By Dave Hoffenberg
They may be all alone at the top but Clearly Moguls is no longer undefeated. Their winning streak was stopped at 11, dating back to last year. They got to 8-0 this season by beating Slips Trips and Falls (STF) 15-2 on Monday, June 29, but could not complete the season sweep on Wednesday, July 1, and that loss stopped the perfect streak.
Monday they started off hot, scoring six runs in the first. Judd “Magnum” Washburn and Hunter Pike both knocked it out of the park to fuel that inning. Neal Giberti exclaimed, “Judd had the furthest home run I’ve ever seen to right, 50 yards into the weeds!” The next few innings saw good “D” from both teams and no runs. STF had one offensive inning, scoring two runs. CM poured it on in the fifth with five runs after Angel Shannon and Jackie Blue Livesey had big RBI hits. CM finished them off in the sixth with four more runs to get the 15-2 mercy win. Tall Tom Gilligan, Ronzoni Hacker and Shannon all had a three RBI night.
CM got to 9-0 with a 29-1 drubbing of Sum Boss Bombers, playing short-handed with only nine players. They only scored two runs in the first but those were back-to-back home runs from the “Bash Brothers” Giberti and Washburn. Will “The Thrill” Burdick made up for his first inning “Cold Beer K” with a second inning three RBI home run. Washburn added another bomb and CM batted through their order scoring seven that inning. There was no stopping Washburn as he knocked his third out of the park in his third at-bat, all part of a nine run third inning. Clearly Moguls put on a hit parade all game and all the Bombers could do was wave and watch it go by. CM scored ten runs in the next two innings to stop the bleeding and end it with a 29-1 mercy win. Every player on the team had no less than three runs scored and rookie Russell “The Love Muscle” Dalglish was “En Fuego” with three hits and four runs scored.
CM had a double-header that night and in the second game, they had a battle on their hands. It was STF who avenged their two other losses to CM and put on a hitting clinic. STF struck first with three in the first as Matt Kinsman, Colin Greene and Tom Johnson all scored. Brando Remick put CM on the board and Burdick cut that lead to one, 3-2. CM tied it at 3-3 after two innings. Bailey Peters put STF back up 4-3 in the third. STF went up for good in the fourth after the wheels fell off the wagon for CM. Their good “D” went away and errors came back. STF woke up their bats and hit through their order, scoring eight runs to stretch their lead 12-3. Ronzoni said they would not score again and he did his part, shutting them down with back-to-back 1-2-3 innings CM would not go quietly and in the sixth inning, they scored six runs to cut the deficit in half. That was all she wrote and STF got their biggest win of the season.
STF didn’t have a perfect week as earlier they lost to The Garlic McGraths but it was a battle. It started out ugly though as STF walked five batters in the first giving McGrath’s a 5-0 lead. McGrath’s seems to have STF’s number in the walk category as earlier in the season they walked sixteen times in one game. STF cut it to 6-3 in the third. They each scored in the fifth to keep the lead at three. Nate Mispel stayed hot, scoring his third run of the game, all part of a three run sixth to make it 10-4 Good Buddy. The father/son duo of Matt and Bailey Peters propelled a four run inning for STF to cut the deficit to two. Unfortunately for STF, they went down 1-2-3 in the seventh to end the game.
McGrath’s had a good week as they added two more wins with a double-header against The Killington Deli Team (TKDT). McGraths had a comfortable 4-1 lead after one. It was 6-3 after two with Craig Brothers and Jus Archer scoring for TKDT. Evan Anderson added another home run to his big total and with it, cut the deficit to two. Coach? Jamie Rameau had a big hit, driving in two runs in the fifth to make it 10-4 and then Anderson scored another to make it 10-5. The Subs got into it in the sixth and scored two runs to stretch the lead 12-5. TKDT could only muster one more run and suffered a 12-6 defeat.
The next game saw TKDT jump out to a 4-0 and then a 6-0 lead after two. There was no stopping Anderson as he hit back-to-back home runs with five RBI. McGrath’s fired up the hit machine in the third, scoring eight runs while batting through their order. It was their first lead and they never relinquished it but it was in no means easy to do. TKDT’s bats went cold for four innings but they got hot in the seventh, scoring two to tie it 8-8 and send the game to extra innings. The top of the order shined for McGrath’s as they scored four in the eighth and then shut down TKDT in the bottom for the 12-8 win and complete the season sweep.
STANDINGS
1. Clearly Moguls 9-1 x, y
2. The Garlic McGraths 8-3 x
3. The Killington Deli Team 6-4 x
4. STF 2-7 x
5. Sum Boss Bombers 0-10 x
(x = Clinched a playoff berth, y = Won the division title)
SCHEDULE
Monday, July 13
McGraths vs. Clearly Moguls @ Killington 5:50 p.m.
STF vs. Killington Deli Team @ Killington 7 p.m.
Wednesday, July 15
Playoffs begin with games in Bridgewater at 6:30 p.m. and Killington 5:50 and 7 p.m.
