Storm just barely hang on over Hanet

An Ode to Captain Underpants, King of the Mound Oh how we miss you, you wielder of the arc, Your moon-ball soars high, like a comet through the dark. A lob, a soft rainbow, a teasing delight—Batters swing wildly, then curse at the sight.

The crowd holds its breath as the ball makes its dance, All hail the sly wizard in his cotton-blend pants! Though others may brag of their heaters and speed, It’s patience, precision, and quirks that succeed.

For slo-pitch is subtle, your strikes were a lock While our pitchers today provide many a walk.

 

Good day Scoops Jockovitch here, award-winning sports journalist.

 

In short the game was like my first the second wife it had beautiful parts to it, but it was really ugly underneath. Our boys in orange took on those Plastic Hanets. 

 

What purpose does a Plastic hanet serve? Is it the end of your shoelace?

 

To say the least our pitching pool was more of a Mr. turtle pool this evening with Batting Practice taking the day off leaving only the rookies The French Canadian Prairie dog and the Broadside of the Barn left to pitch.

 

 Those injection molders scored a handful in the first created by some walks and some solid hitting. Our Stormy boys countered with a “Mills triple” (which equates to a single combined with some speed combined with some throwing errors) The Gimp then stepped up and hit his first home run of the evening . At the end of 1 it was 5-2 Plastics

 

The wily French Canadian Prairie Dog battled over the next few innings keeping the scoring and walks to a minimum as he seemed to have found his groove and at the end of 4 thanks to another Gimpian round tripper the game was tied at 8.

 

Going into the open inning 5th things got nervous and then historic as walks were plentiful and the Hanet damn could have been blown open like Force 10 from Navarone until the Prez turned an UNASSISTED TRIPLE PLAY! A play so nice they named a slo-pitch team after it.

 

This narrow escape spurred our Tangerine team on to score a mighty 9 runs that would surely seal the deal.

 

Well, that was until Broadside stepped onto the mound and like his nickname states about that barn, he couldn’t hit the plate, and by plate I mean huge board of wood.

 

Broadside didn’t last the inning with the TP Prez having to pull the chute and step in.

The petroleum-based injection molds crossed 10 to retake the lead.

 

Our downtrodden lads rallied with another Millsian triple, a well-timed SAC and solid hitting to score 3 to take the lead by a single run.

 

With time running out the TP Prez hit the plate and got some solid defence behind him to secure the skin o’ the teeth victory.

 

 Like my 4th wife the game wasn’t pretty, but they got the job done.

 

Hopefully the pitching finds itself some consistency and the momentum stays on the Storm side heading into the final games o’ the season.

 

This has been Scoops Jockovitch award-winning sports journalist

Final Score: Storm 20 - Hanet 19

Storm hold on to defeat Triple Play

Storm headed into the second game of a very important doubleheader. Brad settled into his role as starter and blanked Triple Play in the first inning. Triple Play was hitting the ball hard, but there was some solid defense behind him and he was throwing strikes so the scoresheet had very little lead on it in the opening frame.  Storm didn’t do much better as they only put up one run. The scoresheet pencil was still relatively sharp at the end of the first.

Brad kept rolling in the second giving up only one. The bottom half of Storm’s lineup got the ball rolling for the second game in a row. Five consecutive hits led to three runs and Storm was up 4-1. Brad gave up 2 runs in the third as Triple Play seemed to be adding an extra run each inning they hit off him. Duran took out a few tree branches and maybe a bird’s nest to open up Storm’s half of the third. Storm scored 3 more and took a 7-3 lead.

Storm changed pitchers in the fourth, but it didn’t help as Triple Play exploded for five runs including two home runs and taking an 8-7 lead. Storm didn’t panic as the bottom of the order came through again and Storm scored five runs to retake the lead 12-8.

Jeff settled in after a rocky first inning giving up only one run in each of the fifth and sixth innings. Storm was also blanked in the fifth, but was able to score three more runs to add onto the lead as Rene hit a perfectly placed double and was cashed in by Sam.

A five run lead is not safe in slo-pitch, especially against the league’s second highest scoring team. Triple Play’s bottom of the order came through for them as Kevin and Ian led off with hits setting the table for the top of the order. After Bill also got a hit Storm was looking a little shaky. Two quick outs helped Storm breathe a little, but Triple Play kept rolling and got the tying run to third base before Tony made an excellent play at second to end the game.

With the two wins in the big doubleheader, Storm looks like it has settled itself into third place for the playoffs. Storm could still catch Triple Play for second, but it would need to win out AND for Triple Play to lose two of their last three games. Storm has a game and a half lead over the Falcons, who could also still catch Storm for third place, but Storm would have to lose two of its last three games for them to have a chance. Storm controls its own destiny for third and needs to go get the job done down the stretch .

Final Score: Storm 15 - Triple Play 14

Storm earn important victory over The Falcon's

Storm headed into a pivotal doubleheader on Sunday night. The first game was a battle for third place, with Storm half a game ahead of the Falcons coming into the game. It must have been because of the importance of the game because a sight seen less frequently than sasquatch or the Loch Ness monster appeared. Ken. 

The Falcons came out swinging like they were well aware of the standings. They only managed one in the first inning as Storm played some solid defense, but they scored three in the third. Four runs in two innings shouldn't have given the Falcons a four run lead, but Storm did not start strong. After a leadoff single, the next six batters went down in order including a foul out.

