Mad Batters Complete Unlikely Comeback, Defeat Cha-Ching 13-12

Box Score

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H
Cha-Ching	1	0	1	3	3	4	0	12	12
Mad Batters	0	3	0	0	5	0	5	13	23

 

Recap

SAND HILL ATHLETIC FIELDS (August 8, 2018) – Cha-Ching had defeat snatched from the jaws of victory in last Wednesday’s opening round playoff game against the Mad Batters, giving up five runs in the top of the seventh to lose a 13-12 heartbreaker. OOD still has a chance to redeem itself on August 15, as the playoffs are double-elimination and anything can happen.

OOD started off with some strong defense in the top half of the first inning, holding the Mad Batters scoreless as they frantically waited for the rest of their team to arrive. A quick flyout to Anthony “Root Beer” White in left field was followed by a single. After a lineout to Dewayne “Play Me” Barnes at short, a double failed to advance the runner on first all the way home. A quick groundout from Roni “Good Eye” Patrone at second to Sam “Cardinal” Buck at first kept the Batters off the the board. Play Me led off the bottom half for Cha-Ching with a ground-rule double to right-center. After a 6-4 putout kept him at second, Root Beer drew a walk. A strikeout was the second out recorded, but Wayne “Cleats” Robke took a two-base walk to score Play Me from second. Another strikeout ended the inning with OOD up 1-0.

The Mad Batters took the lead in the top of the second, sending across three runs on three doubles and a single. The leadoff batter doubled, and the next batter hit an infield single to advance the leadoff man to third. A ground-rule double then scored the first run of the inning. After a 6-3 putout from Lakisha “Cannon” White to Cardinal at first, a popup to Cardinal nearly got Cha-Ching out of the inning. Unfortunately, another double scored two before a strikeout ended things with the Batters up 3-1. Cha-Ching went 1-2-3 in the second. After a leadoff flyout to left field, a bizarre 1-6-3 putout was the second out of the inning. A questionably-low strikeout looking ended things for OOD.

Cha-Ching held the opposition scoreless in the third, getting them out 1-2-3 with two popups to Chuck “Slap Shot” Kubota on the bump and a lineout to Play Me at short. OOD cut into the Mad Batters’ lead in the bottom half, picking up a single run. A leadoff walk by Cannon was followed by a single by Srini “Cricket” Narasimhaiah. Good Eye walked to load the bases, and Play Me hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Cannon from third. A strikeout and flyout ended the inning, with OOD down 3-2.

OOD’s defense held strong in the fourth, only allowing a single hit to the Batters. A rocket shot was grabbed by Cannon at third for the first out, and two 1-3 groundouts with a single in between them were the other two outs of the inning. Cha-Ching took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the frame, grabbing three runs on three hits and a walk. Melissa “SuperSub” Craig started things off with a walk, and Cleats got her to third on a double. A single by Cannon scored SuperSub from third and advanced Cleats to third. Two straight popups to short kept Cleats and Cannon on their bases, but a double by Slap Shot cleared the bases for two more runs. A hard flyout to left ended things with OOD up 5-3.

This clearly made the Batters mad, as they piled up five runs in the fifth to retake the lead. A triple, three straight singles, and a double brought home three runs, and after a popup to Slap Shot, another single scored the fourth run. A putout by Play Me at second recorded the second out, but another double brought home the Batters’ fifth run of the inning. Cha-Ching responded in their half, evening the score with three runs of their own. Cricket led things off with a two-base walk, and after an out, Play Me hit an infield single that kept Cricket at second. A flyout to short kept the runners where they were, but then Root Beer smashed a ball to the deep outfield for a three-run homer to tie the game at eight runs apiece.

The Mad Batters were unable to get things going in the sixth, as they led off with an infield single. Play Me stepped on the bag at second, but was unable to complete the double play on the next batter. Slap Shot snagged a hot liner for the second out, and after one more harmless single, Play Me grabbed a pop fly to end the inning. Cha-Ching retook the lead in their half, putting up four runs on five hits. Cleats led off with a solo homer to the deepest part of the ballpark, and Sam “Righty” Killen got aboard next with an infield single. Cardinal singled to put runners at first and second, and after a 1-3 putout advanced the runners, Slap Shot tripled to bring them both home. Cannon grounded to the pitcher, but the sacrifice scored Slap Shot from third. Cricket then singled, but a popup to the catcher finished the inning with OOD up 12-8.

Unfortunately for Cha-Ching, the seventh and final inning was their downfall. A leadoff double for the Mad Batters scored on another double. A single to the outfield was grabbed by Cleats and fired home to SuperSub to nail the greedy runner trying to score from second. Another single advanced the runners, and the third double of the inning scored the second run for the Batters. Yet another single scored the third run, and after a 1-3 putout, another single scored two more runs, putting the Mad Batters up 13-12. Cha-Ching started off the bottom of the last needing one run to tie and two to win. Play Me got things going drawing a two-base walk and after a strikeout, Root Beer singled to move Play Me to third. Unfortunately, a 6-4-3 double play ended things for Cha-Ching, sending them to the loser’s bracket and a 13-12 defeat.

“Really tough game, gang.” Manager “Dread Pirate” Robert sympathized, “We’ll just have to come out of the other bracket, we’ve done it before.” The team then drowned their sorrows in tasty beer and snacks generously provided by Bob and Arlene Lindblom. Many thanks for the sponsorship!

The next playoff game is this Wednesday, August 15 at 5:30 on Field 1. Win, and we play again at 6:45 on the other field. Lose, and it’s season over. Come on out and support your OOD colleagues!

-Manager “Dread Pirate” Robert Giedt