The Desi Nationals: 2006

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Fall 2006 - Pre Game 4 practice?

Coach's email:
---------------------------------

It looks like this week will be difficult to meet for practice in the evening. Maybe we can have batting practice prior to the game on Friday? We can meet at Twin Creeks (in Sunnyvale) around 7:00 and get to Mise Park around 8:15 for some fielding practice.

Also, I know we will be without Sumanth and Deepika this Friday. Karthik and Naveen are fighting injuries and are officially listed as 'questionable' for the game.

Can you guys confirm attendance so I can put together a lineup by tomorrow.

Fall 2006 - Game 3 result and note from the coach

Crossroads : 10 - Desi Nationals: 9

A nail biting finish indeed. I as a spectator, not even in the dug out, could clearly see the nationals play a A-class game. There were some serious hustles.

Anjali, Leena, Appu and Amit at 1B, 2B, SS and 3B, clearly made up our best infield ever!
I cant recall any ball going past them. Great job team! We lost, but we definately are improving!!

--note from the coach--

Hi guys -

Quick note about last Friday's game. It was clearly our best effort of the 2nd season and I was beaming after the game. It started when I saw a hobbling Karthik wearing his uniform to the game. That was awesome. Sumanth hitting seeds in fielding practice....clearly made a difference as our infield stopped everything in sight during the game. Appu hustling to 2nd base and stretching a normal single into a double. Shrisha pitched our first complete game. The effort was totally there. We were limping and wincing......but, most importantly......fighting. Good stuff, Nationals!!!!

Fall 2006 - Game 2 result: Desi Nationals: 5 - FCC Forgiven: 22

The result says it all. I cant recall the gory details of the game. Someone will probably have more to say here soon.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Fall 2006 - Game 2 - Line up and note from the coach

Our game this Friday is at 7:40 pm at the same park (Columbus #2). I will be at Fontanetti's for some batting practice at 6:30...since it's not too far. From there, we can head over to the field.

We are playing FCC Forgiven. They beat the 'A Team' 20-6 last Friday. I'm guessing that they will give us some exercise out in the field. But, we'll be at full strength (all 16 of us will be there!!), so we have some flexibility. For this game, I'm going to try batting only 10 people and making some early substitutions. If you can't make it to batting practice......we can meet at 7:15 to warm up the wings

Tentative Lineup for this week:

RF Amit

2B Leena

SS Chethan

SP Anjali

LF Appu

3B Preeti S.

CF Naveen

CA Sammy

1B Sumanth

OF Preeti A.

------------------------

RES Archana (sub in OF)

RES Deepika (sub in CA)

RES Srivalli (sub in OF)

RES Shrisha (sub in 3B)

RES Karthik (sub in SP)

RES Ranjeet (sub in 1B)

----------------------------

Monday, October 16, 2006

Fall 2006 - Game 1 result: Desis: 4, Orchard:8

we lost after starting off well - that seems to be a pattern.
we were trailing 4-5 at the bottom of the second , after leading the first inning 2-1
Out of the 4 innings, we didnt let them score for 2 innings.
they closed the game 8-4.

Their men - atleast some of them hit real hard and flat. Naveen did give an acrobatic try to most of them and almost got them.
he infact had one of the best diving catches in the game. PreethiS had another good catch at 3B. Chetan has a great diving stop at SS. all in all a little bit rusty, but a good game. Sam was brought home by PreethiA, her first home run!

I think we dont have the skillset to chase a lagging score. So we need to just focus on giving less runs.

The other teams seem of a higher quality/calibre than our summer friends( just watched a few minutes of the following game)..but look friendlier than hi-tech.

Fall 2006 - Line up for Game 1

LF Appu

2B Leena

SS Chethan

3B Preeti S.

CF Naveen

DH Sammy

DH Shrisha

RF Preeti A

1B Ranjeet

CA Srivalli

SP Karthik

RF Archana

Fall 2006 - game 1 & 2 - Venue Change

Hey guys...looks like we are moving parks for week 1 and 2, at least.

