Saved by the Balls are halfway through their second season, and have yet to earn their first win. Jon Hund and the squad are determined to change that, so he put in a call to a man who knows a thing or two about winning kickball games, JFK Head Coach Bryan Freed. Freed joined a SbtB practice prior to week 6 and gave the team some helpful tips and training techniques. The training appeared to have had an immediate impact as Saved by the Balls held 'Springa to a 3-3 tie after two innings. The wheels fell off in the 3rd inning though, as Rumspringa dropped 6 runs on the overmatched SbtB team. So, no win #1 for the Balls, but they definitely made Rumspringa sweat.
The Emperors Club 6, Chicken Tetrazzini 3
The VIPs had little trouble getting on base against CT as they kicked over .500 for the game. But the Angry Birds did a good job of getting out of the jams with minimal damage. In fact, The Emperors Club never scored more than 2 runs in any inning despite having 13 base runners on. This would be important because before all was said and done, Tetrazzini would make a game out of it. Headed into the bottom of the 5th, the score was 6-1. Chicken Tetrazzini put together a nice rally and scored a couple of runs, but they ran out of outs, and the VIPs came away with the win... The player of the game was the VIPs John Laneave. With his family in attendance, including newborn Madison, Laneave went 2 for 2 and drove in 2 runs. (Sidenote: The VIPs are officially the league's "old" team. Our sideline was full of little kids and dogs. Luckie's was not full of VIPs. Haha. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It's just what it is.)
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| "I run this shit." |
There were conflicting reports that came into the commissioner's office about this game, which was called after the 4th inning due to time. There was a claim that the game started late because the refs were late, while another claims was that it was due to prolonged JFK warm ups. (The NKotB refs had the game listed with a 6:34 PM start time). I do know from personal experience that JFK does prefer to play at a slower pace (anyone remember playing kickball until nearly midnight in the Spring 2010 finals?), so any late start time would not benefit their style. And in this case, it really did hurt, as Moose Knuckles pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Peninsula history. Up until this point in history, there were only two teams who could make the claim that they beat JFK; the VIPs and VD. Moose Knuckles joined that exclusive club by scoring 2 late runs in the fourth inning to break open a 2-2 tie. With the time limit expiring, JFK was not able to get up again in the 5th. It will be great to see if these two teams will be matched up again in the tournament.
Chubby Gangsters 6, New Kickheads 3
This would be the first time NKotB would get a shot at a top 10 team, and they were looking to show the world that they belong in the conversation when it comes to contenders for the Wentworth Trophy. The Gangsters on the other hand, have been in the position of being the league's doormats before. But they've worked hard to improve and they have earned one of the best records in the league to this point... They came out strong in the first inning and scored 3 runs to build a 3-1 lead. But the NKotB offense is an explosive one and they would come back in the 3rd to tie it up. Khalid Nelson, Manny Anderson, and Jenn Epps lead the charge, and it looked like NKotB had all the momentum... But the Gangbangers were not to be beat. They took advantage of a couple of Kickhead mistakes in the 4th, scored 3 more runs and then held on for the victory.
5 O'Clockers 17, Foul Balls 1
Have mercy! Maybe it's time to stop referring to the Clockers vs. Foul Balls as a rivalry, as these games are no longer competitive... The Clockers had a perfect game going though the first four innings, before Jeff White came out of the bullpen and promptly allowed a run to score... In other game notes: Kristen Pauley often complains about feeling neglected by her husband Jeff Pauley during games. As a tribute to his loving wife, Jeff kicked his first ever home run and dedicated it to Kristen. I can't think of anything more romantic.
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| Former Foul Ball Jason Kidd battles Jen Nardi in RPS. |
After a shocking upset in their 6:30 game, Just For Kicks had to bounce back against a plucky JKI team. Jiminy Kick-It played solid defense and held the prolific JFK offense to only 4 runs. but they couldn't find a way to penetrate the veteran defense. Still a competitive 4-0 loss to JFK is a sign of good things to come for the Crickets.
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| WTF? There is a lot going on here... |
The highly anticipated matchup between former teammates went the way of the Kickheads. The athletic NKotB team jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but Battlestar kept chipping away, lead by the aggressive baserunning of captain Andy Tapley who was really cutting the wind with his hands as he sprinted from base to base. BB was able to cut the lead to 4-2, before the Kickheads put a couple more runs on the board and put the game away. Captain Amanda Hassell was really happy that her team was able to come out on top in this match, and she partied like a champion at Luckie's.
Jagernauts 8, Jiminy Kick-It 0
JKI's 2nd game of the night wasn't as close, as the Jagers took advantage of several defensive miscues and cruised to the win. Check out Justin Littell's recap for more details.
Vicious & Delicious 20, Off in the Corner 0
Good lord. A lot of teams have beat Off in the Corner this season, but none have beaten Off in the Corner as rigorously as Vicious & Delicious did on Wednesday. They were relentless in piling the runs on the overmatched OitC.
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| Wade Brock and Jim Cicero were shell-shocked at Luckie's afterwards. |
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