MCSN: July 10, 2010

Home Sweet Home

Week 5 Recap

Fri, Jul 23, 2010

El Fuego's Daniel Zoller slides into 3B as the Punisher's Isaac Rodgers tries to make the play

Maybe the Lord didn't approve of the league playing at Beckman and Seward.

After plenty of rain outs the previous weeks, games finally resumed this past Saturday under bright blue skies back in the Friendly Confines of Clarendon Park. Good thing too, as there was plenty of catching up to be done.

The morning started out with two 8 a.m. games.

On the main diamond, Carter Administration secured a 15-9 win against Lion’s Den to improve to 2-0 while Lion's Den dropped to 0-2. And on Diamond #1, Tsunami and Global Warming faced off against each other.

Global Warming started off slow with only 8 players in the first 2 innings and even the arrival of one more player, Moses Sanchez, wasn’t enough to propel them to a win. The effects of a lack of players became evident when Global Warming’s three outfielders couldn’t keep up with Tsunami hitting multiple shots in the gap. In the end, Tsunami (1-1) defeated Global Warming 9-7 with solid defense and timely hitting.

“I also credit Global Warming right fielder Jesse Meekins’ inability to find parking as a key to our victory,” said Tsunami manager Sam Baturoni.

Global Warming manager Ovi Tisler did not lose hope for future games.

“Tsunami took advantage of our being down a player, but don’t count us out," Tisler said. "We put up a fight even with 9 players.”

At least Global Warming (1-1) could field a team. In the next game on the main diamond at 9 a.m., Tsunami was up against the Wombats...but few Wombats were to be found. As a result, Tsunami (2-1) ended up winning the game 7-0 due to the Wombats' forfeit. The forfeit, first-ever in MCSN history, dropped the Wombats to 0-2 on the season.

“The official box score says the Wombats had 0 runs, 0 hits, and 0 walks,” Baturoni said. “Does this mean I get
credited with a perfect game?”

“Does this mean I get credited with a perfect game?”

- Tsunami pitcher Sam Baturoni on his team's win by forfeit

Meanwhile, on Diamond #1, Carter Administration played the Smithereens. The Smithereens (1-1) came into the game short-handed, as seemed to be the trend that day, and also sported an injured player, Kyle Radcliff. They managed to get a 6-5 lead after the second inning but could not make it last due to the Carter Administration’s strong defensive plays.

In the fifth inning, the Smithereens' shortstop, Eric Morse, crushed a ball over the head of the Carter Administration’s center fielder. It was caught by a player practicing in the nearby field and was ruled a ground-rule
double instead of a home run, costing the Smithereens two more runs. In the end, Carter Administration (3-0) took
the win 17-13.

“I am proud of my team’s effort,” said Smithereens manager Mat Smith. “And I am looking forward to the rematch in August where we will turn that peanut’s smile on their logo upside-down.”

At 10 a.m. the Smithereens were up again, this time on the main diamond against Global Warming. Both teams were short a few players and Global Warming lost an additional key player from the first game, Ovi Tisler, but evened things out by gaining an additional player in the second game.

The Smithereens put up another 10+ runs and tightened their defense to get off to a big 13-2 lead. Global Warming then managed to score an extra 5 runs late in the game but it was too little, too late, as the Smithereens (2-1) won 13-7. Global Warming's record dropped to 1-2.

“The number 13 was partially 'lucky' for us today,” said Mat Smith. “If we continue to score at least 10 runs in each game and tighten our defense, we will be a force to be reckoned with!”

Meanwhile, El Fuego and the Punishers played a double-header against each other. In the 10 a.m. game on Diamond #1, the game was tied through the 5th and 6th inning but El Fuego stepped up in the final innings to win the first game 12-7. El Fuego's Tiffany Snyder hit a home run for what is believed to be the first home run by a girl since Simone Halpin two years ago.

In the 11 a.m. rematch, the game was again tied late in the game and the Punishers (0-3) got bases loaded with two outs and Ben Thacker batting but rookie pitcher Lawrence Chung got Thacker to pop up and end the threat. El Fuego (3-0) went on to win 8-4.

Punishers manager Scott Lilly observed that, overall, the team was pressing too hard and coming up short at crucial points in the game.

“We need to relax and have fun!” he concluded.

Fun is on the menu as six teams play double-headers again this Saturday. The undefeated Carter Administration is not one of them, and neither is the winless Punishers. With sunshine and hot temps in the forecast, it will be an interesting Saturday of Moody Softball.