By DJ Dave Hoffenberg
Killington Resort remained perfect and clinched the number one playoff seed with two hard-fought victories. First up was Clearly Moguls. Runs were at a premium in this game with both pitchers — K.R’s Matt Kinsman and C.M’s “Ronzoni Hacker” — solid. C.M. led off and put runners on the corners but stranded them there. Kinsman jacked a solo home run to put his team on the board first, proving he can do it with his bat, too. C.M. loaded the bases in the second inning, but once again stranded the runners, this time after “DJ” Dave Hoffenberg flew out to left. K.R. went scoreless in the second and saw Kyle “Famous” Amos suffer a “Cold Beer K.”
C.M. remained flat and could not get anything going and suffered their first “CBK”with Jackie “Blue” Livesey going down and out. The same could be said for K.R. in their third with Phil Dwyer chalking up a “CBK.”C.M. finally got things going in the fourth, scoring four, off Tucker “Roadrunner” Zink and Ronzoni singles and a double by Angel Shannon. They had a chance for more but “DJ” Dave went down swinging for a big “CBK.”. Amos made up for that “CBK” with a solo home run to cut the lead in half, 4-2. Someone added a “CBK” though, and that was Justin Guth. C.M. quickly put two runners on in the fifth but left them there with fly outs. K.R. tied it up 4-4 after Greg McClallen doubled. Kinsman was just shy of his second home run but Zink made a running, jumping web-gem catch at the fence for a big out. C.M. went down 1-2-3 in the sixth and K.R. followed suit.
“Ronzoni” led off the seventh with a single and “DJ” Dave could only follow suit from his last at bat and suffered his second “CBK” of the game. It was the first time in team history that he recorded two “CBKs” in one game. C.M. was able to load the bases and Will “The Retiring Thrill” Burdick had a nice looking sac to score “Ronzoni” and give his team a slim 5-4 lead. Brett “The Wrong Inning Hitman” Regimbald had the chance to play the hero but just missed the grand slam after Matt Peters made the crucial catch in right. In the bottom of the seventh, Guth grounded out to Ronzoni for out number one. A costly throwing error put Chandler “K.O.S.” Burgess on second and he scored the tying run off a Peters single. Ian Smith flew out and C.M. was one out away from sending this to extra innings but could not get Dwyer out this time. He hit a walk-off game winning single.
The next game saw Max Team and McGrath’s Sushi with a similar battle. Just like C.M., Max Team got all their runs in one inning after starting out flat. M.S. got a run in the second and third for a 2-0 lead. M.T. woke up the bats in their third with a singles hit parade to take the lead 5-2. They had a chance for more but Max “Apparently Living in a Land Down Under” Rowe struck out for a big inning ending “CBK.” “Bus” Bob Schaffner suffered one for M.S. in the fourth and although they put runners on the corners, the score remained the same. It also stayed the same after M.T. failed just the same. Schaffner made up for that K in the fifth with a two run single and fellow team veteran Jamie Rameau drove in two as well with a nice looking sac to give M.S. a 6-5 lead. M.T. was done with scoring but not done with “CBKs” as Dan Boute and Tyler Lysakowski each suffered one. M.S. secured the win in the fifth but did add two in the sixth for the 8-5 win.
Outback Pizza finally got back in the win column with a hard fought battle against the OmyaRamas. Coach Rob “Rambo” Ranberg said, “Good team win. We never fell behind but it was close.” It was close indeed, 12-9. They may have won the game but they lost the “CBK” battle 4-0. O.R. jumped out to a 2-0 lead that the Outback quickly erased 3-2 but did see Justin Whittaker lead off the game with a “CBK.” John “Mr. Clean” Ralston suffered one in the second but his team managed to stretch their lead 7-2. They had a chance for a lot more but Alexis “Not The Queen” King flew out with the bases loaded to end the inning. O.R. put together a nice inning in the third to cut the lead to one, 7-6. The Outback made it 8-6 after Matt “The Big 50” Anderson overcame pre-birthday jitters to score a run and then got another from Max “Comeback King” Elles for a 9-6 lead. O.R. would not go away and cut the lead to one again in the fifth 9-8. Scooter Watelet had a nice looking sac in the sixth and King drove in a run to stretch their lead 12-8 but did suffer another “CBK,” this time from Evan Johnson. O.R. squeaked out one more run but it was not enough.