Storm made a pitching change in the third, but the Falcons still scored two to take a six run lead. Storm finally remembered how to hit, and five consecutive hits got a six run mercy inning started. Storm's bats found their thunder in the fourth as Tony launched a three run home run, and Lance hit a two run shot. Storm's momentum ground to a halt as an interesting running play stole the momentum. Shawn lolligagged from second to third on a play he should have scored on easily and when a throw went to second, he decided to go home, except the throw was caught, so he stopped and went back to third, but the throw beat him there, so he turned and ran home where he was easily thrown out. You'd think Ken would have advanced to third in all the confusion, but the most confused player was Ken (maybe because he hasn't played in three months). Mills ran from the hill and screamed for Ken to go to third and he finally did. It didn't matter, though, as the inning ended on the next batter. 

The Falcons demonstrated they were birds, and laid eggs in the next two innings. Storm pretended they were geese and also laid eggs in the fifth and sixth innings.

After two quick outs to start the third, the Falcons started a rally, but only scored two runs and the game was done by 9 o'clock. 

Storm passed the first test on a huge doubleheader night. They won the first game to push the Falcons a little further back in the standings. Next up would be Triple Play. If Storm has any hopes of making it to second place, they need a big win in this game, and lots of help down the stretch. 

Final Score: Storm 12 - Falcon's 8

 

Storm Overpowered by the Crew

Good day sports fans! 

Scoops Jockovitch intrepid sport reporter here with your incredibly infrequent reports on your favourite team named after a climatological event. 

Monday night saw a battle of the titans with the  first place Brew Crew hosting our lads. This game had many side notes:the travelling prairie Frenchman had returned and was busy picking his fantasy football team. The Big D had Spray-ned his ankle running into a fence (better than his face, some would say) And finally the aging rookie pitcher would be facing a top team for the first time. 

None of these side stories would end well my friends. 

Storm scored 3 in the first with the Crew  tying it by being very pitch selective. 

Who says you shouldn’t swing at a ball 3 ft off the plate? The Lancerbeam led off with double in the second and the General spanked a 2 run HR. The Prez doubled and the Gimp brought him home with a single and the Storm had doubled their lead. 

It is at this point avid readers, that the wheels fall off, the barn doors are blown open and any other similar metaphor for things going to hell takes place. Our consistently inconsistent, rookie pitcher, was very inconsistently, consistent in not hitting the plate. Walks o’ plenty, solid hits and some questionable defence lead to two innings in a row of the brew crew maxing out.   

Our boys tried to keep pace with a 5 in the 3rd and 3 in the 4. But even when the Ace came in to pitch  in the fourth, he could not slow the demonic scoring of those punky Brewsters. Going into the 5th it was 14-21 crew. The Storm were a quick 1,2,3 in the 5th. Luckily the Ace shut out the Punkies as well. The 6th saw powdered donuts for the orangemen, while Brewsters millions plated a single. 

Last chance in the 7th for The Storm was like the beaches of Iwo Jima with nobody coming home. 

Make the final 22-14. Let’s hope our boys can change their fate and lock up a few more wins. Knock on wood. Or just hit the wooden plate a bit more. This is has been Scoops Jokovich intrepid sports reporter.

Final Score: The Crew 22 - Storm 14

Storm slow start, big finish

 Storm started a little slowly as Brad struggled to find the strike zone in the first inning. He walked a few batters and Hanet took a quick lead. Storm was able to get some runs back, helped out by Tony launching a home run that was so high it was in a flight path. Brad was able to settle down and make Hanet put the balls in play. When that happened, Storm’s defense gobbled up the balls and kept them off the board. Storm kept rolling offensively, and played solid defense. They eased to a 20-8 win.

After a rocky start to the season, Storm has settled in and seems to have found their groove. They’ve won four in a row and five of their last six. Their pitching woes seem to be (mostly) behind them (though nobody owns the mound like Captain Underpants did!). The question is, is it too little, too late? That would depend on how you look at it. Earlier this year, Storm sat in fifth facing the real possibility of playing a Friday night game for the first time since 2011. With only three and a half games separating 3rd and 8th, that possibility is still there, but Storm controls its own destiny now and can lock up 3rd by playing well. Even third, though, has to be seen as a disappointment for a team that has finished 1st or 2nd every year since 2012. And with such a tight gap between the third through eighth place teams,  a Pool C grouping of teams 3,5, and 8 would be a very challenging pool to play in. But with The Crew and Triple Play playing so well, finishing first or second and getting an easier round robin will be very challenging. Even if Storm wins out, they’ll need help to pass either team in the standings. They can start by helping themselves with a game against The Crew Monday night and against Triple Play next Sunday.

Final Score: Storm 20 - Hanet 8

Storm win big against Greenthumb

 The game started close. Storm’s bats started slowly and Brad kept Greenthumb down. Sam was given a hard time for hitting a solo home run, but it was the only run Storm got in the second inning, so maybe it wasn’t a bad thing.  Tony made a couple of nice plays at second, and Mills was doing his thing in the outfield. It was 2-1 through two innings. Storm scored three in the third to give them some distance from Greenthumb, but it was the fourth when Storm’s bats exploded for six runs. Only the mercy rule kept them down. Unfortunately for Greenthumb, there was no mercy in the fifth and Storm added 9 runs to extend their lead. 

Greenthumb finally got some offense of their own going in the fourth scoring four runs, but it was too little too late. Storm matched their four and scored three more in the seventh to cement their victory. 

It was an important victory for Storm as they are in a tight race for third place with only 3 ½

games separating third and eighth place.

Final Score: Storm 27 - Greenthumb 7