Hot Air Balloons and a Rooster

Like that small red rash on you upper “inner” thigh that just won’t go away it is I Scoops Jockovitch your intrepid writer and athletic supporter who has once again been asked (forced) into the indentured servitude of using two fingers and a thumb to bring pleasure to the masses…and I may just do some typing as well.

Once again Team Tangerine bravely strapped on their spiked boots and large leather mittens to partake in yet another thrilling match of a game that always smells of the unique combination of A535 and wasted potential.

Hoping to lull the Storm into a bidding war Team Re/Max was putting the final touches on staging their dugout with fresh cut flowers and the aroma of baked cookies!

In the top of the first it seemed that Re/Max’s pitches looked like giant red, white and blue hot air balloon floating serenely over home plank to Team Agent Orange as they matched runs with that nights roster by putting a 9 on the board.

Like an  embarrassed adolescent walking to the front of the class in track pants, controversy unexpectedly arose in the bottom of the inning as the undermanned "league leaders" requested a catcher so that the outfield would remain filled with pylons.

Team re/Max was not “ Sold” on the idea but they quickly did an “Appraisal” and “Assessed the Value” of the transaction and the “Dual Agency” of the “Offer” before accepting the “ Closing costs”  though not without  an “Adjustable rate” of sarcasm.

The first inning came to a close with  Team Up, Up and Away making a slightly under market value counter offer of 3 runs in their half of the inning.

Stephanie Cliffords ( NSFW Google) favourite team delivered a goose egg in the 2nd whilst those Masters of the Adjustable Rate gave one run a small yet well appointed semi detached home.

Which brings us to the time in our chronicle where we discuss poultry.

Young-ish Storm star and Magic Mike stunt double Big D has been having a rough go lately flashing the leather. With some bad hops in the infield and off the tip ( not in the good way) of the glove balls dropping lately in the outfield, it seems that the time has come to remove the curse that has obviously been placed upon him.

And as any astute and well-learned baseball aficionado knows, the only way to get rid of a curse on a glove is to sacrifice a live rooster.

So if anyone in the league would like to offer their cock to Duran…wait…what? that didn’t come out right… Lets move on.

Top of the third brought 4 runs in for Team Daniels highlighted by a triple from Bob “ the Excel-erator” Peppler. 

The opposition seemed to be at a “ Crossroads” ( see what I did there) in there half of the inning. They scored 1, which was good. But their own player made a highlight catch behind the plate to get on out, which was bad.

The third inning was also the debut of a new player to the Storm. Playing 3rd base was a young, hip, backwards cap wearing fellow that looked a lot like veteran player Michael “ Wait un-“ Tyl (your father gets home!) but this player was full of MIKE-A-TUDE!!!

In the top o’ the fourth the Storm struck and burst the Re/Max balloon by scoring 11 with all 9 roster players getting at least 1 hit in the inning.

The Asking price was too high for the team named after a Britney Spears movie ( Love you Brit, Brit!) and the white flag was flown.

Final score 24-5

With this victory the only team that can wipe Doritos on their jerseys and no one will notice claims another season Championship!

Please fans join me, along with all the other players in the league by yawning and stating “ Let's see what you do in the playoffs!”

Your biggest athletic supporter

Scoops Jockovitch

Notable Boxscores:  

Duran – 5/5, HR, 5 runs, 3 RBI      

Bob – 4/5, Triple, HR, 3 RBI, 4 runs,

Al – 5/5, Double, 2 RBI, 2 runs 

Joey – 4/5, 2 doubles, Triple, 4 RBI, 2 runs

Lance – 3/4, 2 Doubles, 3 runs, 2 RBI

Brad – 3/4, 2 runs, 2 RBI

Mike – 2/4, two doubles, 2 RBI, 2 runs

Greg – 3/4, Double, 3 runs, 3 RBI

Brian - 2/4 RBI, 1 run

HR's: Bob, Duran

HR Outs: None

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Storm	9	0	4	11	x	x	x	24
ReMax	3	1	1	0	x	x	x	5

Storm has Xtremely good game

Storm started strong with a 9 run first inning and never really let up. They scored in five out of seven innings, and had big innings in the first and fifth to win 20-6.

The game was played well with all aspects of the team running well. The pitching was solid; the defense was solid; the team hit from top to bottom effectively.

Bob was the only player who had a rough night at the plate. He hit the ball much harder than his 1 for 5 would imply. He was robbed twice by Xtreme’s 2nd basemen on hard hit line drives.

Defensively, the stand out player was definitely Brian. He made not one, not two, but THREE standout defensive plays. The first was a hard hit ball that bounced off of his glove, then his chin and to the ground where he picked it up and raced to first to beat the runner. The second was a hard ground ball that he scooped and threw to second for an out, and then Joey tagged the runner going from 2nd to 3rd. That’s how hard the ball was hit and how quickly the play developed. Brian fielded the ball and threw to 2nd while the runner was still in tagging distance. Finally, Brian fielded another incredibly hard-hit grounder, tagged the runner on first, and then stepped on first for an unassisted double-play.

