Senior softball player Jim Bean described what he tries to do when he swings the bat. He said he likes to cut the ball, meaning he wants to hit the bottom half of the ball so he can drive it in the air.
That’s what happened in the first inning.
Bean blasted a two-run homer as gray beat maroon 16-10 on Aug. 15 at field 2 in Brahan Spring Park. They play in the 55-and-over Rockets league in Huntsville Senior Softball.
“Man, I got the bottom half of the ball for a change,” Bean said after his shot over the left field fence. Batting third in the lineup, he went 4-for-4 with four runs batted in.
The Tampa, Florida, native also starred at shortstop. He had three assists and two putouts and started a 6-3 double play to end the fifth inning. With his back to the infield, he made an over-the-shoulder catch on a popup for the second out in the bottom of the seventh.
“It just felt good,” he said of his game. “The ball carried a bit tonight.”
Bean, 63, is in his eighth year in the league and first with the gray team. He played basketball and baseball in high school in Florida. The Gurley resident does residential contracting work such as making home additions and remodeling.
Lori Cirrani, Redstone’s sports, fitness and aquatics director, went 3-for-4 with one RBI and three runs for gray (12-15). Ken Valine also went 3-for-4. Moto Miller, David Key, Redstone Fire Chief Ragnar Opiniano, Jackie Dollar and Derek Santiago added two hits apiece.
Key, a left-hander, pitched the last six innings for the win. He scattered 12 hits for five runs while gray turned three double plays.
“Overall no errors. That was the bottom line, we had no errors,” player/coach Rick Anthis said. “That was basically it. No errors and we all hit the ball good tonight.”
Jeff Crews went 2-for-3 with a homer and a double for maroon (14-13). Player/coach Chris Maggio and David Allen had three hits apiece. Yogi Guess, Mike Gundersen, David Koch and pitcher Chad McGuire had two hits apiece. McGuire took the loss.
“I guess we stopped hitting. They hit good,” Maggio said. “We made too many mental mistakes.”
