A Cannon fired from 8 to 2
Patrolling the middle to
Call off the shortstop on a shallow fly ball, and
turning doubles into singles with quick feet is my job.
Keeping runners at second and third
Because they know they will be tossed out
If they try to tag up.
In the field for the hitters’ tendencies.
I love to drive in runs, but my greatest thrill
Comes from having the game on the line
with a runner on third base.
A ball is lofted to center, and I catch it on the run
Plant my left foot and fire a missile
To the left of homeplate to give my catcher
A chance to make the tag and win the game…
Watching the ball in the air all the way
To the collision at homeplate is a moment
Frozen in time, will my cannon deliver the ball
To its target…
I know it will. That’s why coach put me at the 8,
Because I am the only one who can make the
8-2 assist to end the game…after the game I sit down with
the other women on our team and have some
chocolate malted crunch to celebrate the impact
of the runner on our catcher, and the fact that she held on
to the ball to end the inning…
Ronald Panlilio, April 2004,
based on a softball game I watched in 2003
at Easton Field at UCLA