Foul Balls got off to a good start in the Fall tourament on September 29th. They came in as the 6 seed and were able to handle Beers in a bit of a sloppy game on the big field. That led to a matchup with the 3 seed Mortgage Exchange. Foul Balls took advantage of Mortgage Exchange declining to pick up subs and starting the game with only 8 players as they scored 7 runs in the first inning. Mortgage Exchange had the bats going, but playing on the small field and some great defense in the outfield from Foul Balls resulted in a wire to wire victory.
The tournament continues on October 6th with one game against Life Church at 8:20 on the big field. The tournament is then scheduled to wrap up on October 13th.
WRAPPING UP THE 2022 REGULAR SEASON
Sep 22, 2022
Foul Balls wrapped up their 2022 regular season with games on September 15th against Misfits and September 22nd against Beers.
Both Ben Caruso and Rich Brown were unavailable on the 15th so Adam Durm made his pitching debut. It was a high scoring game which also featured multiple players being thrown out at the plate by Jon Weaver. Misfits loaded the bases in the top of the final inning while trailing by two runs before Adam Durm picked up his second strike out of the night to slam the door and take home a 13-11 victory.
The final game on September 22nd was less interesting. Foul Balls jumped out to an early lead and never looked back while winning 14-1.
The fall tournament will begin on September 29th and is scheduled to continue over the next couple Thursdays after that.
THE STRUGGLES CONTINUE
Sep 08, 2022
Foul Balls struggled to field a team once again on September 8th and didn't come out looking sharp against Fury.
Foul Balls did load the bases with the first three batters of the game, but only managed one run in the inning. Fury came out swinging in the bottom of the inning to grab a 7-1 lead. After that neither team did much, but Fury did a little bit more and managed to slowly stretch the lead and finally end the game one inning early by a score of 12-2.
The next game will be September 15th at 7:20 against Misfits on the big field.
A PAIR OF SHUTOUTS
Sep 01, 2022
Foul Balls hadn't been involved in a shutout since 7/10/2018, but that changed on September 1st, 2022 as Foul Balls played two games which lasted a total of 7 innings. Foul Balls was shorthanded, but managed to find several subs and came out swinging against El Gato. They put up 5 in the 1st, 4 in the 2nd, and 5 in the 3rd. Meanwhile El Gato's colletion of subs was unable to get anything going. Somehow those numbers added up to 15 in Rob's mind and the game ended after four innings with Foul Balls leading 14-0.
Foul Balls had to swap out 3 players for different subs in the second game against Life Church and it did not go well. Foul Balls couldn't get hits and Life Church smoked the ball. Foul Balls only sent 12 batters to the plate over three innings and Life Church pushed their 20th run across in the bottom of the 3rd with no outs to end the game.
Foul Balls will take on Fury at 6:20 on September 8th on the big field.
MORE SOFTBALL
Aug 25, 2022
Foul Balls and Whiskey Business closed out the August 25th slate on the small field.
Foul Balls got out to an early lead, but took a hit when Andy Hahn got hurt running the bases in the bottom of the first inning. Things progressed in typical small field fashion with both teams getting a run or two per inning and Foul Balls continued to lead throughout. Andy continued to play hurt and came up with a big two out hit off the wall to drive in two runs in the 4th inning. Foul Balls were able to stretch the lead to 11-4 after 5 and then hung on over the final two innings as Whiskey made a charge. Whiskey closed the score to 11-10 with runners on 2nd and 3rd before grounding out to end the game.
Rich Brown was 4-4 at the top of the lineup and made a spectacular play up the middle at second base. Mo Peterson was 3-3 with a walk and 4 RBIs right behind Rich.
Foul Balls is scheduled for a doubleheader on September 1st. The first game will be at 7:20 on the small field against El Gato and then they'll move to the big field against Life Church at 8:20.
NANCY DUCKED US
Aug 18, 2022
Surprisingly that headline is not an autocorrect based on a questionable call costing Foul Balls a game. Just one week after insulting the team's official beer, when Foul Balls and The Family took to the big field on August 18th Nancy was nowhere to be found.
The Family was forced to play about half the game with only 8 or 9 players. Foul Balls was unable to capitalize on that and managed to trail by 6 runs heading into the bottom of the 4th inning. Foul Balls managed to put together a two out rally and draw within one. At that point the bats cooled off for the Family and Foul Balls strung a bunch of hits together in the 6th inning and eventually won 16-13.
The next game is August 25th at 8:20 against Whiskey Business on the small field.
NANCY THINKS SHE'S TOO GOOD FOR HAMM'S
Aug 11, 2022
Foul Balls came into week 3 feeling good after a dominating win in week 2. Their opponent on August 11th was the defending league champions, Mortgage Exchange. Mortgage Exchange started out strong with a combination of well placed and hard hit ground balls as well as several pop ups which were perfectly measured to fall between the infielders and outfielders. By the bottom of the third inning Foul Balls was trailing 11-2, with both of those runs coming from Wyatt Buzzard's home run. Foul Balls did rally a bit in the 3rd and 4th, but Mortgage Exchange kept scoring and eventually time ran out during the sixth inning with Foul Balls losing by a score of 16-10.
Following the game some team members were conversing in the parking lot when Nancy drove up and stopped to join. She asked if anyone had a beer for her and then proceeded to insult the Foul Balls franchise by turning down an ice cold Hamm's. The next opportunity for Nancy to let us know that she's better than us will be August 18th at 6:20 when Foul Balls squares off against The Family on the big diamond.
GETTING OFF THE GLOW TRAIN
Aug 04, 2022
Foul Balls took the field on August 4th against All In with a possibly record breaking crowd looking on. Seven humans and one dog came out to support four different players. Foul Balls came into the game looking for revenge against All In after being elimitated by them in the Spring tournament. They were also looking to avoid yet another GLOW (Games Lost On Walkoffs) after suffering many in the Spring and yet another one in the first game of the Fall season.
Foul Balls got off to a reasonable start in the top of the first when Jeremiah Bolander came up with a two out double to drive in three runs. Foul Balls continued to push runs across and built a 12-2 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. They weren't able to end things early, but took advantage of the extra at bat to add on nine more runs and won 21-4.
The next game will be August 11th at 8:20 on the big field against Mortgage Exchange.
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN
Jul 28, 2022
Foul Balls got the Fall season going on July 28th against It's Us and it brough back a lot of memories about how the start of the Spring season went.
Foul Balls struggled to string many hits together on the small field. They got base runners every inning, but stranded 13 runners over the course of the game. It's Us took an 8-2 lead into the 7th before Foul Balls broke out and was able to tie the game with only one out and a couple runners on base. Unfortunately It's Us managed to escape the top of the 7th with the score tied and pushed a run home in the bottom half to hand Foul Balls a familiar one run loss.
The next game will be at 6:20 on August 4th on the small field against All In.
SOME OF US ARE CHAMPIONS
Jul 16, 2022
It was a short day for most of Foul Balls on the final day of the tournament.
Things got off to a good start as they grabbed a lead in the top of the first, but All In got it all back in the bottom of the inning. Foul Balls struggled to get much else going after that except for some walks and a home run from Adam Durm. All In took advantage of the park dimensions and snuck two home runs just barely over the fence in right field to account for about half of their runs. Foul Balls did fight back at the end when Adam launched one to the track as the tying run, but it didn't quite have the distance and he was stranded on first base.
Adam, Mike Peterson, and Jeremiah Bolander all picked up with It's Us following the game and helped to avenge the loss. Then they were able to defeat Life Church twice and end their Spring season as champions.
The fall season is scheduled to start on July 28th.
2022 SPRING TOURNAMENT: DAY TWO
Jul 14, 2022
Dave Haas made a surprise appearance at the ballpark on July 14th to watch Foul Balls take on one of the Life Church teams.
Life Church came out hitting the ball hard to grab an early lead. Foul Balls was able to string a couple hits together, but not enough to do much damage. Life Church stretched out the lead and threatened to end things early, but Foul Balls finally put one inning together and avoided a mercy rule loss. Eventually time ran out and Life Church took the win 17-9.
Foul Balls will start day 3 of the tournament at 10am on Saturday July 16th against All In on the big field. They'll continue to play until they lose or beat Life Church three times in a row to win a double elimination tournament.
2022 SPRING TOURNAMENT: DAY ONE
Jul 07, 2022
Foul Balls entered the 2022 Spring Tournament as the #10 seed out of only 12 teams after a rough season which saw them finish 3-7 while losing many close games and finishing with a positive run differential.
The opening tournament game against #7 seed All In wasn't a great start for Foul Balls. They had several situations where they made the least out of their chances and struggled on defense as well. The game was back and forth, but Foul Balls was able to pull ahead by four late in the game and hold on for the win.
That win meant an immediate second game against the #2 seed Fury. Foul Balls had another sort of slow start, but Fury doesn't tend to score many runs and Foul Balls broke it open with a nine run inning which was highlighted by a Wyatt Buzzard home run off the scoreboard. Foul Balls put up another nine runs later in the game to grab a 19-3 lead and was able to close it out early.
The next tournament game will be at 8:20 on Thursday July 14th on the big field against one of the Life Church teams. That will be the winner's bracket semifinals and that will be the only game for Foul Balls that night. Depending on the result of that game they will then start to play at 10am or 11am on Saturday July 16th.
