The WMSPL is in an expansion era after covid shrunk the league. One of the expansion teams is the Expos. This version of the Expos is having a season much like the expansion Montreal Expos did in 1969. They have struggled in the standings so far, and those struggles continued against Storm.
Storm stormed out of the gate in the first inning. Storm scored six runs on some excellent hitting and some lacklustre defence. Joey hit a three run triple, and Bob drove in two on a single where the Expos were slow to get the ball back in. The Expos didn’t record an out until the second inning, when Brian graciously grounded out like the gentleman he is. Storm still scored six in the inning. Duran drove a two run home run. Mills turned an inside the park home run into a triple claiming, “I thought it was gone.” He still scored as Storm singled their way to their second mercy inning.
The Expos plugged the holes in their defence in the third and managed to keep Storm off the board. But Storm returned with another mercy inning in the 4th. Embarrassed by his earlier running faux pas, Mills turned a single into a triple on a ball misplayed in short right centre field. Ken and Lance followed with doubles and Jeff and Brian would end the inning with doubles of their own to reach the max six. The defensive highlight of the game came from the Expos in the 4th. Joey hit a hard line drive to left field and their left fielder made a fantastic running catch extending his arm and then somersaulting after the play. As an expansion team, they are clearly unfamiliar with the former president rule where you’re supposed to drop everything Joey hits.
In the 5th, the Expos pitcher bared down deep within and started Duran with a couple of tough pitches that Duran fouled off. With two strikes, Duran didn’t even think about shortening up his swing. No, he swung so hard some of the Storm’s players’ hats flew off in the dugout. If he had squared the ball up, people would still be looking for it. Unfortunately, he fouled it off for a strikeout. Mills and Ken went down as well as the Expos recorded their first three up three down inning.
Just when it seemed that the Expos were tightening up, their defence sprung a few more leaks. In the 6th inning Storm started to go base to base, but the Expos seemed to want to give them the bases they weren’t taking. On a two out fly ball in the infield, the ball somehow managed to hit the ground even though the third baseman and shortstop were standing beside each other directly under it. Storm added four more that inning.
Defensively, Storm had another solid game. Mills, Duran, and Craig all made good outfield catches. Brian made a very solid play after a line drive hit him and fell to the ground. He tagged the runner then stepped on the base for a double play to end the inning. Jeff tracked a ball perfectly into foul ground from the pitcher’s mound and had the ball fall nicely into his glove. Instead of catching it, though, he volleyed it out for a foul ball. He must have been going for the strikeout, but instantly regretted it when the batter sent a screaming line drive back at his head. He caught the ball, but it wasn’t just dirt from the infield that was soiling his pants after that play.
The Expos did have a few sparks on offence. Larry Walker launched a deep fly ball into the trees over the right field fence. Unfortunately, it was foul. They had the bases loaded, but couldn’t get a run across. They did finally make some noise when Vladimir Guerrero Sr. launched a three run home run well over the left field fence. The Expos can take solace in the fact that, though they did not win the game, they scored more runs against Storm than the Falcons did the last time they played.
Notable Boxscores:
Lance - 4 for 4, 4 runs, 2 RBI
Kevin - 4 for 4, 3 RBI, 2 runs
Jeff - 4 for 4, 3 runs, 3 doubles, 2 RBI
Craig - 3 for 3, 3 RBI
Duran - 3 for 5, HR, 4 RBI, STRIKEOUT
Joey - 3 for 4, 3 runs, 3 RBI
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Boxscore |
||||||||
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|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
Total |
|
Storm |
6 |
6 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
x |
22 |
|
Expos |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
x |
4 |
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