-----------------------------

Columbus 2
between W. Taylor St & W. Hedding St
(West field)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Albayalde, Joe <Joe.Albayalde@sanjoseca.gov>
Date: Oct 11, 2006 11:15 AM
Subject: Mise Park change to Columbus Park #2
To:

Attn: Team Managers

Last night at Mise Park prior to the 6:30 pm game the scorekeeper attempted
to turn on the field lights. When they did not come on repeated attempts
were unsuccessful. After a few tries staff noticed smoke coming from the
electrical box inside the booth. The Fire Department was then called in.
They inspected the site and decided to turn off the main electrical switches
to the field lights therefore postponing all games for the night. A work
order has been submitted for the electrician to resolve the problem.

In the meantime games scheduled for 10/13 & 10/20 will be moved to Columbus
Park #2 (Spring & Taylor). Please confirm receipt of this e-mail. Thank
you.

Joseph Albayalde
Recreation Program Specialist
City Wide Sports
1850 Fallbrook Ave
San Jose, CA 95130
Office 408-871-3826
Fax 408-871-8165

For softball league information, standings and scores log onto
http://eteamz.active.com/sanjose/index.cfm?subsite=823946

Fall 2006 - pre game 1 - note from the coach.

hi team......well, looks like no more rest for the weary. Our first game for the Fall Season is on Friday the 13th. Although as ominous as it may sound, we are poised to start this season off with a bang!! I wasn't very clear in my last email (below) about practice on Sunday, so we'll be heading into this game kinda 'fresh'. No fielding practices anymore during the week since there is not enough daylight. But, maybe a weekend practice over the next few weeks? For this week, we were planning to hit the batting cages on Thursday evening just to get loose. If you are game, we'll be at Fontanetti's cages on Almaden Expy around 8:00

Also, we have filled out our roster at 16.....warm welcome to Sumanth, Deepika, and Archana!! As it stands, here is our season schedule. Playoffs (Game #6) will be on 11/17 starting at 6:30. Top 4 teams will qualify.

Game (Home vs. Visitor) :	Location:
Fri 10/13/06 6:30pm	Desi Nationals vs. Orchard	Mise Park
Fri 10/20/06 7:40pm	Desi Nationals vs. FCC Forgiven	Mise Park
Fri 10/27/06 8:50pm	Crossroads vs. Desi Nationals	Mise Park
Fri 11/3/06 8:50pm	Desi Nationals vs. First Congregational	Mise Park
Fri 11/10/06 7:40pm	The A Team vs. Desi Nationals	Mise Park

here's the attendance for the season as i have so far. Please let me know if anything has changed.

----------------------------------------------

Sammy, Karthik (Games 1-4)

Preeti, Naveen

Preeti, Shrisha

Leena, Ranjeet

Deepika, Sumanth (Games 2, 4-6)

Anjali, Ami (Games 2-6)

Appu

Archana

Srivalli, Chethan

-----------------------------------------

For this week....we'll have 12 people (6 guys, 6 girls).

Friday, October 13, 2006

Season 2 - Game 1

Season two for the Desis start tonite, with the fall league being played in two parks, the first two games are at:

------------ --------- --------
Columbus 2 Park
between W. Taylor St & W. Hedding St
(West field)

1600 Walnut St
San Jose, California 95110
------------ --------- --------

For the reminder of the season, we are back at the Mise Park.

New entrants to the team: Sam Venugopal, Archana Madadi, and Deepika Sumanth. Sam and Deepika have played before, but Archana is inexperienced. Its all good!

Batting lineup for tonite:
LF Appu
2B Leena
SS Chethan
3B Preeti S.
CF Naveen
DH Sammy
DH Shrisha
LCF Preeti A
1B Ranjeet
CA Srivalli
SP Karthik
RF Archana

Go Nationals!!

Reminder: Its started getting cold out there, so dont forget warm clothing. And cleats might be a must for the outfield. Arrive at the park by 6PM to warmup.

