Nick Usoff put on yet another offensive show, much to the dismay of the Juice.
The wheat and the chaff have moved to opposite ends of the standings. Some teams are jockeying for precious home field advantage, others are fighting to stay relevant in the wild card race, and a few are just around for the #loveofthegame. Yet these clusters will still cross paths over the next few weeks -- seeds will be spoiled, and the deck will be shuffled. The only constant is that everybody plays for pride.
Stops flex, sweep shorthanded Juice
ED BROWN, Bilabial Stops
Bilabial Stops 22 || 100% Real Juice 12 (F/4)
Garrett Herfkins put on one of the most gutsy performances of 2019, playing through injury with surprising effectiveness as the Stops upset the Juice in a sweep.
The first pitch of this two-game series was driven into center field for a double by Ed Brown off of opposing pitcher Matt Morris, and that set the tone as to how the day would turn out for Juice pitching. The Bilabials put up seven runs in the first inning and were feeling good until the bottom half of the inning. Garrett Herfkins walked the bases loaded and later gave up a grand slam to Morris who helped his team cut the deficit to three runs.
The Stops would end up putting up crooked numbers on the board every inning until a mercy rule was called after four innings. Brown and Usoff combining for four home runs and 17 RBIs on the game, distancing themselves from the pack in the batting title races.
Bilabial Stops 13 || 100% Real Juice 9 Adam Brickett delivers in game two for the Juice.
In the second game of the series the Bilabials were confident, knowing their ace was on the hill, but Brown just could not find the strike zone to save his life. He ended up walking in a run and would have surrendered more if not for a stellar fantastic play in center field by former track star and Boston native, Nick Usoff.
Adam Brickett would take the mound for the Juice in an attempt to suppress the Bilabial offense. Bash Brothers Brown and Usoff had other ideas, picking up right where they left off with a leadoff single and then a towering shot to left field by Usoff. The Stops wound up scoring five in the inning, with hopes their ace could settle down on the hill.
Ed Brown some more.
This was not the case, as Brown wound up walking 15 on the day and allowed 9 of them to score. Luckily the Bilabial offense was relentless and scored 13 on the day. Brown’s on field persona was in full form this Sunday with a lot of visible emotion, conflict, yells and wiffleballs flung into the sky, but hey you gotta #letthekidsplay.
Crows, ISO show off Pitchers Who Rake
ERIC SANFORD, Sheryl Crows
John Trupin made a grand entrance on a day that would be smiles for the Crows.
Sheryl Crows 10 || ISO Pale 9
Ah, the glory and pageantry of Wiffleball Sunday at Cowen Park on a gorgeous day. The Sheryl Crows took on ISO Pale in the second set of the games for the day. Game one saw a mighty pitching showdown between the Crows' John Trupin and ISO's Scott MacGowen that went a somewhat rare full 6 innings. John "Large Shohei" Trupin helped his cause by knocking a three-run dinger in the top of the first inning, but the Pales came roaring back and took advantage of Trupin's early command struggles and put four runs on the board.
The Crows' batters, while limited to a lineup of six, were determined to put runners on the bases and stormed back in the fourth inning to score four runs via doubles, singles, and some timely bases-loaded walks. The ISO Pale batters were also patient and determined to score runs, as the worked 11 walks off of Trupin and came back to make the score 10-8 Crows going into the sixth inning. Junkballer Trupin lived the phrase "bend, but don't break" which I can only assume is tattooed somewhere on his body: he walked the leadoff batter and gave up two singles, which made the score 10-9 before buckling down and getting the final three outs via soft contact fly outs and finishing the day with 155 pitches thrown, if the iPad is to be believed.
If Cowen Park was a barn, it would have burnt the fuck down.
Sheryl Crows 10 || ISO Pale 5 (F/4)
Game two was shortened by time and saw both teams dipping into the deeper end of their rotations, with Matthew "Never the Same Windup Twice" Roberson getting his first start versus Shaney Huddlehuff, who was mercilessly heckled by his young son throughout his outing, even going so far as to detail the contents of his father's wallet. Huddlehuff persevered through these dastardly mind games to scrap out three innings, surrendering a grand slam to Trupin in the bottom of the second inning. This was certainly a day for pitcher flexing as MacGowan hit three home runs between the two games. Score one for the NL, I guess. Roberson was able to keep the walks to four and get a K, as well, through four innings of work in 52 pitches.
The Crows were chuffed to pick up their third and fourth victory, which were hard-earned against a short-handed but dad-strength-fueled ISO Pale squad.
Knucks Gain Steam on Way to Mighty Status
DAN RISH, West Coast Washout
Brandon Wallach once again delivered on both sides of the ball to spring the Knucks into legitimate playoff contention.