GOING OUT WITH A WHIMPER
Jun 30, 2022
Foul Balls wrapped up the Spring regular season with a game against El Gato on June 30th. Neither team looked very good early on as the game remained scoreless into the bottom of the third inning. El Gato took advantage of a defensive miscue to grab four runs in the third and then Foul Balls temporarily woke up and scored 6 in the next inning to grab the lead. El Gato continued to add more runs here and there thanks to a bunch of bloopers, walks, and more bad Foul Balls defense. Meanwhile the Foul Balls bats weren't doing anything. El Gato took a nine run lead into the final inning and Foul Balls did string some singles together, but never threatened to tie the game before falling 15-9.
The Spring tournament starts on July 7th. Foul Balls is scheduled to play at 7:20 on the small field against All In. A win would mean another game at 8:20 while a loss would mean the next game would be on July 14th. The full bracket is available on the Standings page.
WYATT CAN'T LOSE SOFTBALL GAMES
Jun 23, 2022
Foul Balls and Mortgage Exchange squared off at the big field on June 23rd. This marked Wyatt Buzzard's first game of the year after missing most of the Spring coaching youth softball. Wyatt was also one of three Balls (Ben Caruso and Rich Brown) who came into the game less than 24 hours from helping guide their respective little league teams to a playoff championship.
The first few innings saw the lead shift back and forth as Mortgage Exchange and Foul Balls each chipped away. Bennett Brown made his third base debut and as usual having a third base coach meant that Foul Balls were gonna get thrown out at the plate. Jon Weaver was the lucky winner to end the second inning. Mortgage Exchange was unable to maintain any offense after the second inning while Foul Balls continued to add on and John Gasso finished things off with a 2 RBI single in the fifth to win 13-2. Ever hitter made 3 trips to the plate and collected at least one hit.
The final game of the regular season is June 30th at 8:20 against El Gato on the big field. The tournament is planned to start on Thursday July 7th and then is planned to continue on Thursday July 14th before concluding on Saturday July 16th. If there is rain then games may get moved to July 15th and 17th.
IT'S SO DAMN HOT!
Jun 16, 2022
June 16th was one of the hottest days of the year so far and Foul Balls was lucky enough have have a doubleheader scheduled against Life Church and Misfits.
The early game against Life Church was close throughout. Foul Balls scored seven in the third inning to briefly grap a six run lead, but Life Church immediately cut that down. Foul Balls scored three in the bottom of the fifth to tie with time running out, but wasn't able to finish it off. Life Church took advantage with four runs in the sixth inning and Foul Balls had no answer as they fell 17-13.
The game against Misfits was also a close one. Foul Balls led by four after four innings, but Misfits scored eight in the bottom of the sixth to go up by four. Foul Balls got the tying run to first, but couldn't get him around as they fell 12-11.
Foul balls managed to hit into a double play 5 times over a six inning stretch between the final outs of game one and the first five innings of game two. Sean Woodward was the leading hitter on the night by going 6-7 with a walk. Brad Kowert from Beers filled in all night as pitcher as Foul Balls dealt with a lot of missing players. The next game for Foul Balls will be June 23rd at 6:20 against Mortgage Exchange.
HOLY SH*T, WE WON!
Jun 09, 2022
Foul Balls was coming off three consecutive walk off losses on June 9th as they prepared to take on All In.
Things started slow for both teams, but Foul Balls broke it open in the bottom of the second as they scored 9 runs to grab a big lead. The big blast was a three run home run from Adam Durm. Foul Balls added four more runs in the third and continued to play solid defense throughout the game. The bats cooled in the fourth inning, but the damage was already done and Foul Balls was able to coast to a 14-2 victory in 5 innings.
Fould Balls has a split doubleheader on June 16th at 7:20 and 9:20 against Life Church and Misfits.
MORE OF THE SAME
Jun 02, 2022
Foul Balls arrived at the park on June 2nd to face off against It's Us in unusually good conditions. After weeks of rain outs and most games being played in some rain we say nearly perfect conditions for softball.
Foul Balls got off to a quick start and put up four runs in the first inning to grab a lead. Three more followed in the second inning and the lead was 7-3 after two innings. Things slowed down after that and Foul Balls was only able to generate three more runs over the final five innings. It's Us wasn't doing much better, but they were chipping away nearly every inning and they got the score to 10-9 heading into the bottom of the seventh. Foul Balls did get a couple outs, but It's Us managed to drive in the tying and then winning runs and Foul Balls suffered another loss while blowing a lead in the final inning.
Foul Balls is now 1-4 with all losses coming by a total of 5 runs and the last three losses all coming from blown leads in the final inning. The next game is on June 9th against All In at 6:20 on the big field.
EVERYTHING IS FALLING APART
Jun 01, 2022
The longest delay between games being completed and the website being updated is finally over as stats are now posted for games from May 19th. Foul Balls played a rainy doubleheader with multiple subs and picked up a couple of heartbreaking losses. The book was soaked but we've made our best effort to determine what the stats should look like.
Game one saw Foul Balls fall to The Family when they were unable to hold onto a lead late in the game. Game two saw Foul Balls take a lead into the final inning again before Thunder hit a walk off HR and made a lot of noise celebrating despite being a team of deaf guys.
Foul Balls is scheduled to take on It's Us at 8:20 on June 2nd.
FIRST WIN OF THE YEAR
May 12, 2022
Foul Balls took the field on May 12th against Beers in search of their first win of the year. It was a low scoring affair on the small field. Foul Balls started to put together a two out rally in the first inning, but it got snuffed out when Andy Hahn was unable to avoid being hit by a rocket off the bat of Greg Husa and Foul Balls had to settle for one run. Foul Balls got three big runs in the third inning, but other than that it was 1 at a time. The teams were tied at 6-6 through 7 innings and starting with a runner on base didn't do much to spark things. Both teams pushed one across in the 8th and then finally Foul Balls was able to hold Beers scoreless in the 9th and Rich Brown was able to drive in the winning run with a two out base hit.
Mo Peterson was 3-3 with a couple walks and Adam Durm was 4-5. Foul Balls have a split doubleheader on 5/19. They play against The Family at 7:20 on the small field and then against Thunder at 9:20 on the big field.
2022 IS UNDERWAY
Apr 28, 2022
Foul Balls got the 2022 season underway on April 28th against Fury. Rich Brown got the season started with a leadoff double and eventually scored to give Foul Balls an early lead. Both teams struggled to produce runs and Andy Hahn wore glasses for part, but not all of the game. Foul Balls was trailing by one in the bottom of the 6th, but managed to hang close with the help of a double play that might not have been the most accurate call. Foul Balls got the go ahead run to the plate in the 7th, but wasn't able to make it happen and ended up falling 6-5.
Rich Brown had a good night pitching as well as hitting. He held Fury to 6 runs and was 3-3 with a walk. The next game for Foul Balls will be on May 5th at 8:20 on the small field against Misfits.
THE POTATO CAKES LEFT EARLY
Oct 07, 2021
Foul Balls held a last minute and sparsely attended team meeting at Eddy's prior to the final game of the 2021 regular season on October 7th. After eating some delicious wings they headed to the field where Rich Brown let the team know that he was personally responsible for Arby's decision to take Potato Cakes and the Loaded Italian Sandwich off the menu. It left everyone questioning his judgement and may or may not have had an enormous impact on how the game played out.
That game saw Foul Balls scoring runs early and they took a 10-5 lead over Whiskey Business heading to the bottom of the 3rd. At that point thoughts of the questionable decisions from earlier and general hunger after all of the food talk may have started creeping in. Foul Balls started making some mental and physical mistakes on defense, stuggled with communicating, and there was one decision that went Whiskey's way. Whiskey also hit the ball hard all night and picked up 10 runs in that inning as a result. Foul Balls trailed 15-10 heading into the 6th as time was running out. They tried to mount another epic comeback, but this time Adam Durm didn't quite hit it over them mountains and his double left Foul Balls one run short of tying things.
Foul Balls finished 7-3 on the Fall season and will play in the tournament starting on October 14th.
LOTS OF RUNS ON A SMALL FIELD
Sep 30, 2021
Foul Balls and Beers had the bats going on September 30th as they squared off on the small field in one of the final games of the season.
Foul Balls scored in every inning and held the lead for most of the game until Beers put up 7 in the bottom of the 5th inning to take a 16-14 lead with time running out. Foul Balls made two quick outs to start the 6th, but hits from Ben Caruso and Mo Peterson were followed by a walk to Jared Heine which loaded the bases. Adam Durm stepped up and hit a ball over them mountains for a double to tie things and Andy Hahn followed with a two run single to grab the lead. Beers did get the leadoff man on in the bottom half, but a fly out and and a 6-4-3 double play got Foul Balls the 18-16 win. Jeff Brown was 4-4 with 4 RBIs on a night with many solid batting lines.
The final game of the regular season is a make up game on October 6th (Wednesday) at 8:20 against Whiskey Business on the big field.
ANOTHER SLOPPY WIN
Sep 16, 2021
Foul Balls battled Thunders on September 16th. This was the second week in a row that Foul Balls was stuck on the small field.
Foul Balls started with only 9 players for the first 1+ innings as Mo Peterson was stuck on the other field and there was one other unexpected absense. It wasn't much of a problem as Thunders went down in order in the first inning. Foul Balls got a run in each of the first couple innings but trailed going into the bottom of the third when they batted around to secure a lead. Each team tacked on a few more runs, but Foul Balls maintained a lead the rest of the way and the clock ran out with Foul Balls about to hit in the bottom of the 6th while holding an 11-7 lead.
Jared Heine let the way with the bat by going 4-4 with 5 RBIs. Bob Brabender was 3-3, Jeremiah Bolander was 2-2 with a SAC, and Butch Pizzino drove in 3 runs. The bad news of the evening came in the top of the 3rd as JonMichael Weaver injured himself on an innocent looking play in the outfield, but was forced to leave the game. Dustin Veteto was fortunately able to sub in and hit well, but Jon's status for the rest of the season is up in the air at the moment.
