Storm Clinch First Place

Storm and Greenthumb played a war of attrition on Monday night. Storm managed to cobble together a lineup of 10 players, but that included Zombie Bob who switched positions after one play because it required too much movement and hurt too much. The defence was also shuffled a little with some infield regulars roaming the outfield. 

Greenthumb had their lineup supplemented by two players from The Crew who had a vested interest in the outcome of the game as they needed Storm to lose to clinch first place themselves. Greenthumb started off well, scoring three in the top of the first. Storm thundered back in the bottom half of the inning. Duran launched a leadoff home run for the third straight game, which led to serious discussion over lineup construction. Storm would continue to strike lightning, scoring the max six without recording an out in the inning.

Greenthumb would get one in the second, but Joey made an incredible catch with a Go Go Gadget arm that extended to end the inning. He used his Go Go Gadget arm in the bottom half of the inning to get his own player out on a foul ball while catching for Greenthumb. Storm still scored four capped off by a triple from Rene. 

Storm’s bats contained more thunder throughout the night and they were able to muster more runs than they had in each of the previous three games en route to a 21-10 victory, and more importantly, clinching first place.

Storm    21  -   Greenthumb 10

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Greenthumb	3	1	2	1	2	1	0	10
Storm	6	4	0	4	7	0	x	21

One down, one to go!

 The Expos started strong with three runs in the top of the first, and all Storm could respond with was a Han Solo from Duran, who has stated he shouldn’t bat leadoff. Chewbacca agrees. Storm fared better in the second, blanking the Expos and then finally acting like themselves and scoring five runs on a sequence of singles. The 6-3 lead looked good, but Storm forgot how to hit in the third and fourth innings, putting up big fat goose eggs. Thankfully, the defence played like Donald Trump’s proposed wall, and didn’t let anything sneak through in those same innings. 

Storm scored a pair in the bottom of the fifth, but they didn’t even have time to breathe, because the Expos also remembered that hitting is more fun, and their bottom of the order started off a six run inning punctuated by a grand slam that allowed them to take a one run lead.

With the game and potentially first place on the line, Storm was able to manage six consecutive singles and four runs to take a three run lead. More solid defence in the bottom of the inning allowed Storm to hold on. There will be a rematch Monday night.

Storm    12   -   Expo's 9

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Expo’s	3	0	0	0	0	6	0	9
Storm	1	5	0	2	0	4	x	12

Storm’s batting drought continues against Isotopes

It looked like Storm’s offensive struggles were coming to an end against the Isotopes, as Duran launched a solo home run far into the night sky in the first at bat of the night. Storm added two more to score three, which was a more productive inning than most of their innings in the first game. The Isotopes kept it close with two of their own, but Storm held on to their lead.

The drought started to return in the second as Storm only mustered one run. The Isotopes had a nuclear explosion scoring six and taking the lead. Storm would not be deterred. They rallied and scored the max six powered by a series of singles as they nearly batted through the order. 

It looked as if Storm had finally figured things out. They kept the Isotopes to only one run in the third and blanked them in the fourth to carry an 11-9 lead into the fifth. The fifth inning has been an inning that has been good to Storm most of the season, but on September 5 it was a very bad inning. The Isotopes trailed 12-9 when they came to the plate, and while they didn’t score 9 like the Falcons had, they hit the ball well enough to force a pitching change and to take the lead 14-12.

Storm’s hitting drought continued and Storm was only able to score one run in the final two frames. Joey came to the plate as the tying run in the seventh inning, but because Duran had hit two solo home runs, Joey had to keep it in the park, which he did making the score 14-13, but that was as close as Storm would come.

Storm clearly likes suspense. First place had seemingly been wrapped up for a while, but with four losses in the last six games, including being swept in two separate doubleheaders, Storm now needs to win at least two of the last three games to clinch first place. 

Storm    13  -   Isotopes 14

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Isotopes	2	6	1	0	5	0	x	14
Storm	3	1	6	1	1	0	1	13

Falcons Soar over Storm

 Storm and the Falcons traded mediocre offensive innings until the fifth, when all of a sudden a monkey with cymbals could be heard amidst distant circus music. The Falcons hit the ball hard and the balls kept finding their ways just under infielders’ gloves, and just over outfielders’ heads. It was a tough inning and since it was an open inning, the Falcons scored 9. It was a lead they would not relinquish. 

It is interesting to note that the Falcons exploded after Storm’s only fan and scorekeeper in training left.

Highlights: Mills catching a ball in the outfield while doing a fantasy football draft

Lowlights: The fifth inning

The Falcons now hold a 2-1-1 record against the Storm. 

Storm    12  -   Falcons 16

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Falcons	1	0	0	4	9	2	x	16
Storm	1	4	2	1	0	4	0	12

Strap in as Hurricane Al provided a tidal wave of RBI’s!

Greetings sports fans Scoops Jokovitch here, intrepid sports reporter with you recap of a hot a dry game that is full of weather puns!

In a showdown that rained homeruns, the Storm "blew" away the competition, leaving the Surge with more than just a drizzle of regret. The first inning saw the Storm strike with a "thunderous" 6 runs, while the Surge could only "precipitate" 3 in return—talk about a "storm surge!"

The second inning was a "light drizzle" in comparison, with the Storm adding just 1 more to their "cloudy" collection while the Surge was left high and dry with nothing but "clear skies."

In the third inning, the Storm "rained down" another 6, but the Surge wasn't about to "throw in the towel" just yet, answering back with a "steady stream" of 4. It was a "waterlogged" inning for sure!

The fourth inning was a "torrential" affair, with the Storm pouring on 5 more runs. The Surge, however, had a bit of "lightning in a bottle" and sparked a 6-run rally of their own, making it a real "whirlwind" of an inning.

But by the fifth inning, the Storm decided to "reign" supreme, "flooding" the scoreboard with 4 more runs, while the Surge's momentum "trickled down" to just 2.

The final inning saw the Storm add another tsunami with 5 more runs, while the Surge was left "high and dry," unable to add a single drop. In the end, the Storm washed away the competition with a "monsoon" of 27 runs to the Surge's 15.

It was a game where the Storm proved they were the real "force of nature," leaving the Surge to "weather the aftermath."

Hi-lites included: A monster day of  8 RBI’s for Captain Underpants and a monster of a HR by a very angry Roberto!

Lo-Lites – A K for the Prez, A costly fielding error for a rookie SS and Dr. Suess unable to hit a cut-off man.

That’s it that’s all!

This has been Scoops Jokovitch, intrepid sports reporter

Storm    27  -   Surge 15

Boxscore
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Surge	3	0	0	4	6	2	x	15
Storm	6	1	6	5	4	5	x	27