Chula Vista A at Clairemont

NOTE: Many of these summaries refer to the Clairemont players by only their first names. For the complete team roster please refer to the team roster page.

2000/11/04 - Clairemont at Chula Vista. Today's games provided a mixed bag as far as player ability and competitiveness. The first game at 9:00 am was close, with both teams playing well. Solid hits and fielding by both teams kept the game interesting. Unfortunately poor officiating marred the event, and Clairemont lost 6-5.

Clairemont essentially gave away the second game (some say due to the demoralizing first game loss) through sporadic pitching and missed opportunities in the field. These two teams were evenly pitched, but the game results wouldn't show it as the second game ended in a 11-1 victory by Chula Vista over Clairemont.

Editorial Commentary: In the recreational games of girls softball, it is important to maintain perspective and remember that umpires are people, and as such will make errors and mistakes. In the big picture, these errors generally don't impact a game's outcome and if applied against both teams, tend to cancel out. This only applies however, when the umpires are exercising good judgment and a sense of unbiased, fair play.

Today's games were umpired by two individuals. One was "rented" from an external umpire agency, ostensibly unbiased and ready to call a fair game. While this writer didn't agree with all of his judgments, he was consistent in his application and didn't seem to favor one side over the other.

The other umpire was associated with the Chula Vista team, perhaps a former player or older sister of a team member. This umpire set the stage by wearing a Chula Vista All-Star team sweatshirt while officiating the game. This was a serious error in judgment, displaying a bias for one team over another, and exhibiting a complete lack of professionalism for the job at hand. Several pivotal calls by this umpire were completely in error (this was acknowledged by parents of both teams). If they had simply been mistakes, they could have been accepted. But this umpire appeared to have taken her authority and used it to benefit "her" team. Particularly disappointing was her attitude and response when questioned about her team loyalty. To paraphrase, she indicated that there was nothing wrong with her displaying a team's logo or clothing, since it was "her" team.

In general, an umpire should be unbiased and impartial, enforcing the game rules for both teams in an evenhanded and fair manner. Even if a bias is present, they are to set aside that bias and minimize any possible displays of favoritism. Until this young woman learns and understands those responsibilities, she should refrain from umpiring any more games. Her behavior today casts a black mark on umpires everywhere.

Submitted by: Lenny Gemar

2000/09/30 - Today's games with Alpine.

2000/09/23 - Today's games with North El Cajon 'Storm'.

2000/09/09 - Today's games with Chula Vista 'Diamond Girls'.

8:00 AM Game 1 (Clairemont was Home) - Under beautiful sunny skies and just the lightest of ocean breezes, Clairemont hosted their first official game of the Fall Sox season with the Chula Vista Diamond Girls. The Girls started off with a bang as they brought across 4 runs in the first 3 innings, while holding Clairemont runless. But as we've often seen with this Clairemont team, they just needed a little time to wake-up. Bringing across 3 runs of their own in the 4th inning, Clairemont allowed no more runs by the Diamond Girls into the bottom of the 6th. With a score of 4-3 (Chula Vista), Clairemont fought back and brought across two more runs to win the game 5-4.

9/9 @ 8:00 am	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
Chula Vista	2	0	2	0	0	0	4	3
Clairemont	0	0	0	3	0	2	5	8

Chula Vista pitchers were Mari and Crystal, while Clairemont pitching duties were handled by Ashley Reed, Jennifer Price, and Chrissy Boehme. Jennifer Creager gets credit for a 1-RBI double and a 2-RBI single, while Kyrstin Gemar and Ashley Reed both hit triples. Game time was 1 Hour and 34 minutes.
Final score: Clairemont 5-4.

10:00 AM Game 2 (Clairemont was Visitor) - This second game of the double-header was a bit more lopsided as Clairemont established the lead in the 1st inning, improving that lead with each successive inning. Rather than a few great power hits by Clairemont's bats, it was one base hit after another, plus some good defense that won Clairemont the game.

9/9 @ 10:00 am	1	2	3	4	5	R	H
Clairemont	3	3	1	3	4	14	7
Chula Vista	1	0	0	1	2	4	5

Pitching a complete game for Chula Vista was Mari, while Chrissy Boehme, Karlee Halshaw, and Angela Pacheco pitched for Clairemont. Game time 1 Hour, 37 minutes. Final score: Clairemont 14-4.

While not all of the Clairemont girls are mentioned here, they all played well together, each contributing to the final score. After a month off from All-stars, they're settling back into playing as a cohesive team.

Submitted by: Lenny Gemar