Season 2 - Game 1

Season two for the Desis start tonite, with the fall league being played in two parks, the first two games are at:

------------ --------- --------
Columbus 2 Park
between W. Taylor St & W. Hedding St
(West field)

1600 Walnut St
San Jose, California 95110
------------ --------- --------

For the reminder of the season, we are back at the Mise Park.

New entrants to the team: Sam Venugopal, Archana Madadi, and Deepika Sumanth. Sam and Deepika have played before, but Archana is a inexperienced. Its all good!

Batting lineup for tonite:
LF Appu
2B Leena
SS Chethan
3B Preeti S.
CF Naveen
DH Sammy
DH Shrisha
LCF Preeti A
1B Ranjeet
CA Srivalli
SP Karthik
RF Archana

Go Nationals!!

Reminder: Its started getting cold out there, so dont forget warm clothing. And cleats might be a must for the outfield. Arrive at the park by 6PM to warmup.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Fall league - 2006

The fall league starts off after a week's break after the summer league ended. 6 teams in the mix, and we play each other once in the regular season, and the top 4 teams make it to the playoffs. Regular season games are played at 6.30PM, 7.40PM, and 8.50PM on fridays. The teams in the league are Desi-Nationals, Orchard, The A Team, First Congregational, Crossroads, and FCC Forgiven.

SCHEDULE
WEEK 6:30PM\t 7:40PM\t 8:50 PM
============================================
1. 10/13 2 VS 1 4 VS 5 3 VS 6
2. 10/20 3 VS 4 6 VS 1 2 VS 5
3. 10/27 6 VS 4 2 VS 3 1 VS 5
4. 11/3 5 VS 3 6 VS 2 4 VS 1
5. 11/10 5 VS 6 1 VS 3 4 VS 2
6. 11/17 3RD VS 2ND 4TH VS 1ST CHAMPIONSHIP
============================================

A playoff loss.. and the beginning of a new season.

Results of the summer league playoffs:

Fri 9/29/06 6:30pm
Westgate : 18 - St Timothy's Lutheran: 5

Fri 9/29/06 7:40pm
Hi Tech Manufactoring: 11 - Desi Nationals: 4

Fri 9/29/06 8:50pm
Hi Tech Manufactoring: 18 - Westgate : 5

We lost to the Hi-Tech team, but not before making them sweat it out. After being tied at 4-4 at the beginning of the third inning, we gave up 6 runs over the next two innings without scoring again. What a team effort this was! Coach hit the biggest shot of the game, a 2-run homerun, hit into the deep right field. Appu took some awesome catches in left field, Karthik pitched real well, and everyone else pitched in a bit here and a bit there.

Go Desis!

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Playoff batting lineup

Coach says:

Ok, guys......this is probably the beginning of a series of emails in prep for tomorrow night's big game against Hi Tech!!! We just got back from our trip on Tuesday..... but, we've been thinking about you guys a lot during our Aussie/NZ trip. Very excited about winning it all and the first step is taking care of business tomorrow.... ..

It looks like ONE run kept us away from being the #3 seed and playing Westgate. Well, that's ok......we will be at full strength (at least w/the guys) on Friday. I seriously think we have a good chance to finally beat these guys. After brainstorming with you all, we're going to go with a different strategy for defense. All guys in the outfield. One girl in the roaming outfield area. In other words, all the guys will man the outermost layer of the outfield. With Amit, Appu, and Naveen.....there is a lot of speed to chase after the ball. If we can run down and catch a couple of those balls that escaped us last time, we'll save a few runs for sure. We'll use our roaming OF (s-diddy) to help snag the short OF balls.

Karthik will start us off on the mound. Anjali will take over 1st base. So, we'll have three girls in the infield. I'm going with the assumption that Hi Tech will continue to swing away and go for the Home Runs.....hence our beefing up of the outfield. If they start pounding the ball into the ground.....and score runs that way.....we'll look to make a change. But, I'm guessing that they will still go for the Big Fly and test our outfielders once again.

