Perfect Storm: Inglorious Batters Zapped in 5-Inning Lightning Shortened game

Storm faced off against the Inglorious Batters and the Inglorious Batters lived up to their name. Rene had found a new delivery and it worked so well Jeff got an off day as Rene carved up the Inglorious Batters’ lineup. It started with a three up three down inning and the Batters would only score three runs across the first five frames. There was a solo home run, but other than that Rene had their number (along with some pretty solid defense from the Storm).

The Storm didn’t have the same issues batting. They only managed one in the first and a pair in the second, but they brought the thunder in the third and put up a six spot. They added four in the fifth to take a commanding 13-3 lead.

The sixth inning saw some thunder and lightning, and not in the metaphorical sense. Distant rolls of thunder could be heard and the sky kept lighting up and the umpire declared that it wasn’t “worth it” to continue.

Top Performers

1. Lance

• The Line: 3 At Bats, 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 RBI
• Extra-Base Impact: Ripped 2 doubles (2B) and 1 single (1B).
• True Slugging: He achieved a massive 1.667 Slugging Percentage by collecting 5 total bases in just 3 at-bats.
• Why He's #1: He led the entire team in total runs scored (3) while delivering a perfect 1.000 Batting Average with heavy extra-base power.

2. Duran

• The Line: 3 At Bats, 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 3 RBIs
• Extra-Base Impact: Hit 1 triple (3B), 1 double (2B), and 1 single (1B).
• True Slugging: He generated 6 total bases, yielding a team-high 2.000 Slugging Percentage.
• Why He's #2: He drove in a team-leading 3 RBIs, meaning his hits came at critical moments with runners in scoring position.

3. Joey Pilkey

• The Line: 3 At Bats, 3 Hits, 1 Run, 1 RBI
• Extra-Base Impact: Logged 1 double (2B) and 2 singles (1B).
• True Slugging: Collected 4 total bases for a 1.333 Slugging Percentage.
• Why He's #3: He kept the lineup moving seamlessly by going a perfect 3-for-3 directly behind Duran Spray in the order.

Honorable Mention: Jeff 

• The Line: 3 At Bats, 3 Hits, 0 Runs, 3 RBIs

 Line Score

Team	1	2	3	4	5	R
Storm	1	2	6	0	4	13
Inglorious Batters	0	1	1	1	0	3

A Hit to the Head, leads to a Strong Finish for The Storm in this comeback victory

The Inglorious Batters batted gloriously through the first three innings of the game. They put up four runs in the first and then hit two majestic home runs in the second to add another five runs. Storm managed three in the first, but none in the second trailed 9-3 after 2 innings. Inglorious Batters continued batting brilliantly in the third with their third home run of the game (and the season) adding four more runs in the third. Duran hit a Han Solo and Storm added three, but trailed 13-6 after three innings. 

Storm finally stopped the bleeding with a three up three down inning in the fourth, and added two to pull within five. The Inglorious Batters scored two and  Storm was unable to get any runs so it was 15-8 after four.

The tides shifted in the sixth. Storm set the Batters down in order, and Joey, Mills, and Tony all hit dingers as Storm scored five runs and pulled to within two. Duran launched a three run home run and Storm scored five taking an 18-15 lead. Time was now of the essence, and Storm needed to record three outs in a few minutes before the inning reverted. After walking the first batter, Jeff settled down and Storm was able to get out of the inning giving up only one run. 

Storm really used their heads on both sides of the ball to win the game. Mills used his head literally. We’re glad there was a concussion specialist on hand to help out and Mills was cleared to continue. The team did a good job holding it together. After two consecutive losses and falling behind early, Storm could have gotten down on themselves, but they stayed in the game and kept playing as a team. 

Top Performers

• Duran: Hit 2 home runs and recorded 4 RBIs, finishing with a 2.800 OPS.
• Mills: Contributed 4 hits (including 2 doubles and 1 home run) and 4 RBIs.
• Joey: 4 hits (including 1 home run), scored 3 runs, and drove in 4 RBIs.
• Rene: Went 4-for-5 with 2 doubles and scored 4 runs.
• Brad: Perfect game at the plate, going 4-for-4 with 4 singles.

Inning Summary

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Final
Storm	3	0	3	2	0	5	5	18
Inglorious Batters	4	5	4	0	2	0	1	16

Storm’s playoffs started well

Storm’s playoffs started well. The Inglorious batters were ingloriously shut out in the first two innings. Storm was able to put some runs up in each inning. Mills singled and Duran launched a two run homer immediately. Storm added another and was up 3-0 after 1. They put up 5 to stake a relatively strong 8-0 lead.

The Inglorious Batters started to hit ingloriously as a few singles squealed through off the ends of bats and they added a few timely hits to score five runs and load the bases with nobody out. It looked like it would be a mercy inning for sure, but a ground ball to short followed by a pop up to the catcher helped Storm to get out of the inning without giving up a max 5. 

The Inglorious Batters continued to chip away at Storm with one in the fourth and two in the top of the 5th to tie the game at 8. 

Storm remembered that it is important to hit and put up 3 in the bottom of the fifth to quickly regain their lead. They managed to play solid defense and keep the Inglorious Batters from having any big innings, and held kn to win 13-10.

Final Score: Storm 13 - Inglorious Batters 10

Storm win vs. Inglorious Batters

Final Score: Storm 18 - Inglorious Batters 12

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

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