The last thing to mention is Duran legging out an inside the park homerun. That, in itself, is nothing surprising, but it might turn out to be a major regret. Had he stopped at 3rd, he would have tied Joey’s single season scoring record. And since Storm was already up 18-5 at the time, nobody would have blamed him for stopping. As a matter of fact, this is the second time this season that Duran legged out an inside the park homerun instead of stopping at third for a triple. The first time cost him a cycle, as he already had a homerun that game. The two inside the park homeruns together might cost him the single season Storm record. Duran now needs two triples in his final two games to break the record.

Notable Boxscores:

Duran – HR, 2 runs, 3RBI

Brian – 4/4, 1run, 1 RBI

Al 4/4, 3runs, 1 RBI

Kenny – ¾, 1 run, 1 RBI

Dave – ¾, 2 runs, 3 RBI

Brad - ¾ 1 run, 3 RBI

Kevin – ¾ m 1 run, 1 RBI

Jeff – 3/4 , 1 run, 1 RBI

Joey – ¾, 2 runs, 3RBI

HR's: Duran (9), Joey (22)

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Storm	9	2	4	3	1	1	0	20
Xtreme	0	3	0	0	0	1	2	6

3 wins in 3 minutes

Forfeited their game with us tonight.

Forfeited both Saturday morning games

Storm over Xtreme

It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon for Softball.  The team was looking forward to a competitive game against Xtreme before heading out to the annual Storm BBQ.

The team brought their A-game from the start and wanted to focus on the game before thinking about food.  Everyone that is except for Bob.

After hitting a Han Solo to open the game up, he was seen sitting on the bench thinking of what he wanted to put on his burger at the BBQ.  That hit would be his last of the game and awarded him the honor of donning the apron over the BBQ.


The first inning saw Derek hit a homer for Xtreme, putting them out to a 2-0 lead.  Storm roared back in the bottom with 3 Bob, Joey and Al hitting them out. Final score Storm 28, Xtreme 9.

Those would be the last dingers of the day but Storm kept their foot on the gas, scoring in every inning but one.   The team hit well from top to bottom....except for the BBQer.

The burgers were delicious...thanks Bob!



HR's: Joey 2 (20), Bob (9), AL (7)

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Xtreme	2	4	0	0	0	0	3	9
Storm	5	8	6	5	0	4	x	28

Storm blows by Xtreme

 In the first inning it looked like it might actually be Joey vs. Derek instead of Storm vs. Xtreme. Joey hit a 3-run homer in the top of the first, and Derek hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the first. After that though, Storm took control of the game as a team on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, Storm got hits from ten different players, runs from 8 different players, and RBIs from six different players. The run production was spread out pretty evenly across the game, with Storm scoring in every inning except the 2^nd, and only scoring more than two runs in an inning twice!

Defensively Storm played a very tight game, making plays and keeping Xtreme off the scoreboard for five consecutive innings. Xtreme didn’t even get a runner to 2^nd from the 2^nd-5^th innings.

Overall, it was a very good effort by Storm, playing one of their most complete games of the season!

HR's: Joey (2), Lance

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Storm	3	0	2	6	1	2	2	16
Xtreme	3	0	0	0	0	0	4	7

Xtreme Disappointment

Storm had an off-night against Xtreme. There were a few physical errors and a costly mental error that allowed Xtreme to get up early, and the Storm bats were not performing at their best. After falling behind 16-3 Storm made a valiant attempt to come back, and played well in the 2nd half of the game. They were able to bring the score to 20-15, but unfortunately, time ran out with Joey about to step up to the plate.

Moments that Mattered:

Top 2^nd – After Larry hit a ball that got past Brian, Brad made a great play to field it, but Jeff was too busy spectating and forgot to cover 1^st base. Had he remembered how slow Larry is, he probably could have still beaten Larry to the base, but didn’t. This would have recorded the final out of the inning, and kept Xtreme scoreless and kept the game at 5-3. Instead, they went on to score three and take an 8-3 lead.

Top 4^th – Xtreme really teed off and scored 8 runs in the inning.

Bottom of 4^th – Storm puts up five runs to keep themselves (somewhat) in the game.

Bottom 6^th – After jumping and tipping a ball that may or may not have gone over the fence anyway for Lance, Derek Ackford made an incredible leaping catch to stop a ball that definitely would have gone over for a three-run home run for Brad. Still, Storm scores six (would have been 8[one of the runs Brad would have driven home on his home run scored anyway]) and comes within striking distance

Bottom 7^th – With two outs and Joey coming to the plate, time runs out.

HR – Joey 2 (24), Lance (9)

Who’s Hot (Last 4 Games)

Inconsistent Early innings:

 Storm is 2-2 in its last four games. There is a rather large discrepancy in early inning output between the wins and losses. In the two wins, Storm scored 12 and 15 runs in the first three innings, averaging 4.5 runs per inning. In the two losses, Storm scored 0 and 3 runs respectively averaging 0.5 runs per inning. Clearly Storm needs to come out of the gate a little stronger if they want to get back to their winning ways.

Next Up:

 Storm tries to avoid losing 3 out of 4 when facing the Falcons. The Falcons are currently 2ns in the President’s Division and 3^rd overall with an 18-10-2 record. It is the final meeting of the season between the two teams, and will also act as the rubber match as the season series is tied at 1-1-1.

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Xtreme	5	3	0	8	1	3	0	20
Storm	3	0	0	5	0	6	1	15