The next Foul Balls game is at 8:20 on 9/23 on the big field against Whiskey Business.
A WIN IS A WIN
Sep 09, 2021
Foul Balls had to scramble a bit to find 10 players on September 9th for their matchup against Pike as early September seems to be a popular time to travel.
The evening was full of mental mistakes along with some poor hitting and fielding efforts, but the game was never in much doubt. Foul Balls got 4 in the 2nd and 3 in the 3rd to build a lead and coasted to a 9-4 win. Adam Durm tried to set a record for most times being thrown out at the plate with a little help from his buddy Rob.
The next game is September 16th on the small field at 8:20 against Thunders.
COMEBACK KIDS
Sep 02, 2021
Foul Balls got back at it against It's Us on September 2nd. The game was somewhat of a rematch from the first week of the Fall season when the part of Pitches Be Crazy was played by about 8 guys from It's Us.
It's Us got out to an early lead as KC got his usual home run off Ben Caruso in the top of the first inning. It's Us kept it going in the 2nd inning and built an 8-1 lead. Foul Balls put together four runs with two outs in the bottom half and then added six more runs (five with two outs) in the 3rd inning to grab an 11-9 lead.
It's Us got the lead back and led 14-12 heading into the bottom of the 6th with time running out. Once again Foul Balls made things happen with two outs and tied things up. Jon Weaver had a shot to win it with a single, but made his only out of the night and sent to the game to extras. It's Us came up with the heart of the order in the 7th, but was unable to even score the running from 2nd. Somehow Foul Balls duplicated that feat in the bottom half and couldn't push the runner in from second which forced another extra inning. Once again Foul Balls held It's Us scoreless in the 8th and then in the bottom of the 8th they used a couple walks to load the bases before Rich Brown singled to drive in the winning run.
Ben set a franchise record with 4 walks in one game. Jared Heine came up one walk short of that, but was also 2-2 on the night.
Every game for the rest of the season is scheduled for 8:20pm. The next one is on September 9th against Pike Collision on the small field.
SWEEPING UP
Aug 19, 2021
Foul Balls played their second doubleheader in three weeks on August 19th. They started off by squaring off with CME Lending and ended the evening against All In.
Game one was a pitcher's duel through two innings until Foul Balls broke things open with 5 in the 3rd and 4 in the 4th. CME did claw back 5 runs in the bottom of the 4th, but Foul Balls stayed in front and added a couple more runs each inning to win by a final score of 12-6. Game two was close throughout as the lead switched hands several times early. Foul Balls got 5 in the 4th to grab the lead for good, but All in stayed close and had the tying run on second base when they grounded out to end the game for a 10-8 Foul Balls victory.
Highlights of the night included Jeff Brown going 6-6 with a walk, Adam Durm with a little league HR thanks to a misplayed fly ball and an infielder that didn't want to hit him in the back of the head, and Bob Brabender possibly touching home plate for the first time this year after being forced to save the pinch runner for an injury.
The next game is at 7:20 against Beers on the small field. Wings and beer at Eddy's to follow.
MUCH BETTER PERFORMANCE
Aug 12, 2021
Foul Balls and El Gato squared off on August 12th. It was a rematch of the early season game which saw El Gato take a one run victory as Adam Durm was thrown out at the plate trying to score from 2nd base on a SAC fly to end the game.
This game started well as Foul Balls collected 5 hits in the first inning, but some poor baserunning and unfortunate locations of those hits led to only one run. Foul Balls continued to hit over the next several innings and built a large lead. El Gato had one big inning where they got some hits and a few walks, but that was all they had in them. Foul Balls got their first two men on in the bottom of the 5th and Wyatt Buzzard came through with a SAC fly to give Foul Balls a 16-6 win. Adam was 4-4, Ben Caruso was 2-2 with 2 walks, and Jeff Brown was 1-1 with 2 walks.
Foul Balls will be back in action on August 19th with a doubleheader on the big diamond at 8:20 and 9:20 against CME Lending and All In.
DIGGING A HOLE
Aug 05, 2021
Foul Balls came back to the ballpark for the first time in over a month on August 6th. They were lucky enough to be scheduled for an opening night doubleheader against the two teams that met for the Spring championship.
Game one was suppossed to be against Pitches Be Crazy, but ended up being 3 good players and 7 guys from It's Us. They got off to a hot start and held onto the lead throughout. Foul Balls made it close after 5 innings, but one more burst put the game out of reach and Foul Balls lost 20-13. Game two against Life Church started better as Foul Balls got out to a lead, but they stalled out in the middle innings and Life Church got the bats going to eventually win 16-12.
The next game is August 12th at 9:20pm against El Gato.
MINI CLINIC ON HOW NOT TO PLAY SOFTBALL
Jul 15, 2021
It rained again on July 15th and in a continuation of a very strange season that meant softball games were actually played. Jewelers cancelled on Foul Balls, but Beers did show up to help Foul Balls wrap up the Spring season.
Things got off to a poor start as the skies opened up in the top of the first inning. Beers was dinking the ball all over the place and Foul Balls struggled on defense when they were able to get to a ball. The 0-7 Beers grabbed an 8-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Foul Balls got some back, but Beer stretched it out again in the next inning with more of the same from both teams. By the third inning the rain was mostly over, but Foul Balls struggled to get anything going on offense while hitting into multiple double plays and Beers maintained a four run lead heading into the sixth inning with time running out. Foul Balls held Beers scoreless in the top of the frame and the bats came alive in the bottom as the first 7 batters reached base and Foul Balls grabbed the lead just before the clock ran out.
Final score was a 16-14 victory for Foul Balls. JonMichael Weaver and Joel each went 4-4 and Mo Peterson went 3-3. The win makes Foul Balls 7-3 on the season and they'll likely finish 1 game shy of winning the division assuming Life Church beats Beers in their final game.
SETTING RECORDS
Jun 24, 2021
Foul Balls had an interesting night on June 24th against Whiskey Business.
I bit of rain prior to the game triggered Foul Balls to set a record for most beer league softball players to carry an umbrella to their softball game. The record setting continued during the game as they set another unofficial record for highest percentage of the team to strike out when 4 out of 11 players managed to do it.
The actual game was wild also. Foul Balls started out with a 4 run, two out rally in the first inning which was capped by an inside the park home run by JonMichael Weaver. Both teams were pretty quiet in the second inning and then Foul Balls put up 15 runs in the top of the 3rd inning to build a 19-2 lead. At that point the Whiskey Business bats woke up and they put up 9 runs to cut the lead down. Things were pretty quiet leading up to the bottom of the 5th when Whiskey Business needed one more big inning. They nearly got it as they got the tying run on deck, but Foul Balls managed to hold on for a 20-16 win.
The final games of the season are on July 1st at 8:20 and 9:20. Foul Balls is technically still in contention for the East Division title, but would need to win out and would need Life Church to drop at least one of their remaining games.
TWO MORE WINS
Jun 17, 2021
Foul Balls played their second doubleheader of the season on June 17th against Life Church and It's Us and the small diamond.
The first game against Life Church was a low scoring affair. Foul Balls displayed some great defense to hold them in the game and grabbed a 6-3 lead heading into the 6th inning. One communication miscue allowed a routine pop up to drop untouched and tightened the score to 6-5 in the 6th, but Foul Balls was able to lock down again and hold onto the one run victory.
Game two showcased It's Us swinging for the fences and recording several dead ball outs. The Foul Balls bats were hot early as they scored 4 in the first and 10 in the third to build a big lead. It's Us never got much going and Foul Balls took a 16-6 victory in 5 innings.
The next game is June 24th at 8:20 on the big field against Whiskey Business.
ONE BAD INNING
Jun 10, 2021
Foul Balls and Pike Collision faced off on the small field on June 10th next to a trash can that smelled like it contained a dead body.
The bats got off to a slow start for Foul Balls and so did the gloves as Pike took advantage of a couple bad errors to put up seven runs in the second inning. Foul Balls got four in the third and three in the fifth to make the score 9-7 heading into the bottom of the seventh. They were able to knock in one run and got the bases loaded with the winning run on second base before lining out to end the game with a 9-8 loss.
The next games for Foul Balls are a doubleheader on the small field at 8:20 and 9:20 on June 17th.
WE GOT TO EAT WINGS
May 27, 2021
Foul Balls did play a game against Pitches Be Crazy on May 27th, but there's not much worth talking about from the game. The game was played on the small field and Foul Balls only had one inning where they had more than 5 people bat on the way to an 11-3 loss. Everyone made at least one out despite only batting two or three times.
The highlight of the night was taking advantage of the only early game of the season by visiting Eddy's after the game for some wings and beer. Pricing structure on the wings has changed a bit, but they still taste good.
The next game for Foul Balls is scheduled for 8:20 on June 3rd against It's Us on the big field.
FIRST WINS OF 2021
May 20, 2021
May 20th was a beautiful night for softball and Foul Balls were scheduled for two late games against CME Lending and Fury.
Rich Brown took over the leadoff spot and pitching duties in game one against CME. He got the bats started off hot in the first inning and then cleared the fence for a grand slam in the second inning. Foul Balls had a 7-0 lead after the top of the second, but the bats went quiet after that and they didn't score over the next four innings. Fortunately CME was struggling to make solid contact off of Rich and Foul Balls still had that 7-0 lead heading into the seventh inning. Jared Heine tacked on two seemingly unimportant insurance runs in the 7th with a triple and a wild throw that allowed him to score which brought the lead to 9-0. The final half inning became a lot more interesting than expected which Rich lost the strike zone and gave up a bunch of walks before pulling himself. Ben Caruso came in and threw pitches just barely well enough to avoid walks and managed to strand the tying run on base for a 9-7 win.
