Storm defeats Remax in war of attrition

 Re/Max gave Storm a scare as they played far better than their 2-15 record would imply. They hit well right off the bat and scored six in the top of the 1^st. Storm could only muster three runs in reply, two of which came off a homer by Joey.

Storm tightened up the defense in the 2^nd. Well, Bob made some nice plays in the outfield and it was three up three down. Storm then put up 7 in the bottom half of the frame. Joey hit his 2^nd home run in as many innings.

After taking the lead in the bottom of the 2^nd, Storm gave it right back in the top of the 3^rd as Re/Max scored a whopping 9 runs to take the lead. They gave Storm a home run back, which ended up working against them, because in the bottom of the 3^rd, Storm would score 9 runs of their own capped off by a grand slam by Jeff that was predicted by Lance as he went to the plate. Storm was up 19-15, and this time they wouldn’t cough it up. Re/Max managed 2 runs in the top of the 4^th , but Storm answered with 7, and in the final frame Re/Max scored none and Storm added 4 more.

Re/Max played a solid game and was winning halfway through the 3^rd. They look like a team that could pull things together in time for the playoffs and steal a seed or send a top team home early.

Notable Boxscores:

Joey – 5 for 6, 2 HR, 5 runs, 8RBI

Kenny – 5 for 5, 3 runs, 4 RBI

Duran – 5 for 5, 5 runs, 5 RBI

Al – 4 for 4, 4 runs, 3 RBI,

Bob - 4 for 6, 4 runs, 2 RBI

Jeff – 3 for 4, Grand Slam, 4 RBI, 4 runs,

Lance’s boxscore was also pretty notable. He had possibly the best 2 for 6 game you could have. He smoked one down the third base line that was caught, hit a hard line drive caught by the left fielder, hit a home run out, and hit a sharp line drive that was caught by a diving left centre fielder. He could have easily gone 6 for 6.

Cycle Watch:

Joey missed the triple, though he hit 2 home runs and two doubles.

Duran missed the HR.

Jeff missed the triple.

1^st and 3^rd out watch:

Twice in the game Storm players managed the infamous first and third out. Lance did it in the 3^rd, (though his second out was a home run out), and Greg did it in the 4^th.

Scoring Note:

If any of the stats for this game are incorrect, it is due to the fact that so much was missing from the score sheet. Four RBIs were missing, two ENTIRE AT BATS were not recorded and had to be figured out later due to the fact that certain people couldn’t have batted if others had not, and three people mysteriously reached base with no anecdotal evidence of how they got there. 

HR's: Joey (2), Jeff

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Remax	6	0	9	2	0	x	x	17
Storm	3	7	9	7	4	x	x	30

Storm illustrates solid softball

 Storm started strong against Sports Illustrated. They scored seven runs in the top of the first inning. Storm strung together six consecutive hits before Kevin grounded into an unconventional double-play as Lance tried to “sneak home” but they saw and heard him coming and gunned him out from second. Storm then strung together four more consecutive hits to cap off the inning.

In the bottom of the first Storm retired Sports Illustrated in order, and went back to the plate. Starting at the top again, Storm scored three runs in three batters including a home run by Bob, and then a controversial inside the park home run as Duran ran through a clear stop sign by the third base coach who yelled, “stay, stay, stay,” but Duran kept going and was helped by an offline throw. Duran also later ran through a stop sign at second base. And he still didn’t get the cycle.

After jumping up 10-0, Storm kept adding runs with three in the 3^rd, four in the 4^th and 3 in the 5^th. Sports Illustrated outscored Storm across those three frames, scoring 13 in those three innings, but the great start helped Storm stay in control, and Storm shut the door on the last two innings.

This game means that Storm now has a winning record in the President’s Division (5-4-1).

Cycle watch: Who would have thought that doubles would be the cycle killers. Both Bob and Duran were a double short of the cycle in the game.

Big Box scores:

Al went 5 for 5 with a triple, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored.

Duran – 4 for 5 with a HR, triple, 3 runs, and 2 RBI

Bob – 4 for 4 with a HR, 4 RBI, 4 runs, and a sac fly

Brian – 3 for 4 with 3 RBI

Greg – 4 for 5 with an RBI and a run

HR's: Bob, Duran

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Storm	7	3	3	3	3	0	4	24
Sports Ill	0	3	6	4	3	0	0	16

Storm solid over Hanet

 Storm and Hanet usually play very fast and low scoring games. Storm tried to stop that streak by putting up 6 runs in the first innings. Duran and Joey both hit homers (Joey’s a solo). The great start helped Storm stay in front of Hanet, and Storm was unable to have another truly breakout inning, but they chipped away with two or three runs in every inning except the 5^th, and held on to win 15-6.

The win means Storm has pulled even in the Presdient’s Division (4-4-1).

Streak watch: Joey again was held to one hit (albeit a home run), but was able to keep his incredible hit streak going.

Cycle Watch: Bob was a triple shy of the cycle.

Productive outs: Joey got the rare 2 RBI sac fly as Duran flew from 2^nd to home on a ball hit to the fence. This also caused some yelling from the outfield about when Duran left second, and general discontent from Hanet.

HR's: Joey, Bob, Duran

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Hanet	1	0	0	1	3	1	0	6
Storm	6	2	2	3	0	2	x	15

Late power surge surges Storm past Surge

 Storm started slowly. They scored nothing in the first inning, and only sent four batters to the plate. Then, Surge put a couple on the board to take an early lead. Storm bats started to rumble a little in the second. After the first batter got out, Storm got patient, and consecutive walks by Kenny and Dave set the table for Brian and the rest of the team as seven of the next eight batters hit to score seven in the inning.

