Softball Week in Review: Week 11; July 01 - July 07
July 01, Sunday
The Dirty Pirates pillaged and plundered and looted the Grim Reapers 25-5 in a sun drenched bore-fest. After the game, the Grim Reapers manager offered this conditional to Pirates' manager Deryl B "If a few bounces went our way, we had you guys."
July 02, Monday
Game 1, 6:15P at Nott 2: EYS sweeps the two game season series by dominating The Infidels once again 16-1. Combined scoring for the series is EYS: 42, Infidels: 7. Ouch.
Game 2, 9:00P at Bleecker: Toyota of Clifton Park defeats Toyota of Clifton Park II, 9 - 0, to take the first ever Toyota Cup. A well played game by both sides that featured a combined 56 plate appearances, no walks, 1 HBP, 2 ROE, and 2 K's. Brevity was the order of the night as the game lasted a bit over an hour. John C was dominant in the circle facing 5 batters over the minimum in 7 innings of work. He issued one free pass when he hit Dave B on the derriere in the 6th. Dave B was also the only Toyota II base-runner to reach 2B. A good FB and effective use of off-speed pitches had Toyota II off balance all night that combined with stellar defense stunted the Toyota II attack. Despite the notoriously choppy infield at Bleecker, Toyota played fault free. Bob S was impressive at 1B ranging deep to grab 2 pop ups--one in the 1st and one in the 4th--and hoovering several scorched grounders. "Plays like that are huge..." said manager John C, "they shorten the innings and deflate the other team. He had an excellent night over there." The OF also stifled any hope for Toyota II. Pete G, Mike H, Garry S, and Brian S clairvoyantly roamed the OF--always standing where Toyota II placed the ball. Despite having only 30 PA over 6 innings, Toyota made efficient use of their 13 base-runners in plating 9 of them. Fred C added some pop for Toyota with a 3 run shot in the 4th.
July 03, Tuesday
Anarchy swept the season series against rival American Legion with a close 9-7* victory. The game, however, did not play as close as the final score. "They had a lot of help from the guy wearing blue..." noted Justin R who took another shot off his body on the woeful infield at JCC 2, adding "He really kept them in the game..." Mike H powered a blast to deep RC into the volley ball court ultimately for an HR. When John C followed suit, it was ruled a grounds rule double. There was also a few suspect calls at 2B and 3B. "He should've been called out at 2B..." said Anarchy manager Stacey D referring to a 2nd inning play where Legion base-runner Josh took out Anarchy 2B Nicole R without trying to avoid contact. "That's the problem with this league, they don't know their own rules well enough to enforce them." added Stacey D. Regardless, behind a good pitching performance by Chris and some solid IF and OF defense, Anarchy was able to overcome both opponents.
*Anarchy has the score correctly as 9-7. The league has the score incorrectly reported as 9-8.
July 05, Thursday
The Dirty Pirates slumped their way to another woeful loss to long time rivals Paddy's Pub (formerly Cafe Hollywood, Bazooko Circus, and Underdogs), 11-5. "That was awful..." complained manager John C, "We handed them the game. Bad defense combined with non-existent offense is not a recipe for victory. They played well enough to not refuse our gift." The Pirates managed only 7 base-runners on 7 hits. "We had that many?" asked John C with a hint of sarcasm. Despite the poor overall affair, the Pirates managed a couple highlights including a horizontal layout catch by Pete G and a grand slam by Mike H.
July 06, Friday
Toyota played its second game of the week on a dusty and blistering hot Field of Dreams against old nemesis Balls Deep. It's been several years since both teams have played each other when Balls Deep embarrassed Toyota in a regular season fall game. This time Toyota would distance themselves from ugly history and grind out a staunch 15-11 victory behind the sturdy pitching of John C. Despite his slow start, John C collected himself, minimized damage and gave his team a chance to win. "After warming up, I was light headed and queasy. I couldn't throw with any velocity, so I started out exclusively throwing off speed. Not really a recipe for success..." noted the pitcher. The sun baked field also created some interesting defensive situations. "The OF was so hard, the ball just takes off..." said Steve F, adding "It was ridiculous." But after two innings of posting goose eggs, Toyota's offense started to heat up posting a run in the 3rd, 2 in the 4th, 2 in the 5th and finally tying the game at 8 with 3 in the 6th. After exchanging 2's in the 7th with Balls Deep, Toyota finally broke it open in the top of the 8th with 5 runs capped by a 2 run blast by Pete G. Offensive production was littered throughout the lineup with the majority of Toyota batters collecting 2 or 3 hits. Brian S got off the snide with a game winning 2 RBI hard bouncing double that pounded through the infield. "It wasn't a pretty game..." said manager John C, "but I was proud that we never quit and continued to grind especially in that kind of heat. The aesthetics of the game may have been lacking, but it was an impressive team win."
Toyota plays the undefeated Sun Devils next Tuesday, July 10 in a game that has major implications for the North standings.
Records and Standings
Dirty Pirates Sunday: 8-0, Remain in 1st by 1/2 a game over Bourbon St Reloaded (7-0)
Dirty Pirates: 7-4, Another loss drops the Pirates to 7th in the North
EYS: 8-1, Their 8th win moves them 2 games up on Fiscal Hitters
Anarchy: 7-1, Despite the win, Anarchy remains in 3rd place in Lynn's Rec AL
Toyota of Clifton Park: 8-1, another week and another pair of wins moves Toyota up to 3rd in the North
The Dirty Pirates pillaged and plundered and looted the Grim Reapers 25-5 in a sun drenched bore-fest. After the game, the Grim Reapers manager offered this conditional to Pirates' manager Deryl B "If a few bounces went our way, we had you guys."
