By DJ Dave Hoffenberg
Rock Landscaping vs. Flannel’s Fanatics
The Rock is rolling and nobody can figure out how to stop it. The latest victim was Flannel’s Fanatics. Rock started the game with two singles but then back-to-back outs, including a “Cold Beer K” to Captain Josh Stevens. They were still able to do damage with two more singles leading to a 2-0 lead. Brett “The Hitman” Regimbald came out swinging with a double and cut the lead in half after a RBI single by Nate Swahn. They had a chance to tie it but Jimbo Cassineri went down swinging for an inning ending “CBK.”
It was a 1-2-3 inning next for Rock including a sweet web gem cannon throw to first by Swahny to a stretched out Josh “Purple Guy” Souza. Ronzoni Hacker delivered his second “CBK” of the game. FF started the second off strong with back-to-back hits and got runners on the corners but Brando Remick hit into a double-play and nobody was able to score. Swahny and Hunter Pike combined for a defensive double-play but some big hits after by Rock put two more runs on the board. The bottom of the order produced some hits by Ronzoni and DJ Dave Hoffenberg but a running error by Ronzoni kept them off the board. Two big home runs by Stevens and Bailey Peters put five runs on the board to blow the game wide open, 9-1.
After turning a double-play, the fourth was not kind to Swahny who hit into one. FF held Rock off in the fifth and sixth but they held themselves off, too. It was uneventful except for FF Tim “Milk It” Blanchard, playing in his first game, who struck out looking for his first “Cold Milk K” in his second ever at-bat. Peters jacked his second homer of the game, this time a three-run shot which led to a five-run inning and a 14-1 lead.
That became the final score after Purple Guy went down looking and FF only managed one more hit.
Dirty Mike & The Boys vs. First Stop Base Camp
Dirty Mike & The Boys broke their tie with First Stop Base Camp by beating them 9-2. They got a lead-off double by Collin “Dizzel” Clark but the next three batters got out and they followed that up in the second with a 1-2-3 inning. That was popular in this game because FSBC went down 1-2-3 in the first and second. They each scored in the third but a solo homer by Matt Littler broke the tie in the fourth. FSBC had another 1-2-3 inning and they both scored 1 in the fifth. Littler added another solo shot in the sixth and his team got two more to stretch their lead 6-2. They had a chance for more but Nate Gilman stranded the bases loaded. DMTB added 3 in the seventh to cruise to the victory.
Dirty Mike & The Boys vs. Flannel’s Fanatics
DMTB vs FF turned out to be a strong candidate for Game of the Year. DMTB started off going down 1-2-3. Regimbald stayed hot with a RBI single and Duane “Big D” Laughlin, playing in his first game for FF jacked a big two run shot for a 3-0 lead. Jordan “JT” Tolar led off the second with a solo shot to get his team on the board and then held FF scoreless to stay within two. His team couldn’t ride that momentum because they went down 1-2-3 in the third including a “CBK” from Nick “Hebrew Hammer” Davis. Ricky Robair and Pike scored to stretch the FF lead 5-1. Littler sent one deep to bring his team to 5-2. Cassineri likes variety with his CBK’s and added one looking to start off a 1-2-3 inning for FF.
DMTB inched closer by getting one back in the fifth but Davis stranded runners on the corners, hitting into an inning ending double-play.
FF again had no answer going down 1-2-3.
DMTB took their first lead of the game (6-5) after pitcher Dirty Mike Davis drove in two and Littler one. With one swing of the bat, Robair tied it up 6-6 after six. DMTB couldn’t ride their momentum and suffered a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh.
The bottom of the seventh was crazy! Dirty Mike intentionally walked Big D. After a fly out by Cassineri, Ronnie Crosby gets a single but Big D tries to stretch that by going to third. Dirty Mike lived up to that moniker by faking a throw to second base and getting Big D for a big out at third. FF managed to load the bases with a two-out rally but Ronzoni flew out to send the game to the first extra innings of the season.
DMTB got two runners on but couldn’t get them home. After not running one out to first base in his first at-bat, Cliff Aker did in the eighth and it paid dividends as he was barely safe. Ronzoni came in as the pinch runner for Aker. With one out, Dirty Mike intentionally walked Robair to get to Pike who hit it down the pike for what turned out to be the game winning RBI (7-6). Ronzoni was running to third and Littler flipped it to the third baseman but it sailed over his head and out of bounds, allowing Ronzoni to score the winning run. As soon as that ball went over, Ronzoni came home with his arms raised. It was redemption for him after he flied out in the seventh.
