Storm over The Falcon's in the 7th as well

Storm seemed to enjoy the suspense of the first game, and played another tight game that wouldn’t be decided until the 7th inning. 

The Falcons played some small ball in the first inning. Three of the first four batters hit the ball in the vicinity of first causing chaos at first with coverage and tosses. Storm got the first one, but the other two made it. Storm was able to mitigate the damage with a nice catch by Mills. 

Storm broke out to a 13-5 lead before Storm bats have done what they’ve done a lot frequently: gone silent. The Falcons then chipped away at the lead scoring 9 runs over the next three innings tying the game 14-14. Storm scored two in the top of the seventh, leading to another anxious bottom of the seventh. This one ended in a 1-6-3 double play as Storm held on again by the skin of their teeth.

Storm has apparently scored more runs than any other team in the league, and yet it feels like the offensive well has gone dry in the late innings of many games this season. Of course, Storm has also given up a lot of runs this season. The combination has led to a lot of tight games. Hopefully Storm can be more consistent with run production or run prevention to make some of the games a little less stressful (unless they’re doing it for the ratings [are those videos being shown anywhere?]).

Final Score: Storm 16 - Falcons 14

Storm down Triple Play in the 7th

 Storm bats started strong with 9 runs in  the first two innings. Sam got himself in some trouble with a big swing-and-miss for the second strike, but he didn't panic and he drove the next ball out of the park. 

Duran hit a hard line drive that skimmed the top of the fence and Storm was plus two in home runs.

Triple Play got their bats going in the third scoring five and pulling to within two.  Storm then got cold and put up three zeroes in a row. Triple Play tied it up in the bottom of the sixth making for a very suspenseful seventh inning.

Storm's prospects didn't look good as the first two batters got out, but Mills took a walk and Duran poked a line drive through the infield, and Storm remembered how to hit. Three consecutive hits and Storm was up four.

Triple Play loaded up the bases with only one out and needing four to tie. Their strategy of ground balls to short with Joey playing deep had worked, but the next ground ball was a little too soft and a little too short. Jeff was able to cut it off and throw it home for the second out of the inning. After a ball off the back of the board and a foul ball, Jeff spun a ball short and outside that was fouled off for a game-ending strikeout. Storm held on for the 15-11 win.

Final Score: Storm 15 - Triple Play 11

Storm over Surge

With Captain Underpants in the stands, Storm’s pitchers were inspired by the mere presence of the premier pitcher of Storm’s history, and the three of them combined to give up only six runs across seven innings. 

The defense was strong. The only question mark was hitting, as Storm only scored twelve runs in seven innings. It was good enough on this night, but a dozen is good for doughnuts, not softball scores. Storm will likely have to do better in the future. 

Final Score: Storm 12 - Surge 6

Storm down the Crew

The betting line probably would have had Storm winning game 1 of the doubleheader and losing game 2, but Storm came to play in game 2. Storm bats found their thunder and Jeff pitched so well in the first six innings they forgot to switch to Joey partway through. They maybe should have switched in the seventh, as Storm took a 15 run lead and made it a little closer than it should have been as The Crew accrued more runs in the seventh than they had in the sixth. Still, Storm held on. 

There were some great catches in the outfield by Duran and Mills. Storm;s infield was solid, and the entire lineup contributed as every player scored and almost every player had an RBI. This was the type of complete game we’re used to seeing from Storm, and hopefully they will be more consistent and we will see more of this type of play moving forward. 

Final Score: Storm 20 - The Crew 11

Isotopes take one from the Storm

 Brad turning Storm’s season around didn’t last very long as Storm dropped the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader to the Isotopes. 

The weather was blistering hot, but Storm’s bats were not. Storm managed only 11 runs in the game and dropped a 14-11 contest to the Isotopes. There were some uncharacteristic plays, likely caused by the heat, including Jeff being thrown out at home and Mills missing a ball in the outfield. Storm stranded runners in each of the first four innings, and those missed opportunities came back to haunt them when they scored just one run in the final three frames.

Final Score: Isotopes 14 - Storm 11

Falcons over Storm

Storm and the Falcons played a tight game Friday night. The shorthanded Falcons had a call over and a Storm player at catcher. They jumped out to a quick lead in the first. The most notable play might have been a ground ball between short and third. Jeff went deep in the hole to field it, but when he came up throwing to third, he noticed that Lance wasn’t looking at him. Lance realised the ball was coming in time to catch it, but not in time to apply the tag. It later turned out that he had assumed Jeff wouldn’t get to it and was looking to the outfield to find the ball. The Falcons scored three. Storm was able to draw even on a Duran two strike double followed by a three run bomb by Joey.

