27 June 2007

‘I absolutely detest losing’

By Shooter Hunt
GateHouse News Service
Wed Jun 27, 2007, 03:26 PM EDT 

Cape Cod - My first week on the Cape has been everything I have come to expect and then some. 

    I arrived in Falmouth Wednesday, June 13 just in time to get to the field and put in some work on the shrine commonly known as Arnie Allen Diamond @ Guv Fuller Field. 

    Driving down Route 28 brought back great memories of last year, and though there was a chill in the air, I knew that summer was finally here. 

    As soon as I got out of my car I was greeted by Coach [Jeff] Trundy, Coach [Matt] Ranson and General Manager Dan Dunn. All these men have done a whole lot for me and I was ecstatic to see them. 

    After working on the field for a while, my Tulane roommate Aja Barto and I drove to North Falmouth to the home of Jim and Marycatherine Mamary. The Mamarys along with their four sons (and dog Sophie) have truly become a second family for Aja and I. Aja lived with them last year, so they had to put up with me quite a bit. They were able to come down and visit us in New Orleans this past year, and both of us were excited to come back up to stay with them. 

    After being greeted very kindly, I unpacked my things and began to get ready for the Commodore banquet. The banquet was just as nice as last year, and it was great to see more familiar faces in other host families and past and present Commodore personnel. 

    The next day I woke early to get over to the field to once again put in some work. Working on the field is just as much a maintenance process as it is a bonding one. While working with the guys from other schools stories from the past year get passed around, and a common ground is found.

    After being treated to a nice lunch at Steve's Pizzeria, I decided to get a quick workout in before going back home for the night. 

    Friday was opening night, but not until we finished putting cords on the signs to hold them up on our outfield fence in the morning. Later on that evening saw a masterful pitching performance out of Kyle Gibson foiled by some late inning heroics of the Wareham Gatemen. 

    The next day was much of the same, as the Bourne Braves were able to defeat us with some late inning runs. Sunday was another nail-biter, and another heart-breaking loss at the hands of the Brewster Whitecaps, even after tying up the game in the 7th inning. However, Coach Trundy was quick to remind us after the game that the Cape Cod Baseball season, though not long in days, has many games and is therefore a marathon. This gave us hope going into our showdown with Chatham A's Monday. In front of a nice home crowd, we were able to snag our first victory of the season, 6-1. 

    But Tuesday would not prove to be our day as Cotuit handed us another tough loss, 8-6. An early deficit proved to be too much for us to overcome. 

    Finally, Wednesday was here, and I could start to feel like I was actually a part of this team. I woke up at around 10:15 and drove over to see my host family from last year, the Whites. After about an hour of catching up I left to pick up Aja and drive down to the field. Though I normally enjoy pitching in front of the great Commodore fans at home, we were scheduled to play at Y-D, so I would have to make due. Cloudy skies and a chilly drizzle were seriously threatening the chances of us playing all day, but as we drove out to Yarmouth, the "Baseball gods" were able to bring out some sun, and it was finally time to play ball. 

    Since I had not thrown in a few weeks I was on a pitch count for the game. This meant that I would not throw more than a 75 pitches. These pitches ran out at the end of the fourth inning, and with the score 1-1 I was upset that I couldn't stay in the game, but understanding of the fact that I need to build my arm-strength back up to where it was a few weeks ago before I go any further. 

    Anyway, Y-D managed to score 4 more runs and defeat us 5-1. I cannot say that I was happy with the game for I absolutely detest losing, but I was happy to finally be throwing again. 
Right now our record is not indicative of our playing. We very easily could be 5-1 at this point. Another boost of confidence from Coach Trundy that the 2005 Commodore team that went to the league finals started off 0-5 was much needed. 

    We sorely needed a day off for us all to find our swagger again. Go Commodores! 
Commodores’ pitcher Shooter Hunt is back for his second season with Falmouth.