Game two against Fury was more even throughout as the teams traded small leads. Dusty Jones handled the pitching in game two and did a good job. Foul Balls took the lead in the top of the fifth and stretched it to 11-7 heading into the bottom of the sixth with time running out. Fury got one on with two outs and the clock ran out. Fury then hit a HR which was the first of the game, but turned into an out because of the Andy Hahn HR Rule. Foul Balls would have still been in good shape if the home run counted, but it was an odd feeling ending to give them the win by a score of 11-7.
May 27th is the only game of the season where Foul Balls starts before 8:20. They'll match up against Pitches Be Crazy on the small diamond at 7:20.
FINALLY PLAYING SOFTBALL AGAIN
May 13, 2021
Foul Balls took the field for the first time in more than a year and a half on May 13, 2021 after the entire 2020 season was cancelled. Foul Balls also found themselves making their Thursday night debut after more than half of the Tuesday night teams did not return in 2021.
The first matchup of the year came against a somewhat familiar group of faces in El Gato. They did come with a large new bodies who came out swinging though. Foul Balls came out like they hadn't played in a long time and only put up two runs through the first 3 innings to fall behind 8-2 heading into the bottom of 4.
The bats got a bit hotter after that as the team put up multiple runs in each of the following innings. Foul Balls got the tying run to the plate with the clock running out in the 6th, but couldn't convert. Fortunately they left just enough time for one more inning to start. Foul Balls took advantage in the 7th and strung together some hits to climb within one run while having runners on first and second with no outs. Unfortunately a quick out followed by a long fly ball and a possibly over aggressive base coaching decision combined with a great relay led to the tying run being cut down at the plate to end the game. El Gato escaped with a 14-13 win. Rich Brown, Dave Haas, Jeremiah Bolander, and Jared Heine each collected 3 hits on the night.
Foul Balls has a doubleheader on May 20th at 8:20 and 9:20 on the big diamond.
2019 FALL TOURNAMENT
Oct 19, 2019
Foul Balls had a short run in the 2019 Fall tournament.
They split games against Eskimo/Pike over the first two nights before matching up with Pitch Slapped on Saturday morning. They built a 6 run lead heading into the bottom of the final inning, but Pitch Slapped got hot and scored 7 runs without making an out to end the 2019 season for Foul Balls.
2019 FALL TUESDAY CHAMPIONS!
Oct 09, 2019
FINISHING STRONG
Oct 08, 2019
Foul Balls held a 1.5 game lead in the standings heading into their doubleheader on October 8th. A win in either game of their doubleheader or a Scared Hitless loss would clinch the regular season title. Two losses would bring in many different tiebreaker scenarios with 3 other teams potentially involved.
Foul Balls grabbed an early lead in the first game against Jobu, but Jobu was hitting the ball in the exact right places during the second inning as they scored 10 runs to build an 11-2 lead. Foul Balls made up a little ground in the 5th as they cut the lead to 14-7, but they left a couple runners on and couldn't get anything going in the final two innings on the way to a 14-7 loss. The loss meant that Foul Balls had to play again at 9:20 against Drinkin Drunks in a game that the team had hoped to skip.
Foul Balls returned to the park after heading over to Eddy's for some beer and wings between games and the bats came out on fire. The first 12 batters reached base in the top of the 1st inning and all of them scored as Rich Brown smashed a home run to build a 12-0 lead. The Drunks hit the ball hard and kept the pressure on, but Foul Balls played pretty solid defense and limited the damage. The offense also continued to add on and Wyatt Buzzard decided to add a solo home run to lead off the 5th inning and make the score 19-8 which would become the final score. Jeremiah Bolander was 4-4 in the second game and 7-8 on the night. Ben Caruso was 3-3 with a walk in game two as both he and Rich ended up one hit short of a cycle. Every Foul Ball scored at least one run and drove in at least one run in game two.
The win gave Foul Balls another league championship in what ended up being a pretty competitive season overall. The tournament bracket will be posted today.
FAILURE TO CLINCH
Oct 01, 2019
Foul Balls missed an opportunity to clinch the fall league when they beat Jobu on October 1st, but lost to Scared Hitless. Foul Balls can finish no worse than a tie for first place, but Scared Hitless owns the head to head tiebreaker.
Foul Balls is scheduled to play at 6:20 against Jobu and 9:20 against Drinkin Drunks on October 8th. One win would clinch the title.
A NIGHT TO FORGET
Sep 24, 2019
Foul Balls got pounded by Scared Hitless on September 24th.
Bad pitching, bad defense, and a weak offensive showing were a bad combination for Foul Balls. Scared Hitless took their walks and pretty much crushed everything they swung at and the game wasn't close after the first inning. Adam Durm and Wyatt Buzzard did manage to go 2-2 on an otherwise miserable night.
It was a bad night for all the top teams in the standings as Life Church dropped two games and Drunks also lost. This leaves Foul Balls at 5-1 while every other team has at least four losses. Foul Balls has the opportunity to clinch the league with a couple wins at 9:20 and 10:20 on October 1st.
MORE WINNING
Sep 17, 2019
Foul Balls continued their winning ways on September 17th against Drinkin Drunks.
A really nice defensive play by Rick Gonser started a double play to get Foul Balls out of the first inning without allowing a run, but the Drunks answered by turning Rick's bases loaded line drive into a double play to keep the score 0-0 through the first inning. The Drunks plated three in the second inning, but used their HR in the process. Foul Balls answered by batting around to score seven runs and then added two more in the 3rd to make it 9-3. Adam Durm hit a solo shot in the 4th, but the Drunks didn't take advantage of their chance to hit another HR and Foul Balls was able to pile on in the bottom of the 5th and take the 14-4 win.
Dale Wagner made his return and went 3-3 with a couple runs scored. Josh Beard was also 3-3 with three runs and two RBIs. Adam was 3-3 with that HR and a walk.
The next game is September 24th at 8:20 against Scared Hitless.
UGLY WIN
Sep 10, 2019
Foul Balls came out flat on September 10th against Eskimo Brothers and pretty much stayed that way throughout the game. Fortunately Eskimo couldn't get anything going either which allowed Foul Balls to escape with the win.
Foul Balls used two out rallies in each of the first two innings to build a 5-0 lead. They only managed one more run over the next four innings and led 6-3 heading into the 7th. Wyatt Buzzard provided some valuable insurance with a three run home run and Foul Balls held on for a 10-3 win.
The next game is September 17th at 7:20 against Drinkin Drunks.
EPIC COMEBACK
Sep 03, 2019
Foul Balls finally returned to the field on September 3rd after missing two consecutive weeks due to soggy fields.
Things got off to a very rough start in the top of the first as Life Church pounded the ball while putting up 12 runs. Foul Balls only got one back in the bottom of the inning, but they did manage to hold Life Church scoreless in the 2nd before batting around themselves to cut the lead down to 12-8. Both teams had a quiet third inning but broke out in the 4th as Foul Balls managed to cut the lead down to 18-16. The bottom of the 4th also saw Rich Brown's frustration boil over in the form of a bat thrown towards the dugout which resulted in his ejection. Foul Balls managed to hold Life Church scoreless in the 5th and then Adam Durm launched a home run with two outs to tie things at 18-18.
With the clock expired, Life Church had a runner on base in the top of the 6th with two outs but decided to pinch run with a player who was in the hole. Foul Balls took advantage by walking the next two batters which caused the player on base to be called out when his spot in the order came up. Jeremiah Bolander led off the bottom of the inning with a hit and barely made it into 3rd on a single two batters later. After an intentional walk and a pop out, Dave came to the plate needing a hit to win the game. He drove a ball into left center which barely got over the outfielder's head and resulted in a 19-18 victory.
Dave was 5-5 in the middle of the lineup and Adam went 3-4 with two triples and the home run. Mo Peterson also had a big night with two doubles and a triple.
The next game is September 10th at 7:20 against Eskimo Brothers.
SO MUCH HUSTLE
Aug 13, 2019
Foul Balls and All In had an early season rematch on August 13th following a bye week for Foul Balls. All In built a small lead early in this one as they scored in each of the first two innings while Foul Balls failed to score in the bottom of the first. Foul Balls got things rolling in the 2nd as they scored seven runs to take the lead. They added on in each of the next three innings and All In was unable to do much more damage with the exception of two mistake aided inside the park home runs. Foul Balls ended up with a pretty easy 17-7 win in five innings.
Nobody had a perfect night at the plate, but Wyatt Buzzard hustled his way to two triples. Jeff Brown hustled a double into a run after a couple errors and also added a triple of his own. Dave Haas might be the fasted man in the world after his display tagging up and going to second on a fly out where everyone thought he left early, but video review has confirmed that he did tag up.
The next game is at 6:20 on August 20th against Jobu.
C-O-M-R-A-D-E-R-Y
Jul 30, 2019
Foul Balls got what's left of the band back together on July 30th after taking a few weeks off to celebrate their Spring Tournament Championship. Turns out it’s mostly a bunch of aging and injured dudes that still love to give each other shit.
The team picked up where they left off in the tournament as they put up 7 runs in the top of the first inning to build a big lead over All In. All In got a few runs back on a HR, but didn't threaten much other than that while Foul Balls continued to add to their total. All In finally ended things in the 5th inning with back to back home runs for outs and Foul Balls took the 15-4 win.
Rich Brown was one of the aging and injured dudes, but still managed to go 3-3 at the plate while taking the night off from playing defense. The team looked sharp in their new caps and jerseys were all updated with the new tournament star.