That said, here is our lineup for tomorrow night. Get yourself ready.....this could be a great ending to our inaugural season. If possible, I would like everybody to show up at 6:30 so we can warm up and talk through some things. Our game is at 7:40.

------------ --------- ------

RF	Amit
2B	Leena
SS	Chethan
1B	Anjali
LF	Appu
3B	Preeti S
SP	Karthik
CA	Sammy
DH	Ranjeet
DH	Preeti A
CF	Naveen
FL	Srivalli

------------ --------- -------

Put me in coach, I'm ready to play:

Venu, Shrisha, and Robert

Out for this game:

Play-offs

Playoff schedule after following the rulebook guidelines:

The top 4 teams advance to the post season:
Game 1 - 3^rd place Vs 2^nd place/home team Time limit & Run rules apply.
Game 2 - 4^th place Vs 1^st place/home team Time limit & Run rules apply.
Championship – winners of games 1 & 2 higher seed is the home team. No time limit, Run rule applies

2. Tiebreaker will be determined by head-to-head record and run differential to decide placement of play off teams.

3.All players participating in the post season must have played in 1/3 of it's teams games (official at bat) and will be required to have a valid pictured ID in his/her possession or risk forfeiting the game.

4.Prior to all playoff games ID will be checked to verify each player meets the minimum requirements of eligibility.

======================================

Since the Desis and St.Tims were tied at the third place, the tie-breaker rules apply:
game 1: tie: 4-4
game 2: desis 8-6
game 3: tims 12-9

They have a 1 run lead in the differential.
At 6.30PM: St.Timothys Vs Westgate.
At 7.40PM: Desis Vs Hi-tech.
At 8.50PM: Finals <\font>

Monday, September 25, 2006

pre-playoff practice

Sunday, Sep 24, 10am:

Roster: Amit, Anjali, Appu, Dumma, Leena, Sam, Rishon and Karthik

We started around 10:15am, warming up, stretching and catching.
Started the batting practice around 10:30am. Each person got to hit about 25-30 pitches(Anjali and I pitched)
We focused on hitting the ball on the ground, infield, while the folks practiced single/double plays.
We almost did 2 rounds per player. A good 2 hours on the field. Felt good. i think with another mid week practice, either on the field or at the batting cages, our skills and our confidence should be chiseled in a positive way.

Last regular season game : Desis 2 - Hi Tech 13

Game report from karthik:

We lost badly. 13-2. Started off the first innning with 2 runs on the board.
Their response? 11 runs. They got 5 runs after the 2nd out. We didnt score in the second inning, but didnt let them either. Third inning,no score from desis. they scored 2, with 1 out, but the umpire called time at 70 mins.
I dont know if it is just me, but somehow it felt like we didnt play with the fire or the energy like the previous games. It almost felt like, we had accepted to lose, before the start of the game.
So much for my theory...lets improvise for the playoffs.

game report by amit:

we lost again. 13-2. it wasn't as bad as it sounds. they got up by 11-2 after the first and we held them to 2 more runs in 3 innings after that.

looks like we'll play them again next week (btw, it's a 6:30 game). we kinda figured that they aren't as good as we thought they were.....a couple of fewer lucky hits and the game would have been much closer. next week, the cavalry comes back, and they'll be in for a surprise.

So, we decided to have a sunday practice...I' ll send out a separate email on that later.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Last regular season game - Mail from the coach

From: Amit Rele

Mailed-By: returns.groups.yahoo.com

Reply-To: desi_nationals@yahoogroups.com

To: desi_nationals@yahoogroups.com

Date: Sep 22, 2006 9:44 AM

Subject: [desi_nationals] game tonight

Folks,

Game time tonight for 3rd place vs High Tech is at 8pm. So, here's the deal:
we're currently tied for 3rd with St Tim, one point behind Westgate.
St Tim plays Westgate tonight at 7 and we play Hi Tech at 8.
Hi Tech has nothing to play for tonight as they've clinched the 1st seed, so, they won't have the same motivation as we will.