West Coast Washout 10 || Mighty Knucks 7
The Mighty Knucks entered this series at 3-3, in standings purgatory. Above, four contenders; below, four rivals for the last playoff spot, with not much in the way of separation. The Knucks came out in a flash, jumping out to a 7-0 lead before the ink on the lineup cards had dried. The big hit was a grand slam to center by Brandon Wallach to cap the scoring, aided in part by 4 walks from Washout starter (me). The comeback was just as quick. Rocking a 7-man lineup, the Washout batted around before the first out was recorded, and the score was 8-7 after one on the back of six hits. And that was just about the offensive action. While Knucks starter Kevin Ryan flirted with but stayed out of trouble, there was nothing doing for the Knucks offense, which never brought 5 batters to the plate within an inning for the rest of the game. The Washout manufactured two insurance runs in the fifth. Andrew Winter led the Washout offense with a 3-4 performance.
Mighty Knucks 18 || West Coast Washout 3 (F/3)
WCW's #mood after a tough loss to the Mighty Knucks on Sunday.
Now 3-4, the Knucks needed a win. With #1 option Brandon Wallach on the mound, they still found themselves behind 3-0 courtesy of an Andrew Winter home run. But then they came to bat - and how! They dinked and they dunked, they doubled and they raked themselves into the lead. Now with a 6-3 lead, they got a boost by doubling off Jason Matt on a pop-up from Rish. The lead ballooned in the second, aided by some loose defense, either through unfortunate positioning or by balls through the wickets. Brandon Williams homered for the Knucks, and four players - Tanner Jump, JJ Nazzaro, Kevin Ryan, and Barron Tanay - doubled. Conor Roberson had taken the start for the Washout, and Andrew Winter came on in relief once the game was well in hand for the Knucks. The Knucks managed 12 hits and 12 walks; the Washout were held to 3 and 3.
Chicken'n'Wiffles Takes a Tough Blow From Hang and Bang
PRESTON SAHABU, Chicken 'n' Wiffles
Derek Jones reportedly snuck onto the field, entered his name in Gamechanger as a member of Hang and Bang and proceded to hit three home runs in his league debut before snapping his fingers and vanishing as mysteriously as he arrived.
Hang and Bang 18 || Chicken ‘n’ Wiffles 5 (F/5)
Matt Pearson slaved in his workshop over the last week and crafted some shiny new toys to play with on the mound. His arsenal was diverse, and after a few warm-up batters he was suddenly capable of rifling a strike when he needed one. He was not untouchable, as Derek Jones muscled a home run to left in the top of the 2nd, but he worked quickly and notched five strikeouts while limiting the walks and earning lazy pop-ups. Andy Siegel vacuumed a lot of those up with an extraordinary day in left field, ranging to the ball in all directions, even robbing a homer in the 2nd.
Sensing opportunity in this game, the Chicken ‘n’ Wiffles offense was anxious to get on the board. Unfortunately opposing starter Jonathan Mack played on that anxiety, and his own soft-tossing style was effective at inducing contact towards the swift and sure-handed Banger defense. The Chickens would take a brief lead in the bottom of the 1st by scoring three, but went silent after that and trailed 8-3 heading into the 5th.
It was there that Pearson ran headlong into the plot twist in “Rookie of the Year”. His control escaped him. Free passes ensued. Worse, his arm began locking up. Liam Munro came in to close the book on the inning, but not before a crushing 10-spot was up. Mercy followed.
Jonathan Mack delivers a pitch in game one on Sunday. Hang and Bang 8 || Chicken ‘n’ Wiffles 4
Liam Munro flicked his wrists, unable to see the ball in the evening sun. It sailed over the wall, and the Chickens had a 1-0 lead.
Despite this early setback, Spencer Minder came out firing in this one for Hang and Bang, striking out eight over six innings of work. Though his ten walks would sometimes get him into trouble, along with a small pile of singles, his defense was able to help clean up the mess. For example, Chicken newcomer PJ Siberell would usually work his way to first base, and every time it seemed he would be forced out at second on a fielder’s choice.
Michael “The Big Angle” Constantine returned to the hill, and showed a little rust with the following sequence: single, home run, single, home run. Alex “Too Cool for a Last Name in GameChanger” put out a good dinger, but Johnathan Stevens launched one into low-earth orbit.
Despite the early power surge, Constantine was able to settle down and goad the Bangers into popouts and flyouts over the next six innings, earning three strikeouts without issuing a single walk. Siegel and Siberell continued patrolling the outfield with authority, and Matt “Yeah Jeets” Pearson threw in a pirouette on a catch at shortstop.
Unfortunately all of this quality defense was in left field, while Hang and Bang figured out how to poke a few big hits into right. Greg Nyssen continued to be faster than he lets on, legging out several doubles and a triple over the two games, which turned out to be key for the Bangers in this one. Down 8-2 in the final frame, the Chickens put up a valiant effort and scratched out several walks, but it would not be enough.
