In Search of the Perfect Game

I wasn't even suppose to ref last night.

Circumstances as they were, I was left blowing the whistle in my seventh game of the night. The first 6 went rather smoothly, but it was this seventh game that I will remember.

After a quick two points, there was a side-out, and she took the ball back to serve. I don't know her name, but I remember wondering if she could even get the ball over the net. She couldn't have stood taller than 5 foot 2, and that is being generous. I blew the whistle, she threw the ball up and smacked it over the net with ease. The ball fell to the ground for a point.

Point after point she mechanically threw the ball up, and made her mighty heave at it. There was nothing overly special about the serve, but for some reason, the other team couldn't seem to return it. And when they did, the server's team always had an answer.

8-2...9-2...10-2

The game goes to 21, and I thought to myself, "at what point do I start to wonder if she can serve the whole game?"

11-2, 12-2, 13-2

With every toss, my mind wondered if this would be the time it happened...in 16 years of playing, I have never seen anyone serve the entire game. I almost did it once, when the games were to 15. But I only made it to 13, and it was at St Paul, a notorious gym whose motto is "It's All Legal in St Paul." So, that wouldn't have counted even if I had succeeded.

14-2...15-2...16-2

I think she's going to do it!!

Time out was called. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Not only did this girl have the baseball equivalent to a perfect game going, but she also seemed oblivious to the fact. And so did her team. They huddled up, said "let's keep the pressure on" and without so much as a smile, or a massage to the server's shoulder, they took their spots. It was almost like the score was close, and they didn't realize that perfection was within their grasps.

17-2...18-2...19-2

It was still too unreal to be real!! With every play, I tried to keep my composure, and tried to call everything I saw, doing my best to be impartial as the official. Truth is, there were no close calls. The server smacked the ball over, and her and her team took care of business. The other team had no answer. What could they do?

Hit it over on one...it didn't work.

Dink...nope.

Corners, line, angle? No, nadda, nothin'.

20-2

This was it. She was one serve away!! I was excited, the other team was frustrated, and still, her team seemed unaware. As she threw the ball up, I just knew it was going to go in the net, or out of bounds...but surprisingly, it didn't.

It sailed over the net, off the opposing player's arms, and out of bounds.

21-2!!

She did it! The perfect game. I'm still a little shocked that it could actually happen, but it did. After the match, I told her congrats, and that it was the first time I've ever seen it. Still, she only broke into a small smile as she thanked me...I still don't think they realized how difficult that really was!!

And I wasn't even suppose to ref last night!! Thank goodness I did!