The Falcons scored three again in the top of the 2nd, but Storm was only able to manage two runs and the Falcons led 6-5. Joey managed to get the Falcons to lay an egg in the third, but Storm blanked out and the score remained the same after three.

After being bitten twice now, Storm kept with the rotation and switched to Jeff, at which point one of the Falcons could be heard saying “I think this guy’s nickname is literally batting practice.” The Falcons were held to two runs during the first inning of their batting practice session. Storm tied it up on a triple from Mills. 

The tie lasted a grand total of two pitches, and then batting practice lived up to his name as the Falcons launched a home run. They added another for a 10-8 lead. Storm seemed to run of steam as they were blanked and the Falcons added an insurance run. Storm chipped away in the sixth loading the bases and bringing Duran to the plate. With the bases loaded, Duran launched a mighty pop fly to the pitcher ending the inning. Storm got two relatively quick outs before a two strike home run extended the Falcons lead. They would go into the bottom of the seventh up seven.

Joey led off with a single, but two quick outs followed putting Storm’s back up against the proverbial wall. Greg singled, which put Lance in the terrifying position of potentially being the last out in four different innings in the game. He was petrified. Literally. He didn’t swing and managed a walk. Jeff popped up, but it was in a very strategic position and fell in between short and the outfield. Tony cleared the bases with a double and Storm was back in business. Frankenstein singled and the team debated whether or not to send out a courtesy for recently recovered surgery survivor. They decided to use a courtesy runner, but the runner didn’t get to run anywhere as Storm’s comeback ended prematurely (does that remind Scoops of any of his honeymoon’s?)

Final Score: Falcons 15 - Storm 12

Bats warm up against Greenthumb

At one point Brad claimed that he had turned the entire season around, but the game was tied 7-7 until Jeff arrived, and Storm won 32-14, so we'll let the reader decide who turned what around. 

Anyway, Storm batters found their strokes and hit better than they have all season. They scored more runs in one inning (12) than they have in some games this year. The shocking thing about this game is that Storm scored over 30 runs and Duran DIDN’T hit for the cycle.

Final Score: Storm 32 - Greenthumb 14 

Triple Play for the Win

Storm kept the momentum from the first game going. Unfortunately, that momentum was a stumble that turned into fall flat on Storm's face. Triple Play mercied Storm in each of the first two innings. Joey stopped the absolute hemorrhaging of runs and turned it into a steady stream. This led Storm to make the mistake again of leaving Joey in for an extra inning and the hemorrhaging started all over again as they gave up 12 runs. 

You'd think Storm's offense could manage to score some runs and keep them in the game, but while Triple Play didn't turn any triple plays, they did play spectacular defense, including a number of diving catches in the outfield. It was a rough day for Storm finishing with Jeff being forced off the mound after being hit in the hand by a line drive back up the middle. Hopefully he is able to return soon because Storm is already short handed in the pitching department. 

Final Score: Triple Play 30 - Storm 19
 

Broadway gets the win

Storm and Broadway completed the trilogy on Sunday night. The game started slowly with Broadway forgetting their balls, but it was actually Storm that played the game without any balls. 

They seemed to think the max 6 was for the game not max 6 for an inning. Broadway played nearly impeccably through the first five. In the sixth, a couple of misplays made it look like Storm might mount a comeback, but any hopes of a comeback were quickly squashed and Broadway held on to a 15-8 win in a thoroughly unsatisfactory finale for Storm fans.

Final Score: Broadway 15 - Storm 8
 

Storm take Two from Broadway

The second game of the double feature was a lot less suspenseful than the first game. Storm jumped out to a 12-0 lead after three innings. This was done without hitting any home runs (which would become a story later in the game). 

Much like the first game, Storm’s bats quieted down in the later portion of the game, but this time the lead was so big there was little suspense. Mills got so bored in the outfield that he came in for an inning at shortstop. He made two plays, though one was a fly ball and both were fielded on the outfield grass, so was he really playing shortstop or shallow outfield? 

The game got interesting as time was winding down and Broadway took the field even though they trailed by fourteen runs at the time. Storm scored four runs in the inning, including a massive home run from Duran that was on a pitch above his head. After Storm scored, Broadway decided they didn’t want their final at bats leaving Storm wondering what the final score was and whether Duran’s home run counted? Either way, Storm swept the doubleheader and seems to be back on track.

