Erin and I went for a short bike ride yestreen. passed a girl's softball game and had to watch a bit of that. an organized league game, ages, I'd guess, 8-12. there's an assumption that MLB is the only real baseball, but I've happened upon high school games, Little League, even those semi-organized sunday morning games that occur. the pitcher we saw was young, not overwhelming but steady. she didn't do any of those wild softball deliveries, which is probably just as well for young arms. a couple of batters didn't look too hot then this small girl came up. I thought she had a nice stance, good crouch and weight on her back foot. just as I thought that she smacked a solid single thru the shortstop gap. after her came the biggest girl out there. the coach yelled his team to back up but the outfielders (there were 4!) already knew what to do. this girl just had to play 1st base and bat 4th. she waved her bat like a club, shades of Leon Daddy Wags Wagner. she clobbered the 1st pitch, sending it over the outfielder's head. she motored around the bases but possibly could've been caught if the outfielder hustled to retrieve and the relays were on target. a few more hits and walks and then the game stopped, I imagine because the winning team had created too large a margin. we rode on for a while. saw some white tails crossing the forest path ahead of us. deer in the distance always look like dogs to me. didn't have a camera, alas, the deer didn't mosey far off. it was a beautiful clear evening, tho a bit cool. love this time of year.