Storm settles in against Coulas

 Storm had a plethora of players on Monday night. Three players on the bench meant Storm players would actually get breaks during the game. Storm seems to be settling into a three man pitching rotation. Jeff, Rene and Joey each handled two innings each. 

Coulas actually had the lead after the first two innings before Duran launched a two run shot in the third and put Storm up. Coulas took the lead again in the bottom of the third. Each team put up aces in the fourth and Coulas led 9-8 heading into the open innings. 

Storm settled in batting in the fifth and put up five runs on a series of singles and doubles. Coulas kept it close with a couple runs of their own and it was 13-11 heading into the last inning. 

Storm managed to break the door open in the final inning, but there were some strange occurrences. With the bases loaded, Jeff hit a hard grounder to 3rd that Coulas scooped. He jogged over to third and stepped on the base, then threw home. Bob had gone partway, but stopped and  returned to the base. There was a lot of confusion about what the right call was, but maybe the most confusing thing was when Jeff arrived at first and Lance was still standing there. He eventually jogged over to second while there was still a discussion about what had happened at third. 

Storm has now strung together three wins and seems to be setting into the 2025 season.

Final Score: Storm 21 - Coulas 14

Storm gloriously defeats Inglorious Batters

 Storm’s offense was on full display and an array of pitchers managed to minimize the Inglorious batting of their opponents as Storm went on to win 25-13. Storm maxed out their potential in multiple innings and had a comfortable lead for most of the game.

The lead was so comfortable that Rene asked if he could “essayer de lancer.” Turns out he didn’t just “essayez” he “reussi[d].” 

Most Storm batters had a glorious night, but there were some interesting things to note:

Duran hit a cycle that has the largest asterisk in the history of asterisks beside it. His first at bat he hit a high pop fly to right field that should have been a routine out but the outfielder overran it and Duran got the triple. In his second at bat he popped out to the catcher, but the catcher didn’t want to catch it and when you give Duran a second chance… he hit a solid double. Later in the game, with everything but the homer taken care of, Duran was in a predicament. Storm was plus 2. He needed to hit an inside the park home run. Not out of the question. He hit a hard line drive to centre field. The outfielder somehow let the ball get under his  glove and it went all the way to the fence. And Duran went all the way home. According to Duran, this gives him the longest consecutive game home run streak, at 9 games. Although that should also come with an asterisk.

Lance was also having an interesting day at the plate. For some reason he decided to bat left-handed. He took three good swings… and misses. A three swing swinging strikeout. In his next at bat he batted right handed and found Rene’s bat, and he launched a Lancer Beam home run. 

Storm is back to their winning ways. Hopefully they can stay in the win column.

Final Score: Storm 25 - Inglorious Batters 13

Storm holds off Surge

 Storms bats were strong (as was the wind) against Surge on Tuesday night. The question was, would the pitching hold up?

Storm only allowed three runs on (miracle of miracles) no walks in the first and then the bats got to work. Duran launched his first of three home runs in the first, and Storm managed the mercy. 

Surge surged in the second scoring four and taking the lead right back. It would last long as Storm scored three to regain the lead. Duran didn’t hit a home run in the second. You wouldn’t think that would be news, but on this night, with the wind blowing out, it was.

Surge scored two to tie it in the top of the third, but Storm had more thunder in their bats. And a little grease lightning. The third started with Shawn somehow hitting the ball and letting go of the bat. The bat made it farther than the ball and Surge recorded the first out of the inning. After that Storm kept the bats in their hands and the balls went flying, and when Duran batted, another ball flew over the fence. Storm scored six and took a 15-9 lead.

Storm made a pitching change as Captain Kangaroo decided he wanted to fill the shoes (or underpants) of our dearly departed Al Stanfield (he’s retired, not dead). Captain Kangaroo pitched a solid frame but lost his zero ERA as Surge scored three to keep it a tight contest.

Storm kept the thunder rolling and scored five in the fourth. They also started looking for Chewbacca, as Han Solo was definitely present. Duran knocked his third home run of the night. Greedy in multiple ways. It was a solo home run, and did he pass kindergarten? Sharing is caring. Storm led 20-12.

