MCSN: June 9, 2012

Hit Parade

Week 2 Recap

Wed, Jun 20, 2012

Puttin' on the hits It was another beautiful Saturday for softball and the warm weather led to even hotter bats.

Every team but one amassed at least twenty hits, the first time that's ever happened in Moody Softball history.

The 137 combined hits in three games by all teams was also the most hits of any non-doubleheader Saturday in Moody Softball since July 18, 2009 (three years ago!)...and even that 2009 weekend required four games to accomplish that feat.

Pass the Plate and the Believas opened the record-setting morning and the Believas jumped out to quick 7-4 lead after two innings and an 8-5 lead through three innings.

But apparently, Pass the Plate didn't stop Believen, either, and they rallied with nine runs over the final three innings to win 14-10.

Pass the Plate is now a sparkling 3-0 while the tough-luck Believas fell to 0-2.

Manager Jeremy Huntington attributed much of the win to his own genius: inserting closer Nick Ploegstra for the final 4 innings to stymie the Believas offense.

Regional heartthrob (and starting pitcher) Andy Tisler again powered the Plates attack with six RBIs including a three-run over-the-fence homer off ace Believas pitcher Gary Lockwood. Tisler now leads the league with 12 RBI.

But Tisler got a lot of help up and down the lineup, with Andrea Tisler and Alexis Castro also contributing hits and Steve Portokalis chipping in three more RBI to tie for league second-best in RBI.

And true to their team name, Pass the Plate features the top three players in the league in passing the plate in Jeremy Huntington, Dan Coughlin and Ed Freed.

The Believas actually outhit Pass the Plate by a 24-22 margin, the first time since August 13 of last year that a team outhit its opponent but lost.

Unfortunately, the Believas just couldn't push enough runs past the plate themselves. Every Believas player got a hit, which perhaps goes to show the power of believing.

The teams will meet again on June 23 and Plates manager Jeremy Huntington expects another battle

"We need to get ahead early so maybe they stop Believe'n they will win," Huntington said.

In the day's second game, the Believas (1-2) finally cracked into the win column against the Killer Beehs (0-2).

In another game where both teams were relatively even in hits (23-22), the Believas got 'em when they needed them and won comfortably 18-11.

Both teams scored four runs in the first inning, but the Believas' depth showed up in the second inning when they scored five more runs and the Killer Beehs were never able to recover from that one-two punch.

The Beehs' David Cho hit a missile to left field for a three-run home run in the fifth, but the Believas more than offset that with surrounding innings of three and five runs of their own to take the sting out of the Killer Beehs' rally.

“We need to get ahead early so maybe they stop Believe'n they will win.”

- Pass the Plate's Jeremy Huntington on his team's rematch with the Believas in Week 3

In the nightcap, the Transformers continued their torrid offensive pace despite the absence of reigning league MVP Robert Martinez and local Triathlon legend Chris Cormier.

The Transformers pounded out a league season-high 29 hits en route to their 21-11 victory, as everyone on the Transformers rapped a hit and each Transformer also got on base at least twice.

The win improved the Transformers to 2-0 while Cannon dropped to a surprising 0-2.

While they jumped out to an early lead, Cannon tied the game at 8-8 after three innings. However, Cannon
largely fired blanks the rest of the way while the Transformers kept adding on.

The Transformers' Ovi Tisler, once maligned as a has-been (or, truth be told, never-was) by many, continued his phoenix-like rise from the ashes with five RBIs. And the Transformers' Pa Nelson continued pitching like an, ahem, machine, ringing up six strikeouts.

Cannon's Eric Bartl continued to light the fuse of their offense with 4 hits and 4 RBIs. Juan Cruz was also a perfect 4-for-4 for Cannon, chipping in an additional 3 RBIs.

After a week off for Father's Day and the golf tournament, the action will heat up again on June 23rd with a full slate of four games.

The Killer Beehs look for an upset of the Transformers to open the day.

At 9am, Cannon and the Killer Beehs will each be looking for their first victory of the year.

The Believas look to make believas out of everyone else with an upset in their rematch against undefeated Pass the Plate at 10am.

And Cannon gets their own rematch against Pass the Plate in the 11am game.

With the dog days of summer upon us, the action promises to be heated regardless of the matchup.