Game(s) Over
Week 10 Recap
Fri, Aug 22, 2008
MCSN kept up a grueling pace Saturday, offering almost every team a double scoop in the vat of victory. Regular-season play closed in the last round of double-header makeup games and teams polished off their records in preparation for the playoffs.
First up, the Moody Blues found their regular swing and beat the Carter Administration 11-8. Heading-up Moody Blues offense, Adrienne Anderson came through with both a double and a triple to secure 3 RBIs and clinch the win.
The Moody Blues then moved on to meet the Emoticons at 9 a.m. They kept the Emoticons down for much of the game, but Emoticons came out on top thanks to a “brilliant” play, said the Emoticons' Michael Thate.
[Reporter’s Note: Thate has taken to using British slang in preparation for his pending departure across the pond and will be hosting a picnic of brie and tepid water after this week’s game.]
The promising rematch turned into a repeat of last week’s loss for the Blues, and they fell 9-6. “Our bats never did come alive after the 1st inning,” said Moody Blues manager Ali Stolzenbach.
The early lead was almost enough to carry her team to the winner’s circle, with the Blues leading 6-5 going into the final inning. That was when Thate hit a 2-run double in the 7th, putting the Emoticons in the lead by a hope and prayer…otherwise known as one run. Secret-weapon Ricky Hutton finished up with a 2-run single to pull the Emoticons ahead by 3 to win the game. The win capped an undefeated season for the Emoticons, the first in MCSN history.
The Emoticons haven’t had the chance to beat anyone 3 times, but they’ve beaten everyone at least once. Prior to their match against the Blues, the Emoticons improved their record to 9-0 after the first game of their double-header Saturday by outscoring the Calvary 16-4. Simone Halpin helped boost the score, by nabbing her first home run of the season and the hearts of aspiring grand slammers everywhere.
The Calvary made it easy for the Emoticons with several errors, leading Calvary assistant manager Brian Pace to remark, "We're trying to figure out how many possible ways we can mess up. I think there are still a few things we haven't discovered yet...but we're working on it."
Despite their gaudy record, the Emoticons are looking ahead to this week's playoff with their expectations in check: “In the playoffs anything can happen. I just hope we don't turn into the New England Patriots of the TMC Softball league,” said Thate. “Now we have to face the stingy pitching and potent bat of Gary Lockwood. Ugh!”
“We're trying to figure out how many possible ways we can mess up.”Lockwood and the Living Stones were 0-2 Saturday, despite his pitching prowess.- Calvary's Brian Pace on why his team has made so many sloppy plays
They first met the
Carter Administration at
9 a.m. and lost 8-7 despite leading 7-5 going into the bottom of the 5th. The Carter Administration put up 3 runs on the scoreboard to snatch a victory from the Living Stones.
The Carter Administration will get back their manager Chris Carter at the playoffs this weekend and are looking forward to some European batting tips to give them more of an edge next time. Assistant to the manager, Bill Van Tuinen, hopes he’s also been doing some cross-training during the vacation: “Coach Carter has been plodding around Amsterdam in wooden shoes for the last [few weeks] so he should come back with some additional speed once he switches to his usual orthopedic cleats.”
The Stones next met the Barn Burners at 10 a.m. where they fell 14-6. Barn Burner batters Ethan Sinnema and Jeff Henderson both helped blaze a path to the “W” with home runs, and Joshua Hall filled in nicely for pitcher.
Despite their losses, the Living Stones are optimistic. “After our two near-wins on Saturday, I really feel confident about our chances going into the playoffs next week,” said the Stones' Isac Malmgren. “We're really back to playing our zone; unfortunately that zone just so happens to be losing, but you know, every team has to work on something... losing just happens to be our thing.”
Before shooting down the Living Stones (2-8), the Barn Burners (5-5) aimed at Fire & Ice and nearly made their mark, but were taken out by their still-bitter opponent. “We wanted to avenge our loss of our shortstop Mark Retnam, who was injured in the previous match up against the Burners,” said Fire & Ice manager Mat Smith.
Fire & Ice jumped ahead early and controlled the scoreboard for much of the game to secure the win. “We've had a tendency recently to allow our opponent a big first inning then force ourselves into playing catch-up,” explained Barn Burners’ manager Pat Brown. Despite rallying several runs to close a 6-run deficit, thanks to their patented RBI machine Vince Ramirez (who added 5 RBIs and 1 home run to his stats), the Barn Burners were edged out of the win 12-11.
To his team’s dismay, Ramirez fractured his wrist and will join the injured list instead of the playoff lineup this week. “It’ll be a tough blow to our lineup," mused Brown. "Vince has been a major part of our run production all season.”
Still high from their win, Fire & Ice closed out the day against the Eagles and fell 22-12. Playing short-handed, Fire & Ice (4-6) shuffled fielders to new positions and struggled to adapt against their heavy-hitting opponent.
“The Eagles must have ruffled their feathers because they were mashing the ball,” said Fire & Ice manager Mat Smith.
Fire & Ice cut the Eagles lead to two in the 4th, and seemed to be rallying. But the Eagles flapped back with a staggering 11 additional runs and secured the win. Like everyone else, Fire & Ice is looking forward to the playoffs this week, and expects their play to match their trash-talk: “Teams better not take us for granted [because] they will get burned…or frost bitten!”
Prior to cooling off Fire & Ice, the Eagles (4-5-1) came from behind to take down the Calvary 14-9. The Calvary (3-7) continued their sloppy play, limiting their rallies and extending the Eagles' rallies. But Pace assured that it was all part of the plan.
"We don't want to show our true ability just yet; we want teams to take us lightly," Calvary manager Rob Tong agreed. "Maybe we'll keep doing that in the playoffs too so teams next year will also take us lightly."
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