MCSN: June 12, 2010

Play. Rain. Repeat.

Week 2 Recap

Fri, Jun 18, 2010

The Punisher's Don Cheeks is psyched to play.

Like last week, two games were played and two games delayed this week. Despite the weather, Moody Softball is slowly starting to heat up.

In the early game, the Carter Administration beat the Punishers 13-9. The Carter Administration lineup pounded on the Punishers (0-1) early, scoring several runs in the first few innings. There was talk among the fans of the latter changing their name to “the Punished.” However, the Punishers rallied to do their name proud with an impressive effort of hitting and fielding.

“We managed to swing the momentum in our direction [with key defensive plays and base-running by Rob Tong]…and followed with a strong comeback but fell short in the end,” said Punishers rookie manager Scott Lilly. “We're looking forward to a rematch with the Pickles in the playoffs.”

The Carter Administration (1-0) was pleased with their first game.

“Despite having a team that was partially sleep-deprived — Jeremy Huntington due to his new son and Coach Carter apparently setting his alarm for 9:30 a.m. — I thought we did pretty well,” said Carter Administration Assistant to the Manager Bill Van Tuinen.

For Lilly, highlights of the game included Punisher outfielder Nate Crozier throwing Carter Administration big hitter Lindsay Anderson out at first base from left field. Lilly also pointed out “Chris Carter’s rather blinding combination of bright green jersey shirt and bright orange shorts. My eyes!!”

At 9 a.m. the Wombats fell to the Smithereens 18-8. The Wombats (0-1) looked promising early, scoring 4 runs in the top of the first inning. But the Smithereens (1-0) responded with 5 runs of their own and held their lead the rest of the game.

“I was surprised by the amount of power we had [in the batter’s box]” said Smithereens manager Mat Smith. “We
scored 18 runs in only 5 innings worth of at bats, including 4 home runs.”

“Since his gallbladder surgery a few weeks ago, [Pastor Bill] Bertsche confided he’s feeling lighter on his feet without having an extra organ to drag around.”

- Wombats manager Andrew Peterson on Bertsche's big hitting day

Defensive plays in the outfield by Giovanni Medina and Steve Portokalis helped keep the Wombats in the game, but the team couldn’t stop the Smithereens’ bats from lighting up the scoreboards.

“Our team has a lot of work to do...primarily, getting everyone to show up,” said Wombats rookie manager Andrew Peterson.

However, Peterson pointed to Pastor Bill Bertshe as the game’s MVP. Since his gallbladder surgery a few weeks ago, Bertsche confided he’s feeling lighter on his feet without having an extra organ to drag around. Analysts think it will affect his game this season and Peterson says it already shows.

“The man had gone under the knife no more than a month ago, and he shows up in the best shape I've
ever seen him in,” said Peterson. “He went 4 for 4, missing the cycle by only a home run. Clearly he's been
working hard this past off season and has shown up ready to play.”

Despite the game’s impressive socre, not everyone was impressed with the Smithereen’s win.

“Obviously the Smithereens established a lot of early credibility by thrashing the Wombats. However, it will be interesting to see how they perform against a team that knows what they're doing,” taunted Van Tuinen.

The Lion's Den met El Fuego at 10 a.m., but the game was called due to rain in the third inning. The Lion's Den was ahead 5-1 when the game ended, but manager Dan Coughlin sees nothing but sunny skies ahead. Coughlin pointed to great defensive plays by Jason Cates, Ed Freed and the dynamic Dollard duo, which he expects only get better as the season continues.

Tsunami and Global Warming were rained out completely. The Lion's Den-El Fuego game will be replayed on July 17th at 10 a.m.; the Tsunami-Global Warming game has been rescheduled for July 10th at 8 a.m.

Tsunami manager Sam Baturoni pointed out, “The weather has been very fair. With the rain cancellations, each team has played exactly one game in two weeks.”

Here’s hoping everyone sees field-time next week.