I tap the top left corner of home plate and slowly raise the bat high above my right shoulder. I bend my left foot and press up on the ball of my foot to balance my weight. The crowd is present, but in a cloud of silence. The pitcher stares down the mound towards me in an effort to rattle me. He wants to make me think about where I am, not just react to the situation.

The situation is a warm September evening, playoff implications on the line.

My left foot acts like a tension spring, controlling the push behind the torque that is necessary for a solid cut. I release my grip on the bat to a loose handshake and wait. The pitcher goes into his windup and releases a textbook knuckler, dancing its way to me. I get a read on the rotation and arc and begin my swing. Easy does it. Don’t try to hit the moon. Just level a connection and follow through. My jaw tightens as the ball approaches. I begin to shift my weight forward. When the physics of a ball and bat align at that perfect point, you can’t even feel the collision. But, the sound is both sweet and destructive.

On this night, however, I swung a millisecond too soon and my bat casts a slight incandescent induced shadow over the ball. By the time I wrapped the bat around my left shoulder I knew what was in store for me.

“Nice swing, Epstein!” “Did you drop a contact lens, gramps?” “Let your kid grab a bat and hack.”

Yes, I had just struck out in slow pitch recreation league softball in South Kingstown.

This has become a two season per year tradition for me since I moved here from North Kingstown four years ago. Many people associate South County with beaches and beautiful tourist areas, but for us locals, it’s all about the sports. From a state championship caliber youth soccer league to countless
adult leagues in all sports, South Kingstown is one active place. Maybe it’s the more laid back atmosphere we enjoy, but we make activity a priority. Friendships are born and honed. Rarely am I not with my team in Meyer’s Man Cave for a Red Sox or Patriots game. Rarely is my daughter not planning something with her soccer team, especially in the off seasons. And rarely do we ever wish to trade bike paths and outfield grass for bright lights and big cities.

Tags: rhode island, RI, south county, south kingstown