By Dave Hoffenberg
Times, they are changing for Clearly Moguls. They dominated the league from 2014-2016, winning three championships. They were knocked off their throne in the 2017 championship and now find themselves on the brink of elimination in only the third round of games. It wasn’t even old foes Killington Resort or McGrath’s Sushi that led to their demise. It was the young bucks, OmyaRamas who handed them two straight losses. CM had beaten them five straight games but OR won when it mattered the most. They won the last game of the regular season, knocking CM from the No. 1 seed and then beat them in the playoffs.
The regular season game was all tied up 10-10 going into the seventh and then OR put on a hitting clinic, practically batting through their order and scoring six runs. CM had no answer and fell 16-10. Bailey Peters pitched a hell of a game.
CM won in the long ball category, with five over the fence but they were all for naught. Tall Tom Gilligan continued his web gem mastery in right center, adding two more to his total.
In the playoff game, CM built a 7-0 lead after three innings and then it was all downhill from there. OR woke up their bats, scoring 11 runs over the next two innings and never looked back. They won 14-8.
Peters continued his hot play from the mound and delivered four “Cold Beer K’s.” Brando Remick had a spectacular web gem for CM, running forward and scooping the ball one foot from the ground. Angel Shannon had one as well when he knocked a ball down, stayed with it and chucked it to first for the out.
The Karrtel finished with zero wins to cap off an imperfect season. They had a doubleheader of mercy losses last Monday night to end their irregular season.
McGrath’s Sushi blew them out in the top half and then Killington Resort blasted them 20-2 in the bottom of the double-header. KR couldn’t score in the first inning but then hit through the order in the next two innings, accumulating 15 runs. They added five more over the next two innings.
Earlier in the night KR took on First Stop Moshers Base Camp and the game was close until the teams took the field. KR made a big statement in the first inning with all 11 batters scoring, and a couple scoring twice for a 13-0 lead. FSMBC had no answer and suffered the mercy loss.
The Karrtel, playing in their first ever playoff game, did OK. They didn’t win but kept it close against OR. After four innings, they were only down 5-2. They each exchanged some runs and in the end, the Karrtel lost 9-4. They played some good “D” and turned a sweet double-play in the fifth.
Over in Killington, the playoffs started with McGrath’s Sushi versus FSMBC. MS jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first and FSMBC had no answer. MS bats cooled but FSMBC was just heating up. They got on the board in the second and took the lead in the third, 5-3. MS could not get more than three guys on base combined over the next three innings. They finally woke up their bats in the fifth with three runs to retake the lead 6-5. That fired up FSMBC because they hit through their order, scoring eight runs for the insurmountable 13-6 lead. They added three in the sixth to secure the 16-6 mercy win.
FSMBC immediately had to face KR and see if they could win when it mattered the most. Unfortunately for them, they most definitely could not. They couldn’t even score a run. Their bats fizzled but KR’s were on fire, along with their defense. They put 10 on the board in only four innings of play for the shutout mercy win. The only bright spot for FSMBC was when pitcher Johnny “Not So” Sharpe was and got Justin “The Moaner” Guth to suffer a “CBK” looking. Guth’s teammate Paul Blodorn said, “It was the worst at bat of the year. He moaned as the ball was coming in as if he knew he should have swung.”
SCHEDULE:
Wednesday, July 25
Semi-Final Playoff Games at Killington Field 5:50 p.m./7 p.m..
Monday, July 30
Championship Games at Killington Field 5:50 p.m./7 p.m..
Wednesday August 1
Game 3 of Championship if necessary at Killington Field 6 p.m.
FINAL REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
Killington Resort 11-4
Clearly Moguls 10-5
OmyaRamas 9-6
First Stop Moshers Base Camp 8-7
McGraths Sushi 7-8
Karrtel 0-15
