MCSN: June 20, 2009

Rain, rain, go away

Week 3 Recap

Wed, Jun 20, 2009

Inferno's Brittney Ionescu takes a pitch from Carter Administration's namesake pitcher

Thunderstorms threatened to cancel play again Saturday, but cancellation of the Men's Ministry golf outing, a better-than-expected main field, and a swampy alternate field forced some creative scheduling to move all teams to the main field, ensuring the games continued in spite of the wacky weekend weather.

Kicking off the games, the Carter Administration (1-1) edged out previously undefeated Inferno (1-1) for a win, 12-7.

“I think both teams showed a little early-season rust in the field, but we went nuts in a couple of innings and that was the difference,” said Carter Administration Assistant to the Manager Bill Van Tuinen.

Carter Administration manager Chris Carter also pointed to Inferno players for their contributions to his first win.

“We are fortunate that Kyle Radcliff misjudged his slide to second base and came up about 10’ short, and that Andrew ‘My Mama still bleaches my Pants’ Peterson didn’t feel like getting dirty that day. Otherwise, it could have been a long day for the Peanuts.”

It was a long day for the Smithereens (1-2), as the Diamond Kings (3-0) smashed them in a 16-2 blowout. Diamond Kings manager Rob Tong attributed the win to the double threat of good defense and offense. Ben Thacker hit two out-of-the-park home runs and Jenkins Ssekendi, who never played softball before this summer, got his first hit. All three out-of-the-park home runs so far in this young season have come, surprisingly, from the Diamond Kings lineup.

“We felt pretty good going into the game…but they pounded the ball over the fence, found the holes in our defense, and were solid defensively,” said Smithereens manager Mat Smith.

What was the winning strategy? According to Tong, "We pretty much played the same players as in our scrimmage with the Smithereens, which we lost, but this time we played much better.”

Tong also warned MSCN players that it’s all only fun and games until someone gets hurt.

“The Lord watched over Mat Smith as a line drive went whistling by his head, missing by mere inches. I'd advise all pitchers to get in a good defensive stance after delivering their pitches and, if possible, back up a few steps because the league is not interested in watching face reconstruction surgery.”

Good point.

“We're looking forward to playing the Buttalion squad. I think I've seen some cracks in their defense...”
- Carter Administration's Bill Van Tuinen on his team's Week 4 matchup with Battalion

After all that, the 10 am game was a battle in name only; the Bombers easily shot down Batallion 13-7. This game marked Battalion’s first loss, which brought both teams to an even 1-1 record.

Battalion blasted 4 runs in the 1st inning, but failed to render any permanent damage. Manager Anthony Halpin attributed Battalion’s early scoring to confusion, not talent.

“I believe they thought they were still playing the Mt. Sinai Sluggers,” said Halpin. “Once they realized
they were playing the Bombers, they only scored 3 runs over the next 6 innings.”

The Bombers meet Inferno this week and Battalion will face off against the Carter Administration. Assistant to the manager Bill Van Tuinen is already name-calling.
“We're looking forward to playing the Buttalion squad,” he said. “I think I've seen some cracks in their defense...”
"I look forward to taking on the Carter Administration, if for no other reason than to defeat a team who thinks their name is as funny this year as it was last year,” Batallion manager Tim “Colonel” Kurtz retaliated.

The Mt. Sinai Sluggers are still looking for their first win, and unfortunately Saturday brought them no closer. Moody & the Blowfish (2-1) took them and then some, beating the Sluggers 18-9. To win, the Blowfish continued to spread the field with consistency.

“Our entire lineup produced, with each player either driving in a run or crossing the plate themselves,” said manager Ali Stolzenbach. “Phil ‘Cowboy’ Nelson pitched a solid game and even got on his horse a few times, with 4 extra base hits, including a triple.”

Adding to Nelson’s 4 RBIs and 4 runs scored, Ryan Dollard knocked 2 home runs, bringing him to 3 overall and tying with Brian Pace for the league’s home run leader spot. Nate Crozier and Peter Moy also added to the offensive effort; both reached base at every at bat.

In the face of such blatant teamwork, the Sluggers (0-3) staged a late comeback in the bottom of the 7th, but their string of hopeful hits were heartily handled by the Blowfish defense to secure the Sluggers' loss.

Next week, the Sluggers will face the league's lone undefeated team, the Diamond Kings, and manager Rob Tong is looking forward to the match up.

"We welcome the tourists from the Sinai region and we hope they go back home with memories of good pizza, a beautiful skyline, and a loss to the Diamond Kings,” said Tong.