MCSN: June 2, 2012

Play ball!

Week 1 Recap

Tue, Jun 12, 2012

The sun was out for opening day The 2012 Moody Softball season got under way beneath sunny skies and a cool breeze coming off the lake. We were also competing for parking spots with at least 3 charity runs, so getting to the park on time was half the battle for many teams.

Game 1 featured the Believas vs. the Transformers.

While 2012 is certainly the summer of the superhero, perhaps no one has told manager Rob Tong that Transformers are "so 2011". Nonetheless, the Transformers played like supermen, grabbing an early lead and adding to it throughout the game.

The Believas probably left the game feeling they'd been Robbed. Not because of any blown the calls (the umping, was, in fact, flawless!) [Editor's note: the ump was the author of this article], but Robs Tong and Martinez proved to be able superheroes, going a combined 6-for-6 with 8 RBIs.

The Transformers' Ovi Tisler, in his first at-bat of the season, hit a ball to the Dark Side of the Moon (or nearly). Meanwhile, Pa Nelson, in his much anticipated return to action, pitched a masterful game, while also entertaining the crowd with his commentary and still making Ma Nelson swoon with his rugged masculinity.

Believas manager Tim Kurtz believes his team will be ready to improve next week.

"It's early in the season," Kurtz said. "We don't want to peak too early. I've been on a few teams that won the regular season and didn't have anything left in the tank for the playoffs. This year will be different."

Game 2 featured Pass the Plate vs. Killer Beehs.

Meatballs were on the menu and Pass the Plate enjoyed the buffet, helping themselves to 14 runs and over .600 team batting average.

The Huntingtons have instilled a "tis better to give than receive" mentality in the team early on, as they delivered repeated blows to the hapless yellow ball and Beehs.

Les Carter led the Pass the Plate attack with 6 RBIs, but the entire lineup contributed either a hit or a run. Even young Wesley Huntington was hollering for an opportunity to contribute.

“I've been on a few teams that won the regular season and didn't have anything left in the tank for the playoffs.”

- An apparent dig by the Believas' Tim Kurtz to sportswriter and former teammate Bill Van Tuinen on last year's first-place team coming up short

The Killer Beehs rallied late to cut the deficit to 6 runs, but couldn't muster anything in the unlimited-run sixth inning.

Rookie Beehs Manager Bryan Beeh was philosophical about his first outing, saying, "We aren't where we want to be (or Beeh?) right now, but be (Beeh?) that as it may, we are going to be (Beeh?) around come playoff time."

In the opening-day finale, Pass the Plate continued to gorge on MCSN pitching, improving on their Game 2 performance with 18 runs and a .700 team batting average.

Once again, everyone contributed to the Pass the Plate outburst, with Andy Tisler, the younger and
better-looking brother of Transformers' strongman Ovi Tisler, leading the way with 6 RBIs. The younger
Tisler had missed most of the previous game and quickly played MVP-catchup in Game 3.

Cannon jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but Pass the Plate passed the plate 5 times in their half of the inning and simply outgunned Cannon the rest of the way.

Captain Stephen Hage and his troops will need to re-load quickly as they face another high-powered offense in the Transformers this weekend. However, Transformers manager Rob Tong is wary of the double-barreled Erick (Eric Bartl and Erik Summers) that fires from the middle of Cannon's lineup.

In other upcoming action, the Believas will have two chances for their first win of the year, opening up against Pass the Plate, followed by their matchup with Killer Beehs in the second game of the day. With warm weather promised, and most fielders still shaking off 10 months of dust, there promises to be plenty of high-scoring action again this Saturday!