July 02, Monday
Game 1, 6:15P at Nott 2: EYS sweeps the two game season series by dominating The Infidels once again 16-1. Combined scoring for the series is EYS: 42, Infidels: 7. Ouch.
Game 2, 9:00P at Bleecker: Toyota of Clifton Park defeats Toyota of Clifton Park II, 9 - 0, to take the first ever Toyota Cup. A well played game by both sides that featured a combined 56 plate appearances, no walks, 1 HBP, 2 ROE, and 2 K's. Brevity was the order of the night as the game lasted a bit over an hour. John C was dominant in the circle facing 5 batters over the minimum in 7 innings of work. He issued one free pass when he hit Dave B on the derriere in the 6th. Dave B was also the only Toyota II base-runner to reach 2B. A good FB and effective use of off-speed pitches had Toyota II off balance all night that combined with stellar defense stunted the Toyota II attack. Despite the notoriously choppy infield at Bleecker, Toyota played fault free. Bob S was impressive at 1B ranging deep to grab 2 pop ups--one in the 1st and one in the 4th--and hoovering several scorched grounders. "Plays like that are huge..." said manager John C, "they shorten the innings and deflate the other team. He had an excellent night over there." The OF also stifled any hope for Toyota II. Pete G, Mike H, Garry S, and Brian S clairvoyantly roamed the OF--always standing where Toyota II placed the ball. Despite having only 30 PA over 6 innings, Toyota made efficient use of their 13 base-runners in plating 9 of them. Fred C added some pop for Toyota with a 3 run shot in the 4th.
July 03, Tuesday
Anarchy swept the season series against rival American Legion with a close 9-7* victory. The game, however, did not play as close as the final score. "They had a lot of help from the guy wearing blue..." noted Justin R who took another shot off his body on the woeful infield at JCC 2, adding "He really kept them in the game..." Mike H powered a blast to deep RC into the volley ball court ultimately for an HR. When John C followed suit, it was ruled a grounds rule double. There was also a few suspect calls at 2B and 3B. "He should've been called out at 2B..." said Anarchy manager Stacey D referring to a 2nd inning play where Legion base-runner Josh took out Anarchy 2B Nicole R without trying to avoid contact. "That's the problem with this league, they don't know their own rules well enough to enforce them." added Stacey D. Regardless, behind a good pitching performance by Chris and some solid IF and OF defense, Anarchy was able to overcome both opponents.
*Anarchy has the score correctly as 9-7. The league has the score incorrectly reported as 9-8.
July 05, Thursday
The Dirty Pirates slumped their way to another woeful loss to long time rivals Paddy's Pub (formerly Cafe Hollywood, Bazooko Circus, and Underdogs), 11-5. "That was awful..." complained manager John C, "We handed them the game. Bad defense combined with non-existent offense is not a recipe for victory. They played well enough to not refuse our gift." The Pirates managed only 7 base-runners on 7 hits. "We had that many?" asked John C with a hint of sarcasm. Despite the poor overall affair, the Pirates managed a couple highlights including a horizontal layout catch by Pete G and a grand slam by Mike H.
July 06, Friday
Toyota played its second game of the week on a dusty and blistering hot Field of Dreams against old nemesis Balls Deep. It's been several years since both teams have played each other when Balls Deep embarrassed Toyota in a regular season fall game. This time Toyota would distance themselves from ugly history and grind out a staunch 15-11 victory behind the sturdy pitching of John C. Despite his slow start, John C collected himself, minimized damage and gave his team a chance to win. "After warming up, I was light headed and queasy. I couldn't throw with any velocity, so I started out exclusively throwing off speed. Not really a recipe for success..." noted the pitcher. The sun baked field also created some interesting defensive situations. "The OF was so hard, the ball just takes off..." said Steve F, adding "It was ridiculous." But after two innings of posting goose eggs, Toyota's offense started to heat up posting a run in the 3rd, 2 in the 4th, 2 in the 5th and finally tying the game at 8 with 3 in the 6th. After exchanging 2's in the 7th with Balls Deep, Toyota finally broke it open in the top of the 8th with 5 runs capped by a 2 run blast by Pete G. Offensive production was littered throughout the lineup with the majority of Toyota batters collecting 2 or 3 hits. Brian S got off the snide with a game winning 2 RBI hard bouncing double that pounded through the infield. "It wasn't a pretty game..." said manager John C, "but I was proud that we never quit and continued to grind especially in that kind of heat. The aesthetics of the game may have been lacking, but it was an impressive team win."
Toyota plays the undefeated Sun Devils next Tuesday, July 10 in a game that has major implications for the North standings.
Records and Standings
Dirty Pirates Sunday: 8-0, Remain in 1st by 1/2 a game over Bourbon St Reloaded (7-0)
Dirty Pirates: 7-4, Another loss drops the Pirates to 7th in the North
EYS: 8-1, Their 8th win moves them 2 games up on Fiscal Hitters
Anarchy: 7-1, Despite the win, Anarchy remains in 3rd place in Lynn's Rec AL
Toyota of Clifton Park: 8-1, another week and another pair of wins moves Toyota up to 3rd in the North