Final Score: Storm 22 - Broadway 4 

Storm walks off Broadway

The opening act of the Storm-Broadway showdown was a high energy high scoring affair. Broadway opened the night with a six run mercy inning, including two home runs. Rene was fighting his command and his shirtsleeves as he paced around the mound throughout the inning. Storm was not dismayed, though, and matched Broadway stroke for stroke with a six run mercy inning,  including back to back home runs by Bob and Tony. 

The second saw a slight reduction in runs. Broadway scored four runs, but it could have been a lower scoring inning if Storm had been able to turn a double play. This time Storm managed to win the inning with five runs off mostly singles. 

Broadway was shut out in the third, but scored four in the fourth and Storm managed three in each inning to keep the fairly high scoring game going. It was 17-14 after four.

Then Act 2 began. While Act 1 was decidedly high scoring, Act 2 completely shifted tone. Storm’s bats stopped swinging and Storm was shut out in each of the fifth and sixth. Jeff managed to shit out Broadway in the fifth, but they scored two in the sixth meaning the game went into the seventh with Storm up one. Broadway managed to get that one run across tying the game.

The question became would Storm score, or would it end up a kissing cousin affair? Bob led off with a double making the comeback seem possible. Tony was then given a free pass to create a force play at every base. The climactic moment came when Sam ripped a single into left field and Bob scored from second on the final play.

Final Score: Storm 18 - Broadway 17

Inglorious Implosion for Storm

Captain Kangaroo was looking a lot like Captain Underpants through the first four innings of the game against the Inglorious Batters. He breezed through their lineup the first time around, and got them to hit home run outs, keeping the damage to only six runs through four innings. The defense was also solid with Mills closing the gaps in the outfield and the infield making some nice plays and staying with bobbled balls to make outs instead of errors. 

The offense was good in the second as Storm stacked hit upon hit and maxed out the inning. Storm led 8-6 going into the 5th.

There was going to be a pitching change in the 5th, but Joey had been hopping along almost effortlessly, so Jeff said what would go down as fatal words. “Are you sure you want to stop?” Joey grabbed the ball and the wheels came off as the Inglorious became batters and Storm stopped making the tough plays giving up six runs.

There was no steam left in the Storm’s power engines as they couldn’t muster any runs, even with Mills’s mustard inspired bat. Lance did his best to keep the forward momentum going. Maybe with too much forward momentum as he stumbled into the fence behind home plate like Storm stumbled in the back half of the game.

Final Score: Inglorious Batters 12 - Storm 8

Expos Down Storm

Storm and the Expos both had short benches. Storm went with nine and the Expos brought in Scotty from The Crew as a ringer. Scotty was stinging from The Crew’s recent loss to Storm and brought his best game, as did the Expos’ regular crew (pun intended), and Storm and the Expos traded blows throughout the game. 

Sam’s bat kept bringing the thunder with another home run capping off a six run second for Storm as they took a 6-5 lead into the third. The Expos fought back scoring five in the third taking a 10-9 lead. They held a 12-10 lead after the fourth. 

Storm bats exploded in the fifth including a grand slam from Duran as Storm scored 9 and  took what looked to be a commanding 19-12 lead. The Crew chipped away and scored two runs tightening the game. Storm was blanked in the 6th and then the floodgates opened as The Crew matched Storm’s 9 run inning, and took a 23-19 lead. Storm was blanked again in the seventh. The Expos won 23-19.

Final Score: Expos 23 - Storm 19

Storm over Isotopes

The Isotopes had a positive charge in their offense for the first three innings as they scored five in the first and ten runs across the first three innings to jump out to a lead. Storm finally found some offense in the third inning, scoring five and pulling within two. 

The fifth inning saw a shift in energy as the Isotope bats became neutralised scoring only four runs across three innings. Storm bats were electrified in the fifth as they scored six to take their first lead of the game. It was a lead they would hold on to. 

 Two bats for Storm seemed particularly electrified. Sam launched two home runs and Duran hit for another cycle. That is becoming such a common occurrence that it’s hardly news anymore. 

Storm certainly seems to have found its groove after a rocky 1-2 start. We’ll see if they can withstand the short bench for the next couple of games.

Final Score: Storm 18 - Isotopes 15

Storm over Crew

Final Score: Storm 19 - Crew 8

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