Storm runs over Crew (even while running themselves out)

 The Crew started strong, scoring four in the first. Storm had to buckle down, dig deep, look within themselves, and decide which Storm team was going to show up. Apparently they chose the one that hits well. Undaunted by the deficit, Storm strung together solid singles and doubles and mercied The Crew in the first.

Storm held the Crew to 1 in the second and doubled that tally to increase the lead to 8-5. It was still a close game, though, as The Crew scored two to make it 8-7 going into the bottom of the 3rd. Storm only managed one, and it was 9-7 after three.

Captain Underpants put the hammer down in the fourth and kept the Crew off the board for the next two innings. Storm would score five in the fourth with homers by The Captain and The Palindrome accounting for all the runs. Storm was defensive in the final frames allowing one run across the final four while being offensive enough to open up a significant lead.

The lead covered up a multitude of sins on the base paths. Duran put himself in to courtesy run instead of Mills and then got thrown out at home. For those keeping track, this is Duran's third consecutive game getting thrown out on the bases. Sam I am also had a number of adventures on the basepaths. He tagged on a short fly to left field that fell in and then almost got thrown out on the force at 2nd. The very next play he didn’t tag on a line drive to right field where he could have advanced easily, and on his next trip around the bases, he got thrown out at 2nd to end the inning. 

I am Sam. Sam I am.

I run the bases like Duran

We run around like no one can.

We run without a single doubt

But suddenly we’re both thrown out.

Duran must learn he’s getting old,

And Sam must do as he is told.

Storm    18   -   The Crew 8 

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
The Crew	4	1	2	0	0	1	0	8
Storm	6	2	1	5	1	3	x	18

Notable Boxscores:

The Captain - 4 for 4, HR,4RBI, 3 runs

The Palindrome - 4 for 3, HR 3RBI, 3 runs

Captain Kangaroo - 3 for 4, 3 runs, RBI

Captain Underpants - 3 for 4, 3 runs, RBI

Cycle Watch:

The Captain and the Palindrome both missed the triple.

Storm wins defensive game (in every sense of the word)

 Storm and Triple Play played a humdinger of a game. It was a tightly contested defensive game for the most part. A lot of the defensiveness came from the umpire who was sensitive to comments about calls, but there was also some excellent defensive play from both teams. Triple Play had an excellent scoop from Chris at first for an unassisted double play, and their short stop made a number of excellent plays. Some of Triple Play's best defense came from relays to home as they threw out multiple Storm runners. Duran had announced last game that it was his first time being thrown out on the bases this season. Apparently he enjoyed the experience so much that he got thrown at again. This time at home. 

Storm was not to be outdone on the defensive side. Al pitched a gem of a game and Storm allowed runs in only two out of seven innings. The Captains (Underpants and Kangaroo) got together for a nice double play and the infield and outfield both made the plays that should have been made. 

Neither team really gave away any runs and the score remained low late. Apparently both teams started to get tired late as Storm scored six in the sixth ( in keeping with their propensity to score the number of runs of the inning they're in). That extended the lead to 15-4. But they needed it because Triple Play started hitting in the 7th, scoring four of their own. 

The game ended appropriately as Storm took a play out of Triple Play's book, and made the final out on the bases. Captain Kangaroo took a throw from the outfield at short, and then very astutely checked the runner's position and threw to 3rd as the runner going home had stopped. Tank Engine chugged down the line and tagged the runner for the final out.

For something to be defensive, there has to be something offensive. Triple Play found Mills's infield home run offensive. The short stop threw the ball away. Mills took second and when nobody was in a rush to get the ball he kept going to third. When Triple Play argued about whether or not time was/should have/could have been called, Mills kept going home.

There was more offense, but this was defensive writeup. 

Captain Kangaroo was a triple short of the cycle.

Storm    15   -   Triple Play 8 

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Triple Play	0	4	0	0	0	0	4	8
Storm	2	1	2	1	3	6	0	15

Notable Boxscores:

Captain Kangaroo - 4 for 4, HR, 4 runs, 3 RBI

Captain Underpants - 4 for 4, 3 RBI, 2 runs, 2 doubles

Tank Engine - 3 for 3, run

The Captain - 3 for 4, 2 runs, 2 RBI, 2 runs, 2 RBI, 2 doubles

Storm surges to victory!

Storm’s offence was electric as their bats thundered and they poured down a torrent of runs in a power surge. The defence was solid and Storm looked strong on both sides of the ball in their victory Monday night.

Storm scored early and late. Storm put up a solid four runs in the first inning and five in the second for an early lead. The defence was incredible and didn’t give away any runs forcing Surge to earn everything they got. Storm added five in the 5th and seven in the 7th, because it looks nice to score the number of runs the inning is. Surge could not muster any runs until the bottom of the seventh. Some balls got through some fielders on tough plays and Surge then hit a home run (that Storm could have used earlier) to break the giant string of goose eggs that had trailed along the scoresheet. It was far too little, much too late, and Storm won 21-3.

Defensive Highlights:

Captain Underpants was in top form on the pitcher’s mound throwing strikes and letting the defence do their thing.