Starting line up is the same as last week with the addition of Venu G in RCF. Appu may be there, and if he is, then he'll hit 3rd and play SS and I'll move back to 3B. I'll juggle the fielding positions after giving it some thought.

So, let's show up a little early and root for Westgate and scout the other teams. The goal for tonight is to win and to get ready for the playoffs.

let's go Nationals!

-Amit

Monday, September 18, 2006

After 8 games : Team standings

Just one more game, before the regular season ends and the playoffs begin. Here is where we stand.

Team	GP	W	L	T	Pts
Hi Tech Manufactoring	8	6	1	1	13
Westgate	8	2	3	3	7
Desi Nationals	8	2	4	2	6
St Timothys Luteran	8	2	4	2	6

We're tied for 3rd place with St. Timothys with 6 points each. As it stands today, if they were to compare us to just the runs scored, then we have:

Desi nationals - 51 runs ( wow, we scored so much??!!)
St. Timothys - 54 runs

Scenario A: Westgate beats St. Timothys and we win against Hi-tech, we're in 3rd place.

Scenario B: Westgate beats St. Timothys and we lost against hi-tech. In this case, we have to make sure that we score more runs than St. Timothys. Lets make this our main focus - scoring as many runs as possible!!

Scenario C: St Timothys beats Westgate. We start preparing for the fall season!!

Desis 9 - St. Timothys Lutheran 12

Game 8: Sep 15th. Mise Park, San Jose. 7pm.

The roster was a full house - aka 11 people. I had to sit out to babysit Rishon.

Line Up:

Sammy - CA
Dumma - 1B
Leena - 2B
Amit - SS
Shrisha - 3B
Anjali - SP
VenuJ - LF
PreethiS - LCF
Robert - RCF
DJ - RF

We started off well in the first inning with good momentum, getting quick outs and being sharp on the field. The hitting was consistent too, with almost everyone getting a hit of some sort.
We were leading 7-2 at the bottom of the second.

Looks like our lineup is good only for 2 innings. The third inning performance was somewhat poor by us. St. Timothys scored 3 more to make the score 7-5. We couldnt put any runs the 3rd inning.

We went into the 4th with St Timothy's hitting. We just had to hold them to win the game.
But they just went beserk with thier hitting. No big hits, but consistent hitting out of the infield but way short for anyone on the outfield. Before we realised, they had 7 more runs.
7-12 the score, when we went to bat for the last inning. Too much pressure, just put on 2 more runs.

One notable thing, was we are constantly evolving as a team and last friday, we played the best of our games with more confidence, consistency and discipline. But that wasnt good enough for a win.

We need consistency in both hitting and fielding, and cant have sweet spots in the line up.
Anjali's recommendation is for us to go to the batting cages this wednesday. We need to firm up that.

Next week, its Hi-tech. Lets prepare...

Monday, September 11, 2006

Desis 7 - Westgate 6

Mail by stand-in Captn/Coach Amit:

What a total team win for the Desi Nationals as they beat Westgate tonight by a score 7-6! we led 7-0 with 2 innings to go, but we held on to win by the closest of margins. It was a total team effort with 2 home runs by 2 players....way to go Venu! phenomenal outfield catches, a couple of hustle plays by Robert, a great catch by Sammy at home, the usual consistent hitting by Leena. I think she's got the highest on-base percentage of all of us! Ranjeet had an awesome foul catch at 1st and got a crutial out for us. Preeti played flawlessly at 3 positions throughout the game (3B, LF and C). awesome pitching by Anjali, great outfield play by Karthik, Venu and Robert. We missed DJ out there and can't wait for her to get back. I can't remember everything (I've had a couple of beers :), but I'm still on cloud nine ...and it's not just from the beer! :)

After the game, even a couple of guys from Westgate came over and admired how far we've come since the first game. they're afraid of us as we're picking up momentum and going to be a real force in the playoffs. we're 1 point from 2nd place and will be playing St Timothy's for 2nd place next week. way to go team!