The Outback was not so fortunate in their next game as they got crushed 19-5 by McGrath’s Sushi. They did not suffer any “CBKs” so that was a success. That and “Big” Shawn Morse cementing his team MVP status with a nice looking sac for a run and a two-run homer. M.S. put on a clinic with nine runs in the first and batting right through their order. They scored in every inning. Their lone setback was Joe Montemurro suffering a “CBK.” Nate “Cookie” Cook was a perfect four-for-four with two singles and two triples with three runs scored. Cliff Melendy was also perfect with four runs scored. Owen “OhhhhhWhen” Murphy was hot on the mound in substitute pitching form.
Clearly Moguls got two wins against the Wobbly Barn in one night although one of those was in only one inning. These two teams battled last month to a 7-7 tie through eight innings of play, so on to the ninth we go. The Wobbly took a two-run lead when Ryan “Boner” Orabone and Zach “Wait-for-it” Steinhart scored off two nice looking sacs with one coming from Kailee Munden-Beebower. There was nobody better than Jackie “Blue” when he got his biggest hit of the season. C.M. loaded the bases and Jackie “Blue” hit a walk-off bases clearing double for the 10-9 win.
C.M. started off where they just ended and scored two in the top of the first but the W.B. tied it right up. Orabone robbed Shannon of a home run to right field in the second with a leaping catch as he crashed over the fence but held on to the ball. C.M. had a chance for more but “DJ” Dave went down looking for a huge “CBK.” This was only the second time in a 12 year league history that he suffered a CBK looking. The other time was also to pitcher Forrest Baker who apparently has his number. Although in Baker’s next at-bat he hit into an inning ending double-play. C.M. went up 4-2 in the third and the W.B. had no answer. C.M. hit through their order in the fourth and scored seven in the process to blow the game wide open 11-2. Four of those came off a grand slam by Judd “Beast Mode” Washburn. Zink was robbed of a home run in right as well but this one was by “RuPaul” Perry who made his return to the league after a four-year hiatus. Chris “Cycle” Kielbiowski scored to cut the lead 11-3. C.M. felt that a pitching change was in order and they brought in Burdick and then he passed the ball to Neal Giberti and they combined to give up six runs and the Wobbly was right back in it 11-9. Washburn and “Tall” Tom Gilligan made the score 13-9, giving C.M. a little cushion after the pitching debacle. C.M. put on a hitting clinic in the sixth, batting through their order to score eight runs and put the game out of reach 21-9. Jackie “Blue” had another bases clearing double as he likes to hit against this team. Hacker was brought back in the seventh and although Kielbioski blasted a three run shot, the Wobbly went down 21-12. Kielbioski was still pumped though, as he hit for the cycle which is a rare feat.
Killington Resort ended their week with a 5-0 win over Max Team. The highlights and lowlights were Smith suffering a “CBK”, Guth and Evan Anderson hitting back-to-back home runs in the sixth and Kinsman en fuego on the mound with the shut out.
Standings:
Killington Resort 11-0 (Clinched the number one playoff seed)
Tie: Clearly Moguls 9-3
Tie: McGrath’s Sushi 9-3
Max Team 6-6
OmyaRamas 3-8
Outback Pizza 3-9
Wobbly Barn 0-12
Schedule:
Wednesday, July 19
Clearly Moguls vs McGrath’s Sushi at Killington 5:50 p.m.
Outback Pizza vs Max Team at Killington 7 p.m.
Omyaramas vs Killington Resort at Bridgewater 5:50 p.m.
Wobbly Barn vs Omyaramas at Bridgewater 7 p.m.
There will be a post-game party at Outback Pizza from 8-11 p.m.
Monday, July 24
There will be playoff games at Killington and Bridgewater Fields at 5:50 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Wednesday, July 26
There will be playoff games at Killington and Bridgewater Fields at 5:50 p.m. and 7 p.m.
There will be a post-game party at Moguls Sports Pub from 8-11 p.m.
