conditions, Louisville Longhorns’ starting pitcher Noah Baugher came out smoking, striking out the first two North Oldham Knights batters he faced and retiring the side in order in the first inning. As searing as Mr. Baugher’s top-of-the-first horsehide-hurling performance was, the hitting prowess displayed by the Longhorns club-crew was perhaps 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius, for those scoring at home) hotter. Andrew Littlefield led off the ’Horns end of the initial frame with a base hit to left field and Casey Simon smote the first pitch he saw into deep right-center field for a double. Run-scoring base hits by Trey Sweeney, Nicholas Parrish and Bryce Elmore followed, and then Littlefield and Simon stepped up to the pentagonal platter and produced their second hits of the inning. When all was said and done, and the frost had cleared in chapter No. 1, the Longhorns had sent 13 young ’uns to the plate, seven of whom crossed the run-registering threshold, and the Horned-Ones were quickly in possession of a first-inning, 7-0 lead.

Starting pitcher Noah Baugher prevents frostbite

by covering his exposed epidermis, ninja-style.

In the top of the second inning, Noah Baugher once again set down the side in order, and did so in expeditious fashion, but the overall proceedings then followed the lead of the weather overlords and cooled off demonstrably. After collecting seven hits in the first frame alone, the Longhorns timber-toters would only add two more safeties, and one additional run, to their offensive totals in the next four innings combined, so it was up to their relief corps to curb any enthusiasm that the Knights’ offensive-assault-contingent might wish to muster.

In the dugout, Andrew Arnold stays warm in his official,

team-issued Longhorn hoodie while staying focused on the on-field proceedings.

And curb it they did. Relievers Andrew Arnold and Ryan Hamilton combined to limit the North Oldham wand-wielders to but two hits and only one unearned run over the final four innings, and when the game was officially in the books, the Longhorns found themselves standing warmly on the plus-side of an 8-1 final score.

Ryan Hamilton shut the door on the Knights,

holding them hitless over the final two innings.