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Player Availability sign up sheet posted

The player availability sign up sheet for the next 3 regular season games and the playoffs are now posted.

its at:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=o01797710274281430325.1269522704903711826

Please email Karthik Vugane to get access to exit.(sorry cant post my email here for the fear of spam bots).

Monday, August 28, 2006

A win atlast.. Desis 8 - Lutherans 6

Champagne flowed, and confetti streamed down as the Desis finally got a win on the board. Celebrations that began friday night, continued throughout the weekend, till the late hours of sunday night. And a win which was a total team effort.

Being the home team, we batted first, putting on 3 runs in the first innings. As has become a habit, Amit got a base hit, followed by Leena, and Appu, and very soon, most of top order batting lineup had a go at the mediocre pitching from the Lutherans, where they walked two, and struck out none, in the top of the very first inning.

Lutherans scored one in the first inning with Karthik pitching real well, I took a catch in the outfield, and Appu catching one at shortstop, one got tagged out. Our second inning, we scored 3 more, with Preetu getting walked, Venu getting a base hit, and I dont remember the rest.

Lutherans put on 3 runs in the second inning, with some powerful hitting, and a couple of fielding errors on our side.

Top of the third, Dumma scored a run, and one more run was scored. Desis were leading 8-4 when the Lutherans got the last inning to bat.

We get one out, we walk one, Lutherans score twice, and this is when the unthinkable happened. The batter hits directly to Appu at short-stop, he throws to Leena at second base, getting the second out of the inning, and she throws to Dumma at first to get our first two-outs, and we had won!! What a way to win!! yooohoooo!!! Great team effort!!!!

Celebrations and team photo-ops followed, and we took our celebrations to the Tied House in downtown San Jose.

A good win, and with this, we are placed perhaps third in the overall standings, with 1 W, 2 T, and 2 L's.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Another tie.. Desis 10 - Westgate 10

Talk about improvment.. after losing to Westgate 0-13 in our season opener, we bounced back with a superb performance to tie the game 10-10. Trailing by four runs at the bottom of the last inning, we scored 4 runs in the final inning, before getting out with Leena at a scoring position.

Apurva's big hit into center field started a run fest, when 3 people scored in the first inning. Due to some slopping fielding, and some walks, we allowed Westgate a few more runs than they actually scored. Anjali started off as the pitcher, and Karthik came in a relief pitcher in the final inning to clean up the Westgaters.

Venu was in the batting lineup today as a designated hitter, as Shrisha was a no-show, and he got two base hits, and had a run in his debut. Chethan coached the team from outside due his fractured wrist. His parents showed up to support the team. Thanks uncle, and aunty.

Westgate doesnt have any big hitters, with none of their batters hitting deep. Strategy for the next game against Westgate could be:
* No deep fielders necessary, get in closer to cut-off the runs.
* Control the wild throws.
* Pitch consistantly, and get them to hit the ball.

Good job, Desis. We are a much improved team, and we can take the game to the Lutherans on friday.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Battling lineup for Game 4

3B Amit
2B Leena
SS Appu
SP Anjali
LF Naveen
DH DJ
CF Karthik
CA Sammy
1B Ranjeet
OF Srivalli
DH Robert/Shrisha
OF Preeti

Coach Chet isnt playing today, as he has hurt his wrist. Lets go guys, lets win one for Coach!

Monday, August 14, 2006

Midweek practice (Monday, Aug 16 2006)

Practice session planned for Aug 16, at Central Park in Santa Clara. Message from coach:

Hi Everyone -

That was a gutsy performance last Friday night. First time under the lights and we jumped out to a 4-0 lead!! They came right back and took the lead, but we kept fighting to stay in the game. We improved on our baserunning! ! And....we are getting more patient at the plate, too. We are on our way to a victory very soon......I can feel it!!

But, we do need to work on some fielding stuff, so i was hoping to spend Wednesday evening practicing our relays from the outfield. I think we were a bit disorganized once the ball got thrown in from the outfeld, so we'll try to make sure everyone knows where to be. We won't be spending much time on hitting, especially since it's getting dark pretty early these days. But, the batting cages on Almaden Expressway is open 'til 9:30, so we can definitely swing by there later.....

