MCSN: July 19, 2014

Surprise, surprise

Week 5 Recap

By Rob Tong

Thu, Jul 24, 2014

Games were on despite the soggy week Just when you think you've got the league all figured out, the games have to actually be played and surprises ensue.

The first game of the morning featured the unbeaten Halos against the underrated Tectonic Plates.

The Halos were missing three of their top players in Robert Martinez, Joshua Rosas and Chris Castallanet as well as other important players Alyssa Martinez and Tom Collins while the Seismic Dinnerware had all their big guns locked and loaded. But, surprise!, the Halos still prevailed 14-10.

"Nervous would be a good word," Halos skipper Rob Tong said. "You hate to face any team without your key players. On top of that, we had only 8 in the field. But everyone stepped it up, including our three girls."

Indeed, rookie Shari Erwin contributed with a nice defensive play and an RBI, Ashley Veigel chipped in an RBI, and Chlece Neal scored two runs. The Halo men contributed too, with rookie Jeff Kobayashi leading off with an inside-the-park home run, followed shortly thereafter with rookie Scott Veigel (who hit for the cycle) launching his own home run, this one of the over-the-fence variety. In the next inning, Tong hit a three-run shot deep to dead center as the Halos jumped out to a fast 11-5 lead after three innings.

"It seemed like it might turn into a blowout when we struggled in the early innings," Plates manager Stephen Hage said. "On top of that, our team was getting heated after some bad at-bats and controversial calls (notably Chlece getting advanced from first to third on a ball thrown out of play and an infield fly argument). We cooled down a bit and turned it into a more competitive match late, but just couldn't pull it out."

Indeed, the Halos led 14-6 in the final frame but the Plates added four more to make the final score more respectable.

In the 9am game, the Tectonic Plates returned to face the Killer Beehs and their killer slugger Joshua Pagan. Even without chief Beeh (Bryan) and slugger Andy Tisler, having Pagan on your team makes up for a lot.

"We allowed some early runs, and Josh Pagan was basically an automatic home run every at-bat," Hage said.

Sure enough, Pagan cranked out his second and third out-of-the-park home runs this year. But, surprise!, the Killer Beehs nevertheless lost to the Plates 15-10.

"We still held in some of the frustration from the first game," Hage explained. "But Zuperku and Scott Whitaker lightened the mood with some humor. After that our defense started holding together better, and we started getting more quality at-bats. Obviously the Beehs were missing a few of their best players but it was satisfying getting a W."

After getting stung with a loss in the 9am game, the Beehs looked to regroup and try to kill or beeh killed in the second game of their double-header at 10am against the mighty Caravan.

With Steve Portokalis driving in three runs, Eric Lim going 5-for-5 with two RBIs and Pagan duplicating his 9am statline by going 4-for-4 with five RBIs, you'd think the Killer Beehs won the game. But surprise, Caravan actually squeaked through a win 18-10, thanks in part to vets Erik Summers, Pa Nelson, Steve Borgstrom and Randy Ruffolo each going 3-for-3. As a team, Caravan again had the day's highest team batting average at a sizzling .786, with rookie Chakkra Rath also chipping in a walk and two sacrifice flies.

It didn't start so great for Caravan, with the Beehs jumping out to a commanding 9-3 lead after two innings.

"We did what we do best," said Caravan co-manager Randy Ruffolo. "Score. And Alex Ruffolo had a great defensive game at SS making multiple charging plays and off-balance throws."

Both teams exchanged haymakers over the next two innings as the Murderous Insects punched two consecutive four-run innings while the Lived-in Vehicle countered with two consecutive five-run innings, catching up to the Beehs at the end of four innings. In the final fifth inning, the Beehs pushed the go-ahead run to take a one-run lead into the bottom of the frame and needing just three outs to win. But Caravan came from behind one more time. After tying the game, rookie Andrew Keech lined a single to left with two strikes to send Aleris Fraats home from 2B with the game-winning run.

Caravan's win came a cost, though.

"In the 6th inning trying to make a sliding basket catch, John Fraats injured his right hand and had to be replaced in LF by Andrew Keech," the elder Ruffolo said.

Here's an unpleasant surprise: Fraats' season is most likely done, as his doctor had to put pins in his finger to fix it.

In the final game of the morning, the Shield Bearers coasted past the Fruit Of The Spirit 17-6. David Fowler lead a 24-hit attack that included his over-the-fence shot that was held back by trees for a ground-rule double. Tim Kurtz went 4-for-4 and the mother-daughter combo of Noralba and Shana Gallegos each went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

For the Fruit Of The Spirit, Isac Malmgren led the team with three RBI and Nick Ploegstra was 2-for-3 with two RBI.

Next week, a festival takes over Clarendon Park so the league will be off. No surprise there.

When the games resume on August 2nd, the Halos play their first double-header of the season, starting with the Fruit Of The Spirit and followed by a heavyweight match against the high-scoring Caravan, which also boasts the league's best defense.

The 10am game will see the Fruit Of The Spirit play the second half of their own doubleheader against Tectonic Plates.

And the Killer Beehs will take on the Shield Bearers, who have won their last three games in a row.

“We did what we do best: score.”

- Caravan co-manager Alex Ruffolo

More surprises are sure to be in store when those games begin.