Surge was blanked in the fifth and it looked like Storm was going to pull away, but then…they stopped scoring as well. Jeff hit a home run, but that was just an out because of the events of the previous paragraph, so… Surge started chipping away at the lead scoring three in the sixth and three in the seventh before Captain Kangaroo closed the door. Storm held on to win 20-18. 

Storm has now given up 65 runs in four games to average 16.25 runs against per game. Last season, they averaged 10.7 runs against per game. It could be an interesting season. 

Final Score: Storm 20 - Surge 18

Ouch! , Would have loved to have Underpants tonight...

Greenthumb claimed a decisive victory over The Storm in a high-scoring softball showdown, finishing with a commanding 19-11 win. The game saw an unusual amount of free passes, as The Storm struggled with control, walking at least 25 batters over the course of six innings. Those walks proved costly, allowing Greenthumb to capitalize on scoring opportunities and build an insurmountable lead. 

Despite the pitching struggles, The Storm managed to put up a fight offensively, keeping the scoreboard active and avoiding a complete blowout. However, Greenthumb's ability to stay patient at the plate and turn walks into runs made all the difference in securing their win. 

A tough day for The Storm on the mound, but an impressive display of discipline and efficiency from Greenthumb. 

Final Score: GreenThumb 19 - Storm 11

Time runs out on Storm comeback

Storm’s scouting department should be fired. The entire department. In a year when Storm picked up two players, one of which was a pick-a-friend, Storm somehow neglected to find a pitcher. Now don’t get me wrong. We all love Tony. And we’re sure Shawn is nice. But neither of them pitch. And there is a massive hole left behind by Al “Captain Underpants” Stanfield. A hole bigger than the hole in my favourite pair of underpants. When the only pitcher on your team is nicknamed “batting practice” it’s going to be a long season.

This proved true in the second game of the season. While Storm managed to blank Triple Play in the first inning, Triple Play put up Triple mercies in the second, third, and fourth innings for 18 runs.

Storm wasn’t exactly sleeping through those four innings. They scored thirteen runs themselves to keep it close, but somehow they were going to have to find a way to get three outs in an inning. Mercifully, Storm managed to get through the fifth and sixth unscathed. Triple Play grounded out twice to the pitcher in the fifth and some solid defense got Storm through the sixth.

Storm scored four in the fifth, pulling the game to 18-17. They couldn’t get any in the sixth, but in the top of the seventh Storm scored a couple of runs to take the lead. Unfortunately, now time was their enemy. Instead of scoring more runs, Storm stopped, electing to take their outs and try to get Triple Play out before the time ran out.

Unfortunately, their luck ran out before time did. After a runner made it to third with nobody out, Storm elected to walk the next two batters to get a force play at home. This set up a very exciting walk off grand slam for Triple Play.

Final score: 23 - 19

Storm Starts Strong

Storm started the season strong. General Mills led the charge with a leadoff double. Duran looked like he was in midseason form in his first at bat, launching a two run homerun. Joey tripled. All Bob needed was a single for the consecutive batter cycle. The Palindrome got out instead. Storm scored five in the inning including Tony’s first hit as a member of Storm. 

The second looked like a repeat of the first as Duran launched his second home run of the game, but those two runs were all Storm would manage. They would get one more in the third and three in the fifth. General Mills continued to lead the team. He got the first hit of the season, scored the first run of the season, and, in the fifth inning, notched Storm’s first strikeout of the season. 

Storm was solid defensively across the first five frames. Tony looked at home at third. Joey made a couple of nice plays including throwing a runner out at home. This may be more impressive since he got hit in the fingers and the head by a line drive while standing on third base. The umpire called him safe and awarded Lance the base. Just a note, this was not the right call. Standing on a base does not protect you from being called out if you are hit by a batted ball. 

With a solid lead, Storm decided to start auditions for pitcher, and Mills came in from the outfield. Like Hamilton, he was not throwing away his shot. He threw the ball very awkwardly, stepping with the wrong foot, but it worked and he threw two scoreless innings for Storm to close out the game. 

Storm won 16-5.