Friday, August 11, 2006

Game 3 .. Desis 6 - Hitech 20

Final score: Desis - 6, Hi-tech - 20

Since we were the home team, we started off by scoring 4 runs in the first inning, with Amit, Leena, Chethan, and Anjali scoring! Great start that! The team was energetic, and it felt awesome to be hitting, and scoring.

Hi-tech scored 3 runs in the first inning, but came back to hit a 10 runs in the third inning, which deflated us. Eventually, we scored two more runs, Leena scoring twice, and Dumma getting me home. Hi-tech has some great hitters, they hit at will, and they started avoiding the left field and started hitting only to right field. Even their women hit like men.

We dropped a few catches, lost our cool, and eventually the game.

Anjali did a great job pitching. Kudos, Anjali!

This calls for a few practice sessions. Next week, might be some fielding, and catching practice, and perhaps a visit to the batting cages?

Batting lineup for game 3

And a few words from Coach:

A few tips/suggestions:

(1) If you have a 2-0 (2 balls and no strikes) count while at-bat...... ..do not swing!!! Let the pitcher throw a strike before you take a swing. Then, if you have a 3-0 count, do not swing!!! Let's try this for tomorrow.

(2) we need to learn how to slide. In both our first two games, we ran past 2nd base and were tagged out. I'll get there early tomorrow and go through some sliding drills.

(3) Outfielders. ....first step is BACK on a fly ball. If the ball is hit on the ground to you.....get down on one knee...

Here's is tomorrow's lineup....fiedling positions subject to change, of course...
------------ --------- --------

3B Amit

2B Leena

SS Chethan

SP Anjali

LF Naveen

RF Preeti S.

1B Ranjeet

OF Srivalli

CF Karthik

DH Preeti A.

DH Shrisha

CA DJ

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Tomorrow's game is at 8.10PM (Aug 11)

We play Hi-tech manufacturing at 8.10PM tomorrow night (Aug 11). See you all at the ball-park by 7.30PM.

Last friday game results: Westgate beat Hi-tech 3-1. And we tied Lutheran 4-4.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

The game was a tie...

.. hey Appu, Anjali, Amit, and Robert, incase you are reading this, here are the scores. We tied the game 4-4, after an hour and an extra innings. Everyone on the team got a base hit, DJ, Srivalli, Dumma, and someone else (sorry, I dont remember who it was) scored. All the runs came in the same innings, when the whole team got on base sometime or the other. Way to go, team!! You rock!!

Karthik did an outstanding job pitching, he struck out 3, and only gave away one run for a walk. Compare this to the past game, when we gave away 8 runs to walks. Awesome job, dude!

The Desi Nationals played at a much better level, with some great catching, some crisp hitting, and a good show on the field. We looked like a totally different outfit from the team which played last week.

And we capped it with a small celebration, thanks to Sammy, Karthik and Rishon, accompanied by Michelob and Heineken, and some spicy food from Shan. And with some entertainment from Tore-y (Chethan's Accenture buddy).

Awesome job, folks!! Have a great night!

Friday, August 04, 2006

Batting order for tonite's game

SP Karthik

2B Leena

SS Chethan

OF Preeti S.

LF Naveen

-- DJ

1B Ranjeet

OF Srivalli

3B Shrisha

OF Preeti

-- Venu

CA Sammy

Some great softball pitching tips

There are some awesome tips here. Might come in handy to all our pitchers.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Starting 12 for Game-2 (against St.Timothy's Lutheran)

Chethan (SS)

Preeti S (CA)

Karthik (SP)

Leena (2B)

Naveen (LF)

Srivalli (LCF)

Ranjeet (1B)

Shrisha (3B)

Sammy (CF)

Venu G.

Preeti A (RF)

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Game one..

Some words of encoragement from Coach:

Desi Nationals!!!

