The Math is Mathing: A Statistical Masterclass in Base Hit Chaos

If you ever wanted to know what happens when an offense decides that getting out is against league policy, look no further than this box score.

Leading the charge were Mills, Joey, Sam, and Tony. They went a combined 12 for 12, each casually sporting a perfect 1.000 batting average, while Mills hoisted the team on his back with a HR and a 3.000 OPS. The bottom of the lineup chipped in, with the 7-through-10 hitters operating in perfect, uncanny symmetry, each logging identical 1-for-3 stat lines.

Yet, baseball is a cruel, unfeeling sport. Despite scoring 12 runs including a 5-run explosion in the fifth inning—The Crew still managed to find themselves on the wrong side of a 15-12 final score against the Storm. How do you hit so well as a squad and still lose? You give up an unfortunate six-spot in the bottom of the fourth and 3 more in the sixth. The Storm’s offense apparently matched the name, rendering The Crew's efforts nothing more than a highly efficient, incredibly symmetric, heartbreakingly unsuccessful footnote.

1. Mills

• The Stat Line: 3-for-3, 1 HR, 2 Runs, 3 RBIs
• Mills was the most explosive hitter in the lineup. He had a 3 Run HR and posted a staggering 2.000 Slugging Percentage and a 3.000 OPS, driving the team's massive 4th-inning comeback.

2. Joey

• The Stat Line: 3-for-3, 1 Double, 4 Runs, 3 RBIs
• Pilkey was an absolute run-scoring machine. He tied Mills for the team lead with 3 RBIs, hit one of the team's extra-base hits, and crossed home plate a team-high 4 times from the 3-spot in the lineup.

3. Tony

• The Stat Line: 3-for-3, 1 Double, 4 RBIs
• Watson was an absolute catalyst for the offense. While he did not record any Runs, he was a master at driving runs in and turning the lineup over, collecting 4 RBIs

3. Sam

• The Stat Line: 3-for-3, 1 Double, 2 Runs, 1 RBI,
• Batting clean-up right behind Joey, Sam mirrored his father's power by flashing identical 1.333 SLG and 2.333 OPS metrics, keeping the middle of the order lethal.

Line Score

                        1 2 3 4 5 6 7      Total

The Crew        1 1 0 3 5 2 0        12 

Storm              4 0 2 6 0 3 X        15

 

Bats worked better, taking the night cap over The Crew

The Storm dominated The Crew in scoring 14-5 victory, propelled by an explosive 30-hit offensive performance.

Performance Summary for the Storm:

• Final Score: Storm 14, The Crew 5
• At Bats (AB): 48
• Hits (H): 30 (Calculated from 24 singles, 4 doubles, and 2 home runs)
• Runs (R): 14
• Runs Batted In (RBI): 11
• Home Runs (HR): 2 (Hit by Bob Peppler and Sam Pilkey)
• Team Batting Average (AVG): .625
• Team On-Base Plus Slugging (OPS): 1.458

 Game Momentum

• The Crew's Early Lead: The Crew struck first with 4 runs in the 1st inning and added 1 more in the 3rd thanks to a solo HR.
• The Storm's Comeback: The Storm responded aggressively in the top of the 3rd inning, scoring 6 runs to take the lead.
• The Shutout Finish: The Storm's defense completely shut down The Crew for the final four innings, while their offense tacked on 8 unanswered insurance runs.

Top Performers (The Storm)

• Joey: Perfect game at the plate going 5-for-5 with 3 singles and 2 doubles, scoring 1 run and driving in 1 RBI, and pitching 5 nearly perfect innings.
• Sam: 3-for-4 performance including a home run and a double, leading the team with 3 runs scored.
• Bob: Accounted for major power with a 3-run home run.
• Brad  & Greg: Both hitters turned in perfect 4-for-4 games consisting entirely of singles

Storm Edges Out The Crew 11-10 After Late Six-Inning Rally

Storm looked like they were going to cruise to a victory against The Crew as they scored six runs in the first inning without recording an out. Then they recorded six straight outs without recording a run in the second and third innings, and suddenly found themselves trailing 8-6. They managed to squeak one run in the fourth to make it 8-7, but the Crew added two in the fifth to go up 10-7. Storm finally remembered how to hit in the sixth, and scored four runs to take an 11-10 lead, and then shut the door on The Crew in the top of the 7th to win a very fast game 11-10.

There were some defensive highlights and almost highlights involving Mills. In the first inning he ran past Shawn to catch a fly ball in right field. He then had a chance for two separate assists at second. The first one had nobody covering the base. In an effort to make up for that, the second time both Tony and Joey covered the base with Tony catching the ball, but Joey was standing on the base. So close. As was the game that Storm held on to win 11-10.

