By DJ Dave
Playoffs are under way and every team was gunning hard for the title. Right off the bat, the Wobbly Barn put a scare in the defending champion Clearly Moguls. The game started out slow but ended fast and furious. Neither team could get anything going in the first two innings. The W.B. got on the board first in the third inning with Ryan “Boner” Orabone scoring. C.M. had no answer except a “Cold Beer K” answer when Dave “Out of Retirement and on the Mound” MacKenzie struck out both Russell “The Jinx Muscle” Dalglish and “DJ” Dave Hoffenberg. The W.B. went up 2-0 in the fourth when Ronnie “Trading Teams” Crosby scored and showed his speed with an inside-the-park home run. “Ronzoni” delivered his first “CBK” of the game and got Tony Lee Thomas looking, even though Will “The Retiring Thrill” Burdick told Thomas it was dropping on three. Clearly Moguls finally woke up their bats in the bottom of the fourth and took a 5-2 lead. Three of those were off a monster home run by Brett “Finally Left The Yard” Regimbald. The defense shined for C.M. in the fifth, shutting the W.B. down 1-2-3 including a “CBK” to Bob Lanctot. Regimbald was at it again in the bottom of the fifth with another three-run blast to make it 8-2. The W.B. would not go away and cut the lead to one (8-7) with five in the sixth. Chris Kielbioski knocked in two, Crosby three, and they both scored. Then they loaded the bases and you could see the nervousness on C.M. but that “D” came to play and turned a double-play on MacKenzie to end the inning. Tucker “Newly Engaged” Zink scored an insurance run to make it 9-7. The W.B. had their chances for their first ever win but ended the game stranding runners with the bases loaded.
Max Team beat the Omyaramas 5-3 and then had to face the “Beast,” Killington Resort. This game was not as close and they suffered a 14-3 loss. K.R. was all over them from the start, scoring six runs in the first and shutting them out until the fifth. It was too late at that point, because K.R. had already built an 11-0 lead and cruised to the win.
Speaking of cruising, McGrath’s Sushi did just that with a 16-6 mercy win over Outback Pizza. They were up 14-0 in the fourth and finally Nathan Brady Crain scored to end the shut-out. The Outback put a little scare into M.S. in the top of the fifth with five runs to cut the lead 14-6, but M.S. scored two in the bottom to secure the mercy win.
The W.B. and Outback found themselves in an elimination game last Wednesday night. Neither team wanted to end their season and this game was a battle. The Outback had a 7-2 lead through five innings of play. The W.B. was not only fighting to stay alive in the playoffs, but also to get their first win of the season. Something fired the team up and they scored eight runs over the last two innings. Eight was a magic number because they were playing with only eight players, which is a huge disadvantage. Coach Rob “Rambo” Ranberg said, “We tried to rally, we had them right where we wanted.” In the sixth they did, with runners on second and third with no outs, but Ranberg suffered a “CBK” for the first out. They loaded the bases but MacKenzie came up big, delivering a “CBK” to Evan Johnson and catching a pop-up by “Scooter” Watelet to end that inning. They scored one in the seventh but that rally ended quickly and they lost 10-8 and became the first ever team to lose in the playoffs to a winless team. Congrats to the Wobbly Barn for finally making it into the win column.
The fight in them stayed alive in their next game against Max Team but they did not, and exited the playoffs with an 8-7 loss. They almost pulled off back-to-back miracles, but Max Team had more in the tank.
McGrath’s Sushi and Clearly Moguls renewed their rivalry in a winner’s bracket game. These teams played three times prior this season and each game was decided by only a few runs. This time was a little different. The game started out with a home run battle when “Big” Josh Tarleton hit a two-run shot for the early lead and then Judd “The Bat is Still on Fire” Washburn tied it up with one of his own. M.S. never scored again. They had their chances putting a couple runners on base each inning, but C.M’s defense shined throughout. The home run battle titled in C.M’s favor. Washburn added a three-run shot in the third and “Tall” Tom Gilligan had a solo one in the fourth. “DJ” Dave recorded his first RBI of the season, driving in Jared “F’d Up is More Fun” Hall to make it 9-2. Washburn drove in another in the fifth with Angel Shannon and Regimbald doing the same to give C.M. the 12-2 mercy win.
C.M. immediately had to face their nemesis, Killington Resort, whom they have yet to beat this season. Matt Kinsman put K.R. on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the first, 1-0. Hunter Pike drove in Washburn in the second to tie it 1-1. Matt Peters scored in the bottom to regain the lead, 2-1, and then had a nice looking sac in the third and K.R. went up 4-1. Regimbald added a solo shot and the power trio of him, Washburn and Shannon scored to tie the game 4-4. K.R. put together a little hit parade and quickly regained the lead 8-4. Back and forth we go and in the top of the fifth, C.M. scored four to tie it again, 8-8. Hall and Hoffenberg singled in the bottom of the sixth but were left stranded with the rest of their team flying out to left center field. Kinsman and Nate Stoodley scored in the bottom to put K.R. back on top 10-8. C.M’s chances were good with the top of the order coming up in the seventh. Unfortunately for them, Kinsman was “en fuego” on the mound. First he sent Neal “Another K?” Giberti back to the bench with a “CBK,” looking. Burdick flew out to the popular left center spot, so all hopes were in Regimbald’s hands and bat. For only the first time since 2013 and only the fourth in a seven-year career, Regimbald struck out to end the game and punch K.R’s first ever ticket to the championship. C.M. finds themselves in the loser’s bracket and will have to win on Wednesday if they want a shot at their fourth title in a row.
SCHEDULE:
Wednesday, Aug. 2
Semi-final game at Killington field at 5:50 p.m.
Championship game one at Killington Field at 7 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 7
Championship game two at Killington Field at 5:50 p.m.
Championship game three (if necessary) at Killington Field at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 9
All Star game and season ending party at Killington Field at 5:30 p.m.