Well, last night didn't end up the way we wanted, but I think we did real well. Especially considering this was our first 'go-live' on a softball field.....ever! !

We did a lot of good things. I think we all did a good job hitting the ball. It's not easy to stand up there and judge if the ball is a 'strike' or 'ball'. We did fine...and you should all be excited about our next game!!! We're going to get get better after each one. We'll work on the pitching and on the fielding. All that stuff will come along nicely.....we' re just getting acquainted with the game. There were some really nice plays in the field. Appu with a nice sliding catch in Left Field. Leena catching the third out at 2nd base. Preeti S....with a great job behind the plate. Sammy put together a gutsy performance on the mound (not easy standing in the middle of the diamond and making your league debut!!!). Doohms.....with some nice snags at first base. Amit knocked down a hard hit ball right at him and made a couple inning ending outs. Naveen with a fashionable catch in Center field and hustling all over to help back up. Srivalli and Preeti A. running after the balls hit to the outfield and getting them back in as quickly as possible. Shrisha hustling down the line for our only hit in the game!! DJ with a good eye and waiting for her pitches....( sorry about the strikeout).. .

We had a motivational speaker at our company retreat last week. Jim Tunny, NFL referee for 30 years, said the following, "Remember, it's not the aptitude, but the attitude that will determine your altitude and intestinal fortitude. Not only is that a tough tongue-twister, but very true of the Desi Nationals!!! I loved the spirit that we all had during the game.

Please don't get down and feel like we can't compete. We were right in the game for the first couple innings. We'll continue to have fun and eventually kick some ass out there.

Have a great weekend....and we'll have a quick practice on Wednesday night...hope that works for everyone!!!!

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And here is what "Bad Boy", our first baseman has to say:

Peepal,

We did great today! I think we have a lot of potential... ..please don't feel disheartened by the result. We have never played this game before. So, suck it up & lets make sure we improve on this result.

Most importantly, remember to have fun along the way!
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And me says:

Great game, guys! It was so much fun being in the field, playing under the lights, and living the true American past-time. Hustling out into the field, hearing the cheers from ur team, pitching, fielding, catching, hitting, trash-talking.. hmm.. all fun!

Thanks to our photographers, Peru and Amar. They caught some great moments! Thanks again, guys! The photos uploaded arent in the chronological order, blogspot does not give me enuff freedom to do it.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Kickoff party rocked!!

Thanks Leena, and "Bad Boy" Dumma, we got a good first and second basemen here. Nice kickoff party. Juicy chicken, well marinated lamb, yummy yummy fish, and great veggies.

Coach distributed the jerseys!! I've "10"!! yahoooooo!! Real nice looking jerseys. Everyone tries to wear a white cap tomorrow.

Game day.. we take on Westgate tomorrow at 7PM. Team, be at the Wise Park by 6.30PM.

Lets go! Lets do it!

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Q & A's from the league co-ordinator

1. We are allowed to field 10 players in the field

a. they can be 4 girls and 6 guys?

in this case you can only play the 4 females and 5 males with the automaitc out where consecutive males bat in the lineup. you may however field and bat 6 females and 4 males. the key is to not have the advantage of playing more males.

2. We can bat maximum of 12 players (it has to alternate at every spot.....male, female, male, female, etc)

12 players alternating male and female may bat, the batting order must remain the same, but players may play any position. all field players must bat.

4. Does the catcher have to squat on every pitch like regular baseball? (guessing so b/c of umpire)

the catcher may squat or take a knee, follow the lead of the other team since you will be batting first on Friday

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Friday, October 20, 2006

Monday, October 16, 2006

Friday, October 13, 2006

Monday, October 02, 2006

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Monday, September 25, 2006

Friday, September 22, 2006

Monday, September 18, 2006

Monday, September 11, 2006

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Monday, August 28, 2006

Monday, August 21, 2006

Friday, August 18, 2006

Monday, August 14, 2006

Friday, August 11, 2006

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Friday, August 04, 2006

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Friday, July 28, 2006

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

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