The television show Gilligan's Island was the story of seven castaways stranded on an island. Each week we watched the antics of the survivors but never felt there was a problem because after all - there were seven of them. On the other hand, when Tom Hanks was marooned on an island after his airplane crashed, we felt a bond with him because he was alone. His only companion, Mr. Wilson, was a volleyball. Three Dog Night sang the words "one is the loneliest number." In sports, to lose a game by one point is heartbreaking. To lose three of four games by one point makes you wonder - What am I doing wrong?

The So Cal Ringers (girl's softball team) gathered for week two of the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) fall ball tournament. The previous week they lost to the Ravens (5-4) and West Valley Mayhem (3-2) by one run in each game. Coach Tim Dow used the week to work on batting and fielding, with an eye on finishing the weekend with a record of 2 wins, two losses. First up for the Ringers was Burbank Heat.

The Ringers opened up the 1st inning with a single by Cassie Colón. Amanda Ulf sacrificed, allowing Colón to reach second base. Lizzie Miller walked (Colón advanced to third on a wild pitch) then stole second. The Ringer offense seemed to be heating up in the afternoon sun. However, the next two batters went down in order, leaving both runners stranded on the bags. Miller took to the mound in the bottom of the inning with Anna Brenner catching behind the plate. They faced five Heat batters, with Miller striking out three of them. At the top of the 2nd inning Kelsey Chambers walked to first, advanced to second on a past ball (error on the catcher), finally arriving at third base on a pasted ball (error on the pitcher). The batter and three out latter, Chambers was left on third. Miller struck out the first two Heat batters and shortstop Emily Heinemann fielded a ground ball and tossed it to first base for the final out of the inning. The game was scoreless going into the 3rd inning. The Ringers attempted to score with five batters but with two runners reaching base, they came up empty. The Heat did not fair better as four batters went scoreless, while three of them struck out. The 4th inning came and went with both teams stuck in a scoreless tie, so at the top of the 5th inning the Ringers started with a runner on second base (international tie breaking rules). The first two batters struck out and the third batter grounded out to the first baseman. Burbank Heat started the bottom half of the inning with a runner on second. A single, a walk, and error later saw the Heat push across the only run of the game. The Ringers lost their third game by one run.

Game two on this particular Saturday pitted the Ringers against Dynasty. The game turned out to be a hitter's paradise as both teams scattered a total of eighteen runs in four innings. The Ringers' offense was led by Maddelena "Maddy" Velazquez, who went 3 for 3 (two singles and a double); Emily Heinemann, who was 2 for 3; Chambers who hit a triple and scored on an error; and Colón, scoring both times she was walked. The top of the 5th inning had both teams facing off under tie breaking rules. Dynasty held off the Ringers and scored in their half of the inning to win the game 1-0. Ringers' coach Dow will have to figure out what it will take to overcome the one run loses.