Foul Balls has a bye on August 6th. The next game is August 13th at 9:20 against All In again.
2019 SPRING TOURNAMENT RECAP
Jul 14, 2019
Foul Balls came into the tournament as the #5 after losing the Tuesday night championship battle to Life Church.
Game one featured a matchup with #12 Jeff's Fury on the small diamond. Foul Balls has rarely played on the small field, but had no issues on Thursday night as they won 16-2. Friday was an early game against Eskimo Brothers on the big field. Things were tight for a while, but Foul Balls pulled away late. That game also featured a confrontation between Andy Hahn and an Eskimo baserunner who got an elbow up as he was being tagged out. Andy was able to keep his cool and stay in the tournament while the Eskimo player was ejected.
Saturday started with what was basically a rematch as Foul Balls took on Pike Collision in the winner's bracket semifinals. Foul Balls got the day off to a good start with both the bats and gloves to set the tone for the day and put Pike away easily. The winner's bracket finals was a matchup with our buddies El Gato and Friends. They managed to defeat Life Church twice on their road to the finals (with help from Mo Peterson and Ben Caruso). Gato didn't have much going at the plate in this matchup though. Foul Balls didn't exactly pile on the runs so the game did go seven innings, but El Gato only managed two runs as Foul Balls pulled away and won easily.
Gato got Mo and Ben back in order to defeat All In to win the loser's bracket, but they were completely out of gas after a long day. Foul Balls got the early lead and Tournament Adam Durm came out for the second time to hit a big HR and pad the lead as Foul Balls coasted to a 15-3 win.
The team battled through injuries and constant heckling by teammates throughout the tournament as well as a beer and water shortage. It was all worth it though when Bob handed over the stack of 2XL shirts. Jim Vandy would be so proud.
2019 SPRING TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS!
Jul 13, 2019
SH*T SHOW
Jul 02, 2019
The 2019 Spring league came down to a matchup between Life Church and Foul Balls to decide the championship.
The tone was set early as a defensive miscue helped the first Life Church hitter reach base. That would be a trend as Foul Balls continued to give Life Church multiple extra outs in almost every inning. Life Church ended up with 5 runs in the first, but Foul Balls bounced back with 6 runs in the bottom of the inning. Life Church got 5 more error-aided runs in the second inning to retake the lead and was able to maintain a small lead over the next several innings. Life Church was able to put together one more big inning in the top of the 6th and Foul Balls was unable to overcome the 9 run deficit as they fell by a final score of 18-13. Wyatt Buzzard was 3-3 with a HR in the failed 6th inning comeback.
The tournament bracket has been posted. First game is at 8:20pm on Thursday July 11th against Jeff's Fury.
JIM VANDY APPRECIATION NIGHT
Jun 25, 2019
June 25th marked the final appearance of Jim Vandy in a Foul Balls uniform before his move across the country. More than 0 fans came out to witness his final hours.
The night started off well with a victory over Scared Hitless in the first game of a doubleheader. Foul Balls scored in almost every inning to build a comfortable lead and finish things off with a 13-2 victory in 5 innings. Jim wowed the crowd with a 3-3 effort in game one and his first appearance at first base. Dale Wagner and Ben Caruso also reached base in every plate appearance of game one. Mo Pete did his part by cheating his way to a "catch" in the outfield, Nancy caught him when he tried to cheat at the dish and called him out for stepping on the plate.
The nightcap got off to a great start as Foul Balls put up nine runs in the top of the first inning and went into cruise control. They slowed down over the next two innings, but a big 4th inning stretched things out and led to a 19-3 win. Jim had another great game. He went 3-3 including a triple with 4 RBIs and he finished the game off in style with a sliding catch in the outfield.
The final game of Spring is at 9:20 on July 2nd against Life Church. A win should give Foul Balls the league title as they would finish 7-3 and tied with at least one other team, but would hold the head to head tiebreaker over any team that could finish 7-3.
LATE NIGHT SOFTBALL
Jun 11, 2019
Foul Balls drew the short straw on June 11th and were forced to come out to the park for a 10:20 game against Jobu.
The game was close through the first four innings and neither team was able to put much together. Foul Balls finally broke things open in the bottom of the 5th with a six run inning and Mo Peterson ended things in the bottom of the 6th with a two run double that gave Foul Balls a 14-4 victory. Bob Brabender stayed hot and went 2-2 with a SAC.
The next game is 6:20 on June 18th against All In.
STAYING HOT
Jun 04, 2019
Foul Balls got a second look at Drinkin Drunks on June 4th. Drinkin Drunks came out on fire in their Opening Day match up and coasted to an 18-5 win. Foul Balls was looking to get some revenge and even up their record for the season.
The start of the game felt a lot like week one as Drinkin Drunks got a lot of hits in the first inning, but they only pushed across three runs. Foul Balls only got one back in the bottom of the inning before the Drunks added four more runs on a grand slam to push the lead out to 7-1. The Foul Balls bats came alive in the second inning as they recorded 12 hits on the way to 11 runs and a 12-7 lead. The Drunks were unable to make anything else happen over the next few innings and Foul Balls managed to turn a couple double plays in a much better defensive showing than Opening Day. Foul Balls tacked on five runs in the bottom of the 4th and held strong in the top of the 5th for a 17-7 victory. Bob Brabender closed things out in unusual fashion by bouncing a pop up off his belly for a 3-1-3 put out.
Andy Hahn and Dave Haas were each 3-3 with 3 runs scored. Every Foul Ball had at least one hit and had scored one run before there were two outs in the 2nd inning.
Get a nap next Tuesday because the next game doesn't start until 10:20pm on June 11th against Jobu.
RETURN OF ROY
May 28, 2019
Roy Rodabaugh brought the family out to watch his 2019 debut. Foul Balls squared off against Eskimo Brothers in front of the most fans they've seen so far this year.
The bats were hot early as 7 of the first 8 Balls recorded a single on the way to a five run inning. Six more hits in the second inning led to three more runs and even after a quick third inning Foul Balls held an 8-1 lead. Foul Balls slowed down after that and only managed 4 more runs over the final four innings. Meanwhile Eskimo was chipping away every inning. The score was 12-5 heading into the bottom of the 6th when Eskimo had what seemed like a huge inning, but only got 4 runs out of it. Foul Balls was able to shut things down in the 7th and avoid another big collapse to escape with the 12-9 win. Jeff Brown and Bob Brabender led the way at the plate. Jeff was 4-4 and Bob was 3-3 with a walk.
The next game is at 7:20 on June 4th against Drinkin Drunks.
PROVING THE DOUBTERS WRONG
May 14, 2019
Foul Balls showed a lot of character on May 14th when they showed up at the ballpark determined to end their seven month winless streak.
Scared Hitless got off to a good start in the top of the first with a few deep shots, but only ended up with two runs to show for it. Foul Balls answered back by getting the first 8 batters on base and building a 7-2 lead after one inning. Both teams took an inning off, but Foul Balls stretched the lead out to 14 runs after four innings. Dave Haas and Wyatt Buzzard both hit home runs in the six run fourth inning. Scared Hitless managed five runs in the fifth to extend the game, but Byrd ended things with the longest single of his life.
Jeff Brown was 4-4, Wyatt was 3-3, and Dale Wagner was 2-2.
The next game is May 21st at 9:20 against Life Church.
AT LEAST THE WINGS WERE GOOD
May 07, 2019
Foul Balls and Jobu's Runs met on May 7th to battle it out for sole possession of last place.
Things started out pretty well as Foul Balls took advantage of some errors and batted around in the first inning. The bats cooled off after that and Jobu heated up to square things up 9-9 through four innings. Jobu took a 3 run lead into the final inning where Foul Balls rallied with two outs to score two runs and put two more runners on base before falling short and losing 13-12.
Most losses are Mo Peterson's fault, but not this one as he went 5-5 and added some nice plays in left field. He did skip out on the postgame team bonding trip to Eddy's for wings and country line dancing though.
The next opportunity to drink Hamm's at a softball field is May 14th at 8:20 against Scared Hitless.
ROUGH START CONTINUES
Apr 30, 2019
Foul Balls came back after a week off to face an All In team who appeared to have recruited a replacement outfield outfitted in matching uniforms/pants.
The Foul Balls bats started off pretty slow and weren't able to improve much as the game went on. They did score at least one run every inning, but never more than three runs. All In was able to take advantage of a lot of mistakes by the Foul Balls defense and the umpire to build a comfortable lead and Foul Balls never quite threatened on the way to a 16-11 loss.
The next game is at 6:20 on May 7th against Jobu in a battle for outright last place.
OPENING NIGHT
Apr 16, 2019
Foul Balls took the field for the first time in 2019 on April 16th against Drinkin Drunks.
Foul Balls didn't come out of the gates crushing the ball, but they got some hits and took advantage of a couple errors to get three runs in and load the bases with one out. Unfortunately the rally died there and took any momentum Foul Balls had with it. Drinkin Drunks came out hammering the ball and put up nine runs in each of the first two innings. Foul Balls only managed two more runs over their next four innings and fell by a final score of 18-5.
Ben Caruso was 3-3, Wyatt Buzzard was 2-2 with a walk, and Dale Wagner was 2-2. Adam Durm had several defensive plays over the final two innings as Foul Balls managed to keep Drinkin Drunks from adding to their lead.
Foul Balls will take next week off to lick their wounds. The next game is April 30th at 9:20 against All In.
