Laneave Walk-Off in the 5th Leads VIPs over Vicious & Delicious

In a match up between the two teams widely considered by kickball pundits to be the best in the league, the intensity level was cranked up to 10. Both teams wanted this one badly. 

Chris "Bundy" LeBlanc slides in safely under the 

outstetched arms of Erin Welch at 2nd base. 

The first inning looked promising for VD, as James Salgado and Joey Smith both got on base successfully to start the game. Bryan "NoShoes" Moore came up and was gunned out at first by VIP Charger Anthony "Rocket Laser Cannon" Williams. On the play, Salgado pushed the envelope and attempted to score from 2nd. 1B Patrick Jones relayed the throw to C Roger Jackson who applied the tag just as Salgado got to the plate for the 2nd out. And while Smith came around to score after the ball deflected off of Salgado, the threat of a big inning was over. The VIPs were happy to escape the inning with only 1 run scored. 

The Emperors Club employed small ball tactics in the bottom of the first to tie it up. Jackson lead off with a bunt single, followed by Williams. With runners on 1st and 2nd, Jones sacrificed by bunting down the 1st base line to move the runners over. John Laneave then drove in the run with a beautiful sac fly. Phil Barr nearly drove in another run when he sent a line drive into center, but the VD outfielder (sorry, don't remember who it was) made a great break on the ball and snagged it just before it touched the ground for the final out of the inning. 

Wilcox somehow keeps his balance while delivering a 

powerful pitch on Wednesday night. 

After the first inning the score was 1-1 and both defenses tightened up. Four of the league's best pitchers were dealing on Wednesday with VD's Jimmy Wilcox and Daniel Reyes matched up with the VIPs Brent Wentworth (3rd Person Alert!) and George "Sextreme Home-o Makeover" Kiriazidis. Both infields were on fire with Williams, Jackson, Jones, Smith, Salgado, and Dave Dixon having near perfect games... Something had to give though. In the bottom of the 4th inning, the VIPs sent up newcomer Ashley Forman to the plate with the instructions to "kick the crap out of the ball and keep running until they get you out." in an effort to start off the 5th inning with Roger leading off. VD countered this by giving Forman an intentional walk. From there, the VIPs decided to have Forman stand off of first base to automatically take the out (yes, seriously. We took this game to that level. I did say both teams wanted to win this badly)... This in turned caused some controversy, as there was a passionate debate* over whether Jackson should still be allowed to lead off the next inning, since he did appear at the plate in the 4th. (The debate extended onto kickball365.com the next day, as there was a thread with over 75 posts going back and forth on the matter.) Ultimately, Head Referee Brian Yohn, after consulting the rulebook decided that Jackson would be eligible to lead off the 5th inning. 

Noelle Walsh makes a catch in the 3rd inning.

It would end up being the difference in the game. Jackson lead off with a beautiful bunt single, and advanced to third on outs by Williams and Jones. With 2 outs and the pressure on, John Laneave came up to the plate. Laneave came through with a huge RKI kick that dropped into left field and scored Jackson for the walk off win. 

The victory was a huge one for the VIPs who were coming off a disappointing performance in week 2. With the win, The Emperors Club took sole possession of first place, and are the only team in the league without a loss. 

*For the record, although there was an in depth discussion about the rules in the game, both teams are full of friends and the respect they have for each other is great. Hell, half of VD and the VIPs play together on thursday nights in Norfolk. I don't want anyone to think there is real animosity between the two teams.