shark said 'strange situation'

I don't know why the Shark Pit had taken over one of the party boxes, but it had, and there he was as I happened by.

I was sitting to his right, on the top row of bleachers in the grandstand, almost directly behind home plate.

This was near game's end, and I was looking to see if the Ring Dude was above the visitors' bullpen so I could alert Kyle.

He sat beside me, as the last attendee with the three-row birthday group, and it was his first time with Bananas, so I was trying to make sure he got all the bells and whistles.

Anywho... just what did the emcee mean by that phrase?

I had to take a photo or I never would have believed it.

So, the man about to tag home was on base already, then the man running behind him got four balls, which, in the real world, means he would get a 'walk'.

But, Banana Ball rules held sway for this game and that meant a 'walk' didn't exist and he had to run instead.

Namely, he had to run the bases, being sure to tag up each one, while the visitors tried to get him out... and ignored the other man.

The man with the four balls was allowed to stop at any base he wanted, but he had to be running.

So, did that mean he came in after the other man for a second run?

No, that's not a Banana Ball rule.

The other man scored a point - not a run - when he touched the plate and, coincidentally, also ended that half of the inning.

It didn't matter if there were no outs or one out or two outs at that point in time.

If home plate was achieved during the 'strange situation', it was time to move on to the next half-inning and let the other team have a turn.

This particular shot was taken in the second inning, with the Savannah Bananas getting the 'point', which was good, as I think the Catawba Valley Stars probably thought they'd stepped into a "Twilight Zone" episode.

I sure did.

The home team went on to score twice more in later innings.

The visitors got the hang of it - or, perhaps, were allowed to share in the fun - and managed to get 'points' via the four-ball 'strange situation' in two innings, one of which was the 9th inning, giving the Bananas a walk-off victory.

Even though the tarp had been on the field until almost 6:30...

even though the infield had to be worked up with more clay several times...

even though the game didn't start until 7:45...

it was all over within the two-hour time limit stipulated by Banana Ball rules. 

The game ended at 9:29 pm.

Two minutes later, I snapped this photo.

The Banana boys had this huge flag that they were carrying as they went for their victory lap around the field.

I had my camera on 'zoom', trying to get a shot, then a little boy had grabbed the netting and set it wiggling.

I tried to wait patiently for the net to stop and it did, just as they neared me...

click!

And I just love this photograph.

Serendipity, to the rescue.

Right place, right time.

During that top half of the ninth, I had moved from my seat in the grandstand to the picnic tables along the third-base line, to make sure I could enjoy the post-game fireworks.

Little did I know that this was what I'd been waiting for during this exhibition game.

i thank You, God.