2018 FALL TOURNAMENT RECAP
Oct 14, 2018
Foul Balls had a reasonably successful 2018 Fall Tournament. It was a struggle to get enough bodies to play, but Foul Balls did have a full team as they defeated Stoeppelwerth on Thursday. Saturday featured several new faces as they defeated Beers and Scared Hitless to advance to the winner's bracket finals. Sunday had even more new faces as Foul Balls pulled in help from Eskimo Brothers and Scared Hitless. Unfortunately it wasn't enough as they dropped a winnable game against Life Church and got pounded by Jeweler's in the loser's bracket finals. Life Church went on to defeat Jeweler's 9-7 on a walk off HR.
2018 TUESDAY FALL CHAMPIONS!
Oct 10, 2018
JACKET GAME
Oct 09, 2018
Foul Balls found themselves in a surprise Jacket Game against Jobu's Runs on October 9th after Life Church lost earlier that evening.
A slow start put Foul Balls behind 7-2 heading into the 4th inning, but Foul Balls batted around to grab a 10-7 lead. Jobu answered right back with five runs to re-take the lead heading into the 5th. Foul Balls got one back in the 5th and got the lead back in the 6th to make it 14-13 heading into the final inning. Foul Balls was unable to add any insurance, but they were able to shut down the bottom of the Jobu order in the 7th to hold on for the victory.
Rich Brown was 3-3 with a SAC fly. Five others also recorded three hits in four trips to the plate. In a night of poor baserunning, each of the top three in the order were thrown out on the bases to help keep the game close.
The final regular season game will be against All In on October 16th at 7:20. The first tournament game is October 11th at 8:20 against Stoeppelwerth.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT SOFTBALL
Oct 03, 2018
A rainy summer has extended the Tuesday night season and forced teams to play games on Wednesday nights as well. Foul Balls managed to barely scrounge up 10 bodies for a matchup with Eskimo Brothers on October 3rd.
Foul Balls got off to a hot start with 4 straight hits to start the game. They managed to get everyone to the plate in the first inning, but scored the minimum as they left the bases loaded. The second inning was a similar story as they added four more runs and carried an 8-2 lead into the third inning. The next couple innings were uneventful and when Foul Balls stretched the lead in the top of the 5th it looked like they had things under control. Eskimo had a big bottom of the 5th though and after Foul Balls came up empty in the 6th, Eskimo scored 5 to take a 15-14 lead.
Foul Balls answered with 9 runs in the top of the 7th including a leadoff triple from Wyatt Buzzard and a 2 run home run from Wyatt in his second at bat of the inning. 8 of the 9 runs scored with two outs. Eskimo didn't go quietly though. They continued to hit and take advantage of mistakes in the bottom of the 7th where they managed to get the tying run to the plate before flying out to end the game. Foul Balls escaped with a 23-20 victory.
Ben Caruso was 6-6 in the win. Ben, Jeff Brown, Andy Hahn, and Wyatt each scored 4 times while Jeff and Rich Brown each drove in 5 runs. The win keeps Foul Balls one game ahead of Life Church who also won to break the second place tie and hold the tiebreaker over Foul Balls if they stumble in the final two games.
The next games are at 8:20 on Tuesday, October 9th against Jobu and 7:20 on Wednesday, October 10th against All In. The tournament runs October 11th-14th and a bracket will hopefully be released soon.
LATE NIGHT AT THE BALLPARK
Sep 18, 2018
Early season rainouts created a late night doubleheader between Foul Balls and Scared Hitless. The two teams decided to play a 9:20 and 10:20 doubleheader rather than coming back to the park on Wednesday for a 6:20 game.
Foul Balls jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in game one, but Scared Hitless answered back with a 4 run rally with two outs to even the score. Foul Balls got four more in the second inning and then both teams went quiet over the next few innings. Foul Balls got the first two on in the fifth inning, but the next two batters made outs and it looked like Scared Hitless might get out of it. The next five Foul Balls got hits though as Foul Balls scored six runs with two outs including an inside the park HR from Jim Vandy. Foul Balls carried a 15-7 lead into the bottom of the sixth with time running out. Scared Hitless made a strong attempt to come back, but a throwing error from Ben Caruso with seconds left on the clock allowed the time to run out and the tying run made an out to end the game shortly after that. Mo Pete was 4-4 in game one and Rich Brown was 3-3 with a walk.
Game two started out with Scared Hitless using their HR in the top of the first inning to build a two run lead. That would end up being a key play as Scared Hitless made several outs via the HR while over the limit. Foul Balls answered with four in the first and seven more over the next two innings to build an 11-2 lead. The rest of the game was mostly uneventful until Scared Hitless tried to threaten again in the final inning. They cut the lead to five and had a couple runners on base thanks to some defensive miscues, but Foul Balls was able to close out the 11-6 win. Ben was 4-4 in game two and Jim had another solid game at the plate including a two RBI triple that was part of a five run two out rally in the third inning.
The next game is on September 25th at 8:20 against Eskimo Brothers.
BACK IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT
Sep 11, 2018
Following a weekend of constant rain Foul Balls and All In squared off on a soggy field.
Neither team could get much going early as Foul Balls led 1-0 heading into the third inning. Foul Balls managed to string some hits together in the third and fifth innings though while All In continued to struggle. The game did go the distance though and Foul Balls won by a score of 10-1. Mo Pete was 4-4 and Andy Hahn went 2-3 with a walk and was the only other person to reach safely more than twice. A Life Church loss before the game and a Scared Hitless loss after the game mean that Foul Balls is back in control of their destiny.
The next games are on September 18th at 9:20 and 10:20 against Scared Hitless.
ONE HOT, SWEATY NIGHT IN LAWRENCE
Sep 04, 2018
Foul Balls and Stoeppelwerth met up for an early game an a night that featured multiple rain showers before the game and 90 degree temperatures with humidity during the game. The weather didn't scare away the fans though as six fans from four different families made their way out to the park.
The game was ugly from the start as neither team could get much going with the bats. Foul Balls scored a single run in three of the first four innings to take a 3-0 lead, but Stoeppelwerth had a big two out rally in the 5th including a grand slam to take a 6-3 lead. Foul Balls had their own two out rally to tie in the bottom of the fifth and took a 7-6 lead in the sixth, but Stoeppelwerth evened the score in the seventh. Foul Balls got their first two batters on base in the bottom of the seventh, but the heart of the order went down 1-2-3 and the game was forced into extra innings. Stoeppelwerth went down on 3 pitches without scoring in the top of the eighth inning and Foul Balls was able to escape with the 8-7 victory when Jeff Brown singled to drive in the winning run.
Ben Caruso and Jeff Brown were each 4-4 on the night. Rich Brown made several nice plays in the outfield and also managed to score two runs despite going 0-4.
The next game is September 11th at 7:20 against All In.
NO MORE RAIN
Aug 28, 2018
Foul Balls got to play softball on August 28th for only the third time during the Fall session. They met up with Life Church in a pivotal game. A win would put Foul Balls in a commanding position alone in first place, but a loss would drop them into a tie for first and on the wrong end of the tiebreaker.
The game was close throughout the first few innings with both teams struggling to hit and both teams having runners thrown out at the plate. Life Church broke a tie in the top of the sixth with a five run inning and Foul Balls were not able to answer as Life Church took an 11-6 victory. Mo Peterson was 3-3 with a walk and Jim Vandy was also 3-3 in the loss.
The next game is at 6:20 on September 4th against Stoeppelwerth.
POWER STROKES
Aug 14, 2018
Foul Balls were back in action on August 14th against Eskimo Brothers after being rained out the previous two weeks. The team was looking sharp in the new uniforms and all 12 players had customized jerseys with names on the back for the first time.
The game got off to a very slow start with neither team able to score heading into the bottom of the third inning. JDB kick started the Foul Balls offense and allowed them to build a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the third, but Eskimo came back with 6 in the fourth. Foul Balls answered with 7 in the bottom of the fourth when Rich Brown turned back the clock and crushed one over the fence and Adam Durm backed that up with a HR of his own. Foul Balls then added more in the sixth to stretch the lead and held on for a 19-12 victory. Adam, Ty Martin, and Dale Wagner were each 4-4.
The next game is August 21st at 8:20 against Jobu.
RAINED OUT
Jul 31, 2018
Two straight days of rain meant no softball on July 31st. The schedule has been updated. The next game is at 6:20 on August 7th against Scared Hitless.
UPDATED FALL SCHEDULE
Jul 27, 2018
Local 440 dropped out of the league so the schedule has been changed. There is no longer a doubleheader and there are no longer games scheduled on the small field. Many game times have changed including the next game which is now at 8:20 on the big field against All In.
WYATT IS CLEANING UP
Jul 24, 2018
Foul Balls got the Fall season started on July 24th against a new Tuesday night team. Disappointing tournament results and a dwindling roster had some of the boys doubting themselves before the game, but a throwback batting order helped to boost spirits.
Things didn't get off to a great start as Foul Balls were retired in order in the top of the first inning. Wyatt Buzzard made his return to the cleanup spot and jump started the offense with a hard single to lead off the second inning which led to a 5-1 lead. They added another in the third after Wyatt's lead off triple and a couple more in the fifth after another leadoff hit for Wyatt which gave Foul Balls an 8-2 lead through 5 innings. Adam Durm added a home run in the seventh to pad the lead and Foul Balls held on for a 10-6 victory over Simply Eastside Liquor Depot.
Wyatt was 3-4 with 3 runs scored. Adam was also 3-4 and had 5 RBIs including the two run HR. Mo Pete was also 3-4 and scored 3 times.
The next game is a match up with All In on July 31st at 8:20. All In is in first place early again after sweeping Life Church and Eskimo Brothers.
