Johnny Sharpe at bat, while Warren Bombardier pitches and Kev Duprey catches.
By Commissioner DJ Dave Hoffenberg
The pandemic season finally got under way. There a few adjustments the guys have to get used to but playing softball is not one of them, filling a team though, was a problem for one but a bonus for another.
The first game featured Defend Title Fantastically (DTF), the defending champions, versus Chinese Gourmet (CG).
The CG spent the off season well, recruiting a bunch of new players but some old players didn’t make it, leaving them with only nine for their first game. As soon as the first pitch was tossed by DTF’s Ronzoni Hacker, a sigh of relief came over the players as excitement filled the air. It took Ronzoni a little bit to settle in since he walked the first batter and gave up a two run homer to the third, Matt Lorman. Coach Bailey “No More Milk” Peters knocked in another with a triple and then scored to give his team a 4-0 lead. He then shined with his glove, getting the league’s first web gem. Tucker Zink’s ball hit off Bailey’s glove and then Bailey fell and caught it just off the ground. DTF tied it 4-4 with a two run double by Nick “Tied The Knot” Ackley and a two run shot by Taylor “Bash Bros” Zink. It was fitting for Taylor starting the season exactly as he ended it last year, with a home run. Ronzoni delivered the league’s first “Cold Beer K” (CBK) to Matt “Paps” Peters to start the second. His team followed with two runs to regain the lead 6-4. Tucker “Bash Bros” Zink, not to be outdone by his brother, hit a homer to cut the lead in half.
“Tall Tom” Gilligan got DTF’s first web gem to start the third and Paps suffered another CBK to end it. Gilligan then tied it 6-6 after Taylor knocked him in after his triple. CG shined again in the fourth with another four run inning, two of which came off a blast by Troy “Cowboy” Gilbertson to give his team a 10-6 lead. DTF could not get anything going the rest of the game. They could only muster two hits and suffered two CBK’s. One by Ackley and the other by Tucker which is quite rare. CG added three more runs to get the short-handed win 13-6. Paps suffered yet another CBK to give Ronzoni the rare three straight strikeouts.
It’s been a while since the champs lost a season opener.
The league has a new team with Rock Landscaping and they started out with a 13-8 bashing of team FCFSMBC. The game may have been closer if FCFSMBC could’ve had more than eight people show up. Maybe those two players would’ve helped them not strand the bases loaded to start the game. That’s not to mean Rock didn’t earn the win since they started their season and the league with a solo home run by Chad Lonergram and they had to immediately fight back from a three run deficit. The Crazy Eights practically batted through their order in the second while scoring those four runs to go up 4-1. That lead quickly evaporated after RL got three in the bottom of the second to tie it. FCFSMBC’s Sam “Locks of Love” Budusky scored in the third to regain the lead 5-4 but that would be the last lead they saw. RL batted through their order in the bottom to go up 9-5, what a way to make a living. They did it again in the fourth, this time scoring four to stretch their lead 13-5. FCFSMBC Captain Johnny “Not So” Sharpe scored in the fifth and Max “Down Under” Rowe and Bobby “Event King” Dederer scored in the seventh but it was not enough. Rock Landscaping got their first league win. The Karrtel was idle.
Standings
1) Chinese Gourmet 1-0* TIE: Karrtel 1-0*
3) Rock Landscaping 1-1*
4) DTF (Defend Title Fantastically) 0-1* TIE: First Stop Board Barn 0-1
* Qualifies for playoffs
Schedule
(All games played at Killington Library Field)
Wednesday, July 8: 5:45 p.m. Chinese Gourmet vs. FCFSMBC
7:05 p.m. Karrtel vs. DTF (Defend Title Fantastically)
Monday, July 13: 5:45 p.m. Chinese Gourmet vs. Rock Landscaping
7:05 p.m. Karrtel vs. FCFSMBC
Tuesday, July 14: 5:45 p.m. DTF (Defend Title Fantastically) vs. Rock Landscaping
7:05 p.m. Karrtel vs. Chinese Gourmet
Wednesday, July 15: 5:45 p.m. FCFSMBC vs. DTF (Defend Title Fantastically)
7:05 p.m. Rock Landscaping vs. FCFSMBC
On Monday, they got their first league loss after the Karrtel knocked them around with a 16-9 victory.
