3 June 2006 - Ghost Running

ONES: 1st: H, 2nd: Geok, SS: DT, RF: Tru-Vac, CF: Sandman, LF: Swiss Miss
TWOS: 1st: Sam, 2nd: Horfun, SS: Indiana, RF: DY, CF: Kyle II, LF: Albert

Game 1
ONES 19 : TWOS 19

It's June, and many people go away/home during this time. Considering this is usually the driest season of the year, our 12 man count looked particularly decent. Pulling in the foul lines about 6 feet, we played Indiana Rules, removing the 3rd baseman, and playing three infield and three outfield.

Considering the randomness of the count, DT literally went 1-2-1-2 according to how people stood without accounting for defensive or offensive strengths, both teams look extremely even when they took the field. The TWOS open up the game in the second inning taking a massive 6-0 lead. The ONES replied immediately with a strong outing, scoring 8 runs to overtake the lead. The score remained at 8-6 for about 2 innings as both teams upped their defensive ante. However, the ONES did not hold the lead for long. In the fifth inning, Kyle II's massive bat came into play and he blew two long home runs past the Swiss Miss in leftfield. The Swiss Miss had a bad day in leftfield, he was like Clark the paperboy in The Benchwarmers. Even Horfun was beating him up. The TWOS hitting streak finally stopped in the seventh inning when they took a massive 19-9 mercy lead. Their defense held the ONES at bat, but we voted to finish the 9 inning game without resorting to the mercy rule and restarting. The Sun was a Monster.

The ONES decided to change tack in the 8th inning. Our bats were being shut down by the TWOS defence so our strategy was to pick one player and wear him out. We picked DY. H proceeded to hit about two million foul balls down the 1st base line and literally made DY run the Boston Marathon. From then on, the ONES pulled back the TWOS lead to 19-15. Everything went right for the ONES in the ninth. They stopped the TWOS from scoring at the top of the inning, and when it came their turn to bat, they dug deep. With H and the Sandman leaving in the middle of the ninth, the ONES only had 4 bats to rely on. Playing small ball, the ONES loaded the bases with ghost runners and proceeded to send 4 apparitions home to tie the game. With two out, bases haunted, the German Hoover only had to hit a single to win the game for the ONES. He wisely sent a blooper over Horfun's head, but out of nowhere, Sam hustles and dives for the ball and manages to pluck it out of the air for the third out. It was an amazing play to give the game a poetic ending. We called it a Draw and left it at that.

The Sandman was clearly the gold glove of the game, he made several of the most incredible catches in a game that was filled with incredible catches from all players. Even our German Hoover made a brilliant sliding catch that saved an extra run from reaching home. Horfun had the best bat of the game, mercilessly pounding singles and doubles into left field right out of Swiss Miss's range. She had an OBP about .8, the only times she did not reach base was on a play by DT and another one by DY. Kyle II not only won himself the biggest bat with two monster home runs, he also got his second MBP in a row. He also contributed to the Best Play of the game with his glovework and amazing arm. This guy is a keeper. Frankly, it looks like there are enough people to put together a legitimate FARTS team to take back the tournament.

Hmm, now that I think about it, the score is actually 19-9 mercy to the TWOS in 7 innings, and 10-0 mercy to the ONES in 2 innings :)

Best Bat: Horfun
Biggest Bat: Kyle II
MBP: Kyle II
Gold Glove: Ted, 3 diving plays.
Bonehead play: Dy drops a easy pop up at home plate.
DY play: DY running to and fro from Right Field to get H's foul balls.
Best play: Bert hits for extra bases, rounds second and tries to get on third, John at SS runs over to cover, Kyle throws a beauty towards John who jumps, catches the ball in mid air and tags bert along the base path.