Joey "The Big Hurt" Meucci hit several of 436' foul balls and one that went 520' fair.
The Juneuary phenomenon can be subtle if one is still in school, but it is quite noticeable in the regular rhythm of life. The beautiful brilliance of early June fades into the usual overcast and light rain before heating back up in July. Following nature, the league cooled off to only four matchups in the last two weeks.
Knucks Fly Together, Chickens Scatter Everywhere
PRESTON SAHABU, Chicken ‘n’ Wiffles
Mighty Knucks 16 || Chicken ‘n’ Wiffles 6 (F/4)
The Mighty Knucks in formation.
This one was rough for the Chickens.
Down a player, starter Matt Pearson and the rest of the squad ran right into the teeth of the Knucks offense. Barron Tanay and Chad Kebba each drove in five runs, and Brandon Williams nearly had an invisible batting line with four walks in six plate appearances. Opposing starter Brandon Wallach and his knuckler pitched well, only getting wild in a five run third.
On the bright side for the Chickens, Jesse Spearson held off mercy in the top of the fourth with an absolute shot to the left field power alley. He was also robbed of hits on several liners throughout the doubleheader, which each nestled in Knuck hands.
Liam Munro at the bat for CNW. Mighty Knucks 30 || Chicken ‘n’ Wiffles 5 (F/3)
This one was even rougher for the Chickens.
A rare pitching appearance by Andy Siegel drew comps to a number of relivers including John Rocker and Todd Van Poppel.
It did not help that their missing player was second pitcher Michael Constantine, which pressed the bullpen into service. To top it off, a steady rain began to fall after the first inning, making pitching even harder. Liam Munro gritted out two innings before his elbow tired, then Andy Siegel and Preston Sahabu made their pitching debuts as the ball became slicker and grittier in the wet.
Near-strikes and meatballs prevailed, and nearly every Knuck clocked a dinger in an impressive display of power. Kevin Ryan and Barron Tanay were much more effective at managing contact, leaning on their defense to polish off the victory.
Apparently, Steaks Eat Crow
ERIC SANFORD, Sheryl Crows
RBI Steaks 15 || Sheryl Crows 5 (F/4)
After a two week break since their first wiffle victories, the Sheryl Crows came out swinging in their first game against RBI Steaks, the longtime Seattle Wiffleball heavyweights. Perhaps it was luck, naivete, skill, or some unholy combo of all three, but the Crows loaded up the bases in the first inning and with two outs, Colin Bronsdon casually flicked a grand slam over the left field fence. It was not only Colin's first home run in his still-fresh wiffleball career, but also his first hit.
Colin Bronsdon crosses home plate after recording his first career hit, homer, and grand slam all on the same pitch.
"I'm honestly thinking about retirement," Colin said after the game, casually flexing his biceps. "You know, go out on top."
His brother, famously gritty fireballer Grant Bronsdon took the mound and held his own against the relentless lineup of plastic ball annihilators that is the Steaks' roster. Zach "The Night's Watch" Gottschalk made an incredible fence-destroying catch to save an early home run, but eventual defensive miscues extended the innings multiple times, leading to multiple 2-out home runs, which eventually lead to a late game mercy-ruling.
Mitch Barham's breakout season continues.
RBI Steaks 11 || Sheryl Crows 1 (F/4)
Beaten, but unbowed, the Crows stayed positive for game two, which saw junkballin' righty John Trupin on the mound. Some aggressive base running by Matthew Roberson scraped out a run, but the Crows were shortly undone again by defensive gaffes and too many dingers. The Crows were hungry for steaks, but ended up getting grilled themselves. Medium rare.
Riley Brindle grounded the Crows to secure the sweep for the Steaks.