Top Performers

• Duran achieved a perfect 1.000 AVG, 1.000 OBP, and a massive 2.500 OPS, powered by a double and a single.
• Lance delivered a 1.667 OPS, matching the team lead with a clutch double and scoring 1 run.
• Tony went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with 3 singles and 2 runs scored.

Inning Summary

                1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Final

The Crew 0 4 4 0 2 0 0 10

Storm         6 0 0 1 0 4 X 11

Blind Squirrel Holds Top Team in League to 5 runs

At the beginning of the tournament, Brad said that Jeff would have a new nickname by the end of the tournament. He probably never guessed it would be “squirrel” or “Blind squirrel”, but that’s exactly what happened.

Storm got off to a decent start thanks to Rene launching a two run home run and giving Storm a quick two run lead. Storm blanked The Crew in the first inning. Storm found some thunder in their bats in the second inning, scoring a max six on a sequence of singles and a double from Mills. The Crew was blanked again in the second. 

Storm added another run in the third and The Crew broke through scoring their first run. The fourth started off with a bang when Sam launched a solo home run. Storm kept the hit train going with a bunch of singles and a signature Duran triple and Rene double to add four to the score. Storm was up 13-1 going into the bottom of the 4th. It was in this half inning that Jeff earned his new nickname. He started to struggle to find the board and one of The Crew’s players decided to start chirping him from the bases. When a pitch hit the board he referred to Jeff as a “blind squirrel finding a nut.” The blind quirrel found a few more nits, and the inning ended with The Crew scoring two runs

Storm seemed to rally behind Jeff and “squirrel” was taken as a term of endearment. Brian even changed decades of referring to pitchers as “kid” and started referring to Jeff as “squirrel” when he handed him the ball before each inning pitched. 

Storm didn’t score any in the fifth and The Crew launched a two run home run and the game was 13-5. Sam launched his second solo home run of the game to increase the lead to 14-5. The Crew was unable to muster more than a single in the sixth. 

The seventh saw Storm explode. They batted through the order one and a half times and scored 12 runs in the inning (more than they had scored in a couple of games on Saturday). The Crew went down in order in the final inning

Final Score: Storm 26 - The Crew 5

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 outlasts the Crew

 Joey removed himself from the pitching rotation and Brad “Two Step” McDougall started game 2 of the doubleheader. After retiring the first batter, The Crew recorded three straight hits and plated two runs to take the lead. Mills started Storm’s half of the inning with a triple, and Duran hit a sac fly to get Storm on the board. Three more singles and a fielder’s choice plated two more runs and Storm took the lead 3-2.

In the second inning, “Two Step” had some control issues, walking the bases loaded, but Storm managed to escape unscathed in the inning. Brian did his best Mills impression in the bottom half of the inning hitting a triple and Mills did his best Duran impression hitting his second triple of the game. Storm added five to take an 8-2 lead. 

“Two-Step” sailed through the third with a double play ending the inning, giving the Crew their second straight goose egg. Unfortunately, Storm dropped a goose egg of their own and the score remained 8-2.

The Crew managed to score one on old “Two-Step” in the fourth. Joey drove in two and then Rene launched a two run homer as Storm added four padding their lead at 12-2. Two-Step’s current contract status forbids him from pitching open innings, so it was time to bring in Batting Practice for one of the strangest innings pitched we’ve seen. He struck out the first two batters to start the inning, then gave up a home run. Walked the next batter, and gave up a home run. It looked like it was going to be an all or nothing inning before The Crew managed a couple of hits and the inning ended on a grounder. BP had given up more runs in an inning than Two-Step had in the game, making management wonder if they should reconsider Two-Step’s current contract status. Storm was only able to manage one more run, making the game uncomfortably close at 13-7. 

The Crew was blanked in the sixth, and Duran launched a solo home run extending the lead to 14-7, but Captain Underpants always said he needed eight, and with a pitcher nicknamed Batting Practice, the game still felt uncomfortably close against the top team in the league. And the Crew made it get even more uncomfortably close. After the first batter got out, they hit a single and a double. Scotty, who hits home runs against Jeff playing for pretty much every team in the league, popped out to the fence, and with two out it looked like Storm had the game wrapped up. However, The Crew had other plans. Four straight hits meant The Crew had brought the game to within three runs. That was as close as it would get, however, as Storm closed the door and won the game.

The big story might not be the win, but the advent of Two-Step MacDougall as a legitimate pitching option. Many pitchers have returned from Tommy John surgery to be better pitchers. Could Brad’s neck surgery have miraculously turned him into a pitcher? He spent much of his rehab period in the backyard learning the art of slo-pitch from an online pitching guru. Was this online guru a Mr. Miyagi to Brad’s slo-pitch kid? Time will tell, but if he can pitch consistently, the future looks a little bit stronger for Storm. 

Final Score: Storm 14 - The Crew 11

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