The Thane of Cawdor must have had some kind of prophecy from the Weird Sisters about a rise to greatness, because he made a spectacular catch, spin, and throw to pick off a runner who had sauntered from the base. It was a beautiful double play. Storm turned a couple of other double plays, one with Captain Kangaroo tossing it to the Thane who threw it to the Marlborough Man, and one with Captain Kangaroo hopping after a runner to tag him and step on a base ending the inning.

The outfield was a black hole as everything that went into the air disappeared into a glove. Mills, in particular, tried his hardest to prove he was the best outfielder after being impressed by a couple of Phil’s catches for Surge.

Offensive Highlights/Lowlights:

Duran did his best Harrison Ford impression in the first inning and blew his load early with a massive Han Solo home run. This would have repercussions for many players throughout the game as Storm was having trouble keeping it in the park. Casper Killer also hit a home run in the first inning, but at least it was a two run shot, though still not as productive as a couple of others could have been.

Home run outs then became somewhat of a theme for the rest of the game. Mills must have been eating his wheaties, because with two runners on, he mashed what would have been a three run homerun, but… Duran had already hit that selfish solo, so…. Mills had a long run to collect an out.

But Karma is a bitch, so in the fourth inning Duran, himself, came up with two runners on and launched a line drive that cleared the fence by a country mile. This was an inning ending home run out and it would take Duran most of the defensive inning to find the ball. That’s two three run homers potentially lost because of the earlier solo shot.

Duran was having a fun game offensively. In the sixth inning, Duran forgot he’s getting older and nursing numerous injuries to various parts of his body as he tried to turn an obvious single into a double. Surge was having none of that and threw him out easily (a phrase you don’t hear a lot in reference to Duran) at second base. You can now add an injured pride to the list of ailments Duran is suffering from.

Storm    21   -   Surge 3 

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Storm	4	5	0	0	5	0	7	21
Surge	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3

Notable Boxscores:

Captain Kangaroo - 5 for 5, 3 runs, 3 RBI, 2 doubles

Tank Engine - 4 for 4, 2 runs, 2 RBI, double

Casper Killer - 3 for 4, 3 runs, 2 RBI, HR

Han Solo - 3 for 4, 3 runs, 3 RBI, HR, HR out, Thrown out on bases

The Thane of Whitby - 3 for 4, 3 runs, 2 RBI

Craig - 3 for 5, 3 RBI, run

Storm Drop the Ball

 Storm played more like plastic figurines than softball players in a comedy of errors that led to Hanet taking advantage of every opportunity and defeating Storm.

The first inning gave a taste of what was to come as a lazy fly ball found its way over the outfielder for a three run triple and helped Hanet score four to open the game. However, Storm did not panic. They scored the max six capped off by a massive home run by The Thane of Whitby, who has clearly been sacrificing goats or polishing Rene’s bat.

The second inning saw Hanet tie it up as they scored three to Storm’s lonely single run, which was scored by French Fry, who for once was running, and not Reneing around the bases which allowed him to score. 

Storm took control in the third inning. Storm’s defence was solid and Hanet put up a goose egg. Six singles led to four runs and gave Storm an 11-7 lead. Storm managed to keep Hanet off the board again in the 4th, but they also generated absolutely nothing and so the score stayed the same.

The fifth is where the wheels came off. It’s where the monkey picked up the cymbals. It’s where the circus music started to crank up in the background. It’s where pitching changes should have been made. Hanet batted through their batting order. There were some solid hits sprinkled in among many errors and misplays. Cut off throws went awry removing force plays. Balls fell in behind outfielders. Hanet scored nine, which was more than the seven they had scored in the first four innings. 

But all was not lost. No siree. Storm still hand some wind in its sails. Dr. Seuss started off the 5th with his team leading sixth striKeout of the season. Sam certainly Knows how to put the K in PilKey and frustrated that Duran had tied him with five striKeouts, he tooK it upon himself to taKe back the lead in at least one offensive category. After the striKeout, though, the Marlborough Man, the Loper, Captain Kangaroo, and Captain Underpants all doubled helping Storm score five and tie the game up.

This might also have been a time for a pitching change, but Batting Practice Thomas was sent out to the mound again to continue to live up to the nickname. Not helping his own cause he fielded a ground ball and turned to gun it to second only to realise nobody was there yet. The pause threw him off rhythm and he threw the ball wide of second. This was the first in another long line of errors, misplays, and solid hitting by Hanet that allowed them to score six more. Storm scored nothing.

The seventh started strong as Captain Underpants doubled and Lancer Beam sent a supermoon shot over the fence to score two. Storm had no magic left in their bats and were unable to put together another rally.

Hanet    25   -   Storm 18

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Hanet	4	3	0	0	9	6	3	25
Storm	6	1	4	0	5	0	2	18

Notable Boxscores:

The Thane of Whitby - 4 for 5, HR, 4 RBI.

Marlborough Man - 4 for 4, run, RBI

Captain Kangaroo - 4 for 5, 3 RBI, 2 runs,

French Fry - 3 for 4, 4 runs, 3 RBI

Lancer Beam - 3 for 5, HR, 2RBI

Captain Underpants - 3 for 5, 3 runs, 3 RBI