2018 SPRING TOURNAMENT
Jul 16, 2018
Foul Balls came into the 2018 Spring Tournament as the defending champs and #2 seed. Game one featured a matchup with El Gato and allowed Mo Pete to show his true colors as he turned his back on Foul Balls to play with Gato. Following the victory over El Gato, Foul Balls squared off with a new Thursday team called LCW. A few errors helped LCW build a small lead early before they exploded in the 4th or 5th inning. Foul Balls only recorded 4 hits on the way to an 11-0 loss. On Saturday morning Foul Balls defeated a Pike team that was actually almost entirely comprised of Scared Hitless members before losing to Eskimo in another game where the bats went cold.
Life Church ended up defeating Jewelers twice on Sunday to win out of the loser's bracket and Eskimo settled for third place.
2018 TUESDAY SPRING CHAMPIONS!
Jul 11, 2018
FINISHING UP STRONG
Jul 10, 2018
Foul Balls went up against All In on July 10th with free shirts on the line. A loss earlier in the night by Jobu meant that Foul Balls needed a win in order to guarantee the championship with Life Church playing at the same time and holding the head to head tiebreaker if Foul Balls was to stumble.
Ben Caruso led off the game by inducing a foul out which would be a sign of things to come. Foul Balls took a 1-0 lead in the first and then stretched it out slowly with 3 more in the second, 3 in the third and one in the fourth to build an 8-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 5th. The heart of the order took care of buisiness and Dave Haas walked it off with a short field double to win 10-0 in 5 innings.
Andy Hahn and Dave were each 3-3. Jeff Brown and Adam Durm only got to bat twice, but they each went 2-2. Ben added one more foul out, one swinging strikeout and two strikeouts looking as well as a couple pop ups and a ground out to contribute to 8 out of the 15 outs. Adam handled most of the rest of the action on a busy night at third base as Roy Rodabaugh added the title of backup catcher to his business card while skipping the game for his vacation.
Foul Balls quest to repeat as tournament champions starts Thursday July 12th at 9:20 against the winner of El Gato and All In (Thurs).
ONE BIG INNING
Jun 19, 2018
Foul Balls vs Stoeppelwerth: Part Two was played on June 19th despite afternoon thunderstorms and a forecast that did not look good for softball.
Foul Balls got of to a pretty good start when the first 16 batters got hits in the top of the first. By the time the inning was over Foul Balls had 21 hits in 24 ABs and they had a 20-0 lead. Past record keeping makes it difficult to tell where this ranks in terms of most runs in an inning all time for the franchise.
Stoeppelwerth got off to their own good start when Ben Caruso threw 9 consecutive balls to start the game and walked the bases loaded, but they only got two runs out of it. They did hit well in the second inning to close the gap to 20-9 as the Foul Balls bats went to sleep, but they never got close enough to make it interesting. Foul Balls held on for a 23-11 win in 5 innings.
Ben was 5-5 at the top of the order. Ben, Jeff Brown, and Andy Hahn each collected 3 hits in the first inning alone.
The final game of the Spring season is scheduled for June 26th against All In on the small field, but the game has been pushed back to 9:20pm. Foul Balls may still need to win that game in order to win the league.
OMG, YOU'RE MY SOULMATE!
Jun 12, 2018
Foul Balls experienced a rollercoaster of emotions on June 12th. They started the evening by taking on Stoeppelwerth in front of new fans from the Rodabaugh and (Rich) Brown families.
Foul Balls took an early 2-0 lead in the first and stretched it to 8-0 after the second. Andy Hahn took offense to finding out how short the fences are and hit one out in the third inning for his first home run of the year. Foul Balls slowed down in the final two innings, but ultimately cruised to a 13-1 victory. Rich Brown was 4-4 in his 2018 debut and Dale Wagner was 3-3.
Following the game the team received devastating news that SINGO! has been discontinued at Eddy's despite more and more of the team showing up to play each week. The guys drowned their sorrows in Coors Light and whiskey while eating wings while Jeff Brown and Jim Vandy bonded over terrible ice cream choices.
The next game is a rematch with Stoeppelwerth at 7:20 on June 19th.
CHARNEY FIELD DIMENSIONS
Jun 06, 2018
Field dimensions based on Google Maps for each of the fields at Charney. Find out just how much of a wuss you really are!
BACK ON TOP ALONE AGAIN
Jun 05, 2018
Foul Balls and All In squared off in a battle of one loss teams on a rainy Tuesday night on June 5th. This was the first regular season game the Foul Balls had ever played on the small field. Foul Balls had five guys missing so Bob Brabender was able to make his first appearance of the year at first base.
Dave Haas got the scoring underway in the top of the first. He was able to put all his practice at 23rd and Delaware into use as he got his pitch and jerked it over the fence for an RBI double. Foul Balls took a 5-2 lead into the third where they rallied for five runs with two outs to stretch the lead. All In stayed within striking distance by scoring almost every inning and the Foul Balls bats went to sleep for the last three innings. Foul Balls has a 14-9 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th and All In hit some balls hard, but eventually hit a ball over the fence for an out to end it with the score 14-11.
Ben Caruso, Andy Hahn, and Jeff Brown were each 4-5. Bob was 3-4 in his return and Dale Wagner was 2-3 with a walk. Ben also made Foul Balls 2-0 at single line SINGO! Following the game despite Eddy's managing to cram even more people into the bar this week.
The next game for Foul Balls is June 12th at 6:20 against Stoeppelwerth.
SINGO!
May 29, 2018
Foul Balls dropped their first game of 2018 on May 29nd against Life Church.
Life Church brought a good squad to the park for their doubleheader and they came out hitting. Life Church grabbed a 5-0 lead in the top of the first and Foul Balls was unable to do anything in the bottom half. Both teams struggled to score runs the rest of the way with Life Church stretching the lead to 9-2 heading into the bottom of the 7th. Foul Balls got a little bit going when the first 4 batters reached, but the next three went down in order for a 9-5 loss. The loss drops Foul Balls into a tie for first and takes away a lot of the margin for error that Foul Balls seemed to have built.
Nobody had a particularly good day at the plate, but Dave Haas crushed some SINGO! music bingo over at Eddy's following the game in what was an electric atmosphere.
The next game is June 5th at 7:20 on the small field against All In.
BATTING TWELVE
May 22, 2018
Foul Balls filled the lineup card to capacity on May 22nd against Local 440 despite still having two players missing.
Local 440 threatened in the first couple innings by getting a couple runners on base, but they were unable to push and runs across. Meanwhile Foul Balls scored two in the first and five in the second to build a lead. The bats slowed to a crawl after that, but Local 440 couldn't put anything together. Foul Balls stayed undefeated with a 9-1 victory in about 40 minutes.
The next game is May 29th at 7:20 against Life Church.
ANOTHER BIG WIN
May 15, 2018
Foul Balls and Jobu's Runs squared off on May 15th in a battle of undefeated teams.
Foul Balls was the visiting side and wasted no time piling on the runs. They scored 15 runs in the top of the first inning including 10 consecutive singles at one point. They added 6 more in the second before slowing down in the final two innings for a 23-3 victory. Ty Martin, Mo Peterson, and Jeff Brown were each 4-4 on the night. Dave Haas drove in 7 runs on a triple, HR, and a couple of SAC flies to keep his average perfect for the season.
The next game is May 22nd at 7:20 against Local 440.
BUSY NIGHT AT CHARNEY PARK
May 08, 2018
May 8th was an eventful night at Charney Park. Foul Balls had a split doubleheader against Eskimo Brothers and Circle City Outdoors as they looked to stay hot after a good performance in week one.
Eskimo Brothers came out swinging and built a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second inning. Foul Balls was able to get three back there, but lost another run in the 3rd to make it 7-4 heading into the 4th inning. From there Foul Balls was able to shut Eskimo down for the rest of the night. Foul Balls got one back in the 4th and put up four runs in the 6th to take a 9-7 lead. Eskimo got the go ahead run to the plate in the top of the 7th, but they were unable to score and Foul Balls took it 9-7. Ben Caruso and Dave Haas were each 4-4 and Dale Wagner was 3-3 in the opener.
The hour between games gave the team a chance to hang out, but an unfortunate incident with a dog owned by one of the Scared Hitless players biting the toddler of another Scared Hitless player but a damper on things. The ambulance arrived pretty quickly and hopefully the kid is ok.
The late game was not quite as competitive as the first game. Foul Balls worked around Roy Rodabuagh's strikeout to score 19 in the top of the first inning. They added 4 more runs in the second to make it 23-0 after two. The teams flip flopped so that Circle City could bat first in the 3rd and Roy made his pitching debut with everyone behind him playing out of position. Josh Beard made the play on a groundball to 3rd for the final out to preserve the shutout. Ben, Dave, Jeremiah Bolander, and Jeff Brown were each 3-3. Andy Hahn was 2-2 with a walk.
The next game is at 9:20 against Jobu on May 15th.
TY GOT A BUS!
May 01, 2018
Foul Balls finally got the 2018 season started on May 1st against Scared Hitless in front of the entire Martin family.
Both teams started the game with 9 players and Scared Hitless led 4-2 after the first inning. Foul Balls batted around in the 2nd and 3rd though while taking advantage of Scared Hitless remaining shorthanded for the entire game. Foul Balls ended up with a 19-9 victory in 5 innings. Every Foul Ball scored at least one run and drove in at least one run and had at least two hits.
The bigger news is that Ty drives a bus now. He'll be collecting addresses and putting together a pickup and drop off schedule so that everyone can make it to games on time.
The next games are at 7:20 and 9:20 on May 8th against Eskimo Brothers and Circle City Outdoors.