Storm had another good inning in the 3^rd, with five consecutive hits to start the inning. This led to a 5-run inning. Surge, however, was not going to go quiet into that good night. They came back with five in the bottom of the 3^rd .

Storm responded with 7 in the 4^th aided by a triple by Duran and a homer by Joey. But Surge again would not give up and scored 4 in the bottom of the 4^th to make it a close game.

Storm decided that the best way to stop Surge from coming back in their half of the inning, was to not let them bat again. So in the 6^th inning, Storm batted until time ran out. 12 hits, 11 runs, 1 home run, gone to a reverted inning. But at least Storm held on for the win.

Duran hit two triples and a double and drove in 7 of Storm’s 19 runs. He also hit a home run that was lost in the neverending inning.

Cycle Watch: Joey got a home run, single and double. If he wasn’t in a walks competition with Kenny, he might have swung at something in his first at bat and hit a triple. Who knows?

Walk watch: Storm is either extremely patient this year or bats are getting too heavy. There were four walks in this game, and Kenny has 7 walks in 12 games played. Joey is right behind him with 5. That’s why Joey’s been so patient this year. He wants to win EVERY category.

Streak watch: Jeff hit in his 50^th consecutive game (the current and all-time leader is Joey at 120)

Duran had his 20^th consecutive game with an extra base hit. The record is 29, set by Bob in 2013-2014.

Bob watch: speaking of Bob, where is he? He’s missed consecutive non-ballet related games for the first time in recent memory.

HR's: Joey

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Storm	0	7	5	7	0	x	x	19
Surge	2	0	5	4	0	x	x	11

A’s storm over Storm

It was a tough night for Storm against the A’s. Things started alright. After the 1st it was tied 2-2, and Storm led 6-2 after the 2nd inning. Then the A’s lit it up in the 3^rd. They hit TWO, that’s right TWO grand slams and a solo home run en-route to a 10-run inning. Storm stopped hitting for the next three innings, scoring only one run across that stretch. Storm turned it on again in the 6^th putting up 7 runs, but it was too little too late as the A’s won 22-14. The A’s hit well, and some balls got through Storm’s defense that wouldn’t always get through. The A’s even helped Storm out by getting a couple of +2 home run outs, but that still couldn’t keep the A’s from winning.

Cycle Watch: Jeff, filling in for Brad in the lead off spot (who replaced Jeff in the leadoff spot after Jeff hit horribly in May) hit a single, double, and triple. He batted with a shot to hit for the cycle, but grounded into a fielder’s choice instead of hitting a home run.

Home Runs: Duran hit two home runs providing over a third of Storm’s offense. His first was a 3-run blast, and his second was a two-run dinger.

Streak Watch:

Joey nearly had his 118 game hitting streak come to an end. He walked in his first two at bats, and then hit a sac fly, but a 6^th inning single improved the streak to 119. Kenny reached base in his 30^th consecutive game.

Standings Watch:

Storm has allowed the fewest runs in the league, and is second in runs scored, but sits at 4^th in the overall standings. This is due directly to their games against Broadway and the A’s. Storm vs. those two teams – 1-3-1;  Storm is likely going to have to find a way to beat one, if not both, of those teams if they have any hopes of three-peating this season! Also, the record against the President’s division of 3-4-1 is going to need improvement if they are going to be successful. 

HR's: Duran (2)

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
A’s	2	0	10	3	5	2	x	22
Storm	2	4	0	1	0	7	x	14

Storm defeats Greenthumb

 Storm defeated Greenthumb 16-4. It was closer than it appeared as it was 9-3 in the 3^rd. Storm played mostly solid defense, and hit pretty well up and down the lineup to win.

There were a number of strange things that happened in the game.

1)      1)  Before the game started, Brad showed up with bright orange cleats. At first, we weren’t sure if he was going to use them to play baseball or help James land a plane.

2)      2)  Also before the game, Mike complained about moving UP the batting order. He crossed his arms, kicked some dirt, and was heard muttering, “it isn’t right; it just isn’t right.” This is usually behavior associated with being moved DOWN the order, not UP.

3)      Greg commented that he had been reading the writeups while he was gone, and said that if you sifted through the “BS and flowery language, you could get a sense of what actually happened.” Hmm….

4)      The umpire was late (although this season that doesn’t seem to be that strange).

5)      In the first inning, Storm did just about everything possible in a baseball game: single, double, triple, home run, walk, strikeout, foul out to the catcher.

6)      Al actually fouled out to the catcher twice in one game.

7)      Brad “tripled” when Greenthumb threw the ball away and he kept running. It was actually scored a single.

8)      Jeff “tripled” when he hit a line drive to left. He went to second and then third when the left fielder seemed disinterested in picking up the ball. It was scored a double and “defensive indifference”, which, to be fair… It led to Al getting a sac fly on the next play.

9)      Joey was a double short of the cycle. What’s actually strange this season is that no Storm player hit for the cycle.

10)   Bob missed consecutive plays in left field. The first was a line drive that never came down and sailed over his head as he leapt to try to catch it. The second was a line drive that dropped and then somehow got through his legs which appeared to have been closed. He later made a couple of nice catches.

HR's: Joey, Duran

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Greenthumb	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	4
Storm	5	4	1	0	4	2	x	16