2018 SPRING SCHEDULE
Apr 10, 2018
The 2018 Spring Schedule has been posted. There are 9 teams this session which means a couple games will be on the small field where a ball over the fence is worth a 2B.
The final inning home run rule has been slightly modified slightly. The home team is still not allowed to go 1-up in the final inning EXCEPT if there have not been any home runs hit in the game.
2017 FALL TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
Oct 20, 2017
Foul Balls went 6-1 in the tournament including a 3-1 record during four consecutive games to close out the title.
2017 FALL TOURNAMENT RECAP
Oct 19, 2017
Foul Balls earned the #7 seed out of 17 teams in the tournament after their 5-5 performance in the Fall season.
The tournament kicked off with a relatively easy win over El Gato on the small field. Next up was a surprising matchup with Jeff's Fury after they defeated Eskimo Brothers in the first round. Fury played tough and Foul Balls had to start bringing in subs, but they were able to pull through with an 11-6 win. Josh Beard sacrificed his foot for the cause on the way to the win with a non-textbook slide into first base. Andy Hahn Solo hit a home run that counted this time.
Saturday saw Foul Balls square off against a very under seeded Knights team. It was a close game featuring a terrible sun in left field and Foul Balls getting lucky when a potential home run from KC hit the top of the fence and bounced up in the air and back in. Knights had the go ahead run in play during the final inning, but Foul Balls held on to advance to the Winner's Bracket Final against Life Church (Thur). Wyatt Buzzard hit an over the fence HR for the first time in years during the win.
Games were rained out on Sunday to the disappointment of Mo Pete who was making an early morning drive back from Iowa to play. Sunday games were rescheduled for the following Thursday during the normal time slots. Foul Balls and Life Church played a close game with Foul Balls holding a 16-13 lead heading into the bottom of the final inning, but Life Church was able to rally for the 17-16 win. Foul Balls and Jewelers followed that up with an eventful Loser's Bracket Final. Jeremiah was ejected early after Jewelers asked to check his bat and it was determined that it wasn't ASA legal. Fortunately Foul Balls had 11 guys and Bob Brabender was able to slide into the cleanup spot. The game stayed close, but Foul Balls managed to pull out a 10-9 win and setup a rematch with Life Church.
The Championship game was a high scoring matchup with both teams hitting the ball and some untimely mistakes in the field by both teams. Once again Foul Balls had a lead late, but Life Church was threatening. A huge surprise defensive shift by Jeff Brown set up a double play and Foul Balls escaped with a 23-19 win to force the IF game. Foul Balls kept up the pressure early in the IF game and jumped out to a big lead after a few innings. Life Church tried a pitching change and tried switching to a five man infield, but neither had an immediate impact. Foul Balls had multiple chances to end the game by scoring one run, but couldn't get it done and took an 11-2 lead into the top of the 7th inning. All of the sudden Life Church got hot and when combined with a couple dropped fly balls things were starting to look pretty dicey. Life Church got the tying run on second with the go ahead run on first and one out, but they were unable to push any more runs across and Foul Balls took the Championship with an 11-10 victory.
TOO STRONG
Sep 26, 2017
Foul Balls ended the Fall season against Scared Hitless on September 26th.
The game moved quickly as Scared Hitless failed to record a hit for the first several innings and Foul Balls never scored more than two runs in an inning. Foul Balls took a 7-2 lead into the top of the 7th when a combination of hitting, bad calls, and a defensive miscue or two led to seven runs for Scared Hitless. Foul Balls managed to load the bases in the bottom of the 7th when Andy Hahn launched the first over the fence home run of the year. Unfortunately, due to a ridiculous league rule, that turned into an out. After another fly out Foul Balls ended the season with a 9-7 loss.
The Fall tournament is scheduled to start on October 5th.
SHUT OUT
Sep 19, 2017
Foul Balls played a meaningless game against Eskimo Brothers on September 19th and they continued to struggle at the plate.
The game was actually fairly close as Eskimo also got off to a slow start. Foul Balls did get at least one hit in every inning, but they were never able to push a run across and Eskimo won 10-0 in 5 innings. This was the first time Foul Balls had been shut out at Charney. This was the forth time that Foul Balls had been held under four runs at Charney and all of those have come against Eskimo Brothers. Jeff Brown and Mo Peterson each managed to go 2-2, but neither was able to advance after getting on base. Ben Caruso completed a somewhat rare feat of recording an assist at all four bases over the course of two games.
The final regular season game is September 26th at 6:20 against Scared Hitless.
ELIMINATED
Sep 12, 2017
Foul Balls continued to struggle at the plate on September 12th against Life Church. Foul Balls failed to reach 17 runs for the 4th consecutive week and for the 5th time in 8 games during the Fall session.
Things started especially poorly as Life Church grabbed a 6-0 lead in the first inning. Foul Balls got back within one run in the 4th and took the lead in the top of the 5th, but Life Church answered in the bottom of the inning to make it 13-11. Foul Balls trailed 15-12 heading into the top of the 7th. They did manage to bring the go ahead run to the plate, but that's where the rally ended and Foul Balls fell 15-13. The loss eliminates Foul Balls from any chance of winning the league and almost certainly means that Eskimo will be the champions even if Foul Balls beats them next week.
The next game is September 19th at 7:20 against Eskimo Brothers.
WHAT'S THE OPPOSITE OF JUNGLE FEVER?
Sep 05, 2017
Foul Balls took on Stoeppelwerth in the early game on September 5th.
Foul Balls got an early 2-0 lead, but a big second inning from Stoeppelwerth brought back memories of last week. Fortunately Foul Balls was able to limit them to five runs in the inning and then held Stoeppelwerth scoreless for the rest of the game on the way to a 15-5 victory. Rich Brown was 4-4 and Ben Caruso was 3-3 with a walk.
The next game is at 9:20 on September 12th against Life Church.
NANCY'S FAULT
Aug 29, 2017
Foul Balls may have been guilty of looking ahead instead of focusing on the game at hand on August 29th against Jobu's Runs and Jobu decided to make them pay for it.
Things didn't seem to start that terribly as Foul Balls scored 4 runs in the top of the 2nd inning after both teams were held scoreless in the 1st. Jobu started raking in the bottom of the second though and built a 9-4 lead. That was stretched out to 12-6 when Foul Balls was almost certainly about to start a huge rally with one runner on base and one out. Unfortunately Nancy chose that time to pay extra close attention and get a call right when a live ball hit Wyatt Buzzard as he was standing barely outside the dugout. The result was an out and an almost certain comeback victory turned into a 14-6 loss. Roy Rodabaugh and Dale Wagner each went 3-3 while most of the rest of the team struggled.
The next game is September 5th at 6:20pm against Stoeppelwerth.
DOING THE BARE MINIMUM
Aug 22, 2017
Foul Balls welcomed their new Border Battle bat on August 22nd against Scored Hitless and proceeded to put up their lowest run total of the season.
Foul Balls did hold the lead the entire game despite not scoring very many runs. Foul Balls put up one in the first and three in the second to build a 4-0 lead. Scared Hitless did have a rally in the 5th or 6th inning, but Foul Balls shut it down. They took a 9-6 lead into the bottom of the 7th inning and held that lead for the victory. Wyatt Buzzard was 4-4 and was the only person with more than two hits on the night.
The next game is August 29th at 7:20 against Jobu's Runs.
STRATEGY
Aug 15, 2017
Foul Balls entered the fourth game of the session against All In with two hitters tied for the batting average lead at a perfect 1.000. Only one was willing to put that stat on the line to help the team try to maintain a share of first place.
Things were slow for the first couple innings and the score was tied 2-2 heading into the third inning. Foul Balls got hot in the top of the third to stretch it out and at that point it was just a matter of how early they could end things. All In fought back in the bottom of the 5th to force another inning, but Foul Balls managed to push a couple more across in the 6th and hold on for a 17-6 victory.
Mo Peterson was 4-4, but he was not part of that batting average tie. Dale Wagner was part of that tie, but made his first outs of the session which allowed Dave Haas to take over the lead as he hung out on the golf course.
The next game is at 7:20 on August 22nd against Scared Hitless.
BABY WEEK
Aug 08, 2017
A shorthanded Foul Balls squad took on a loaded Eskimo Brothers and friends squad on August 8th. Foul Balls found out that they'll be missing Jim Vandy for the rest of the year after a knee injury while Ty Martin and Jeff Brown are both on the Paternity Leave List following the births of Bodey and Carter this week.
Foul Balls picked up where they left off in the last batter against Eskimo where both teams scored in every inning except one. Foul Balls got two in the first and two in the second before Eskimo answered with four in the second to tie. Foul Balls exploded for 11 in the third while holding Eskimo scoreless and both teams managed one run in the fourth inning. Foul Balls added nine more in the top of the 5th to make it 24-5 heading into the bottom of the 5th. Eskimo got really hot and scored a lot of runs, but Mo Peterson made two catches on the warning track and after some debate Nancy realized that a runner cut across the middle of the diamond to return to first base after the second of those catches and the game was over with a final score of 24-10
Dave Haas and Wyatt Buzzard were each 5-5 and Dale Wagner went 4-4. All 10 batters scored and everyone had at least one RBI. 6 of the 10 first or second outs of the inning for Foul Balls were SAC flies and there was a SAC fly in every inning.
The next game is at 6:20 on August 15th against All In.
NO MORE PERFECTION
Aug 01, 2017
Foul Balls got the Fall season started on August 1st and quickly ended any thoughts of another undefeated season.
Things didn't start out terribly as Foul Balls built a 7-3 lead heading into the bottom of the 4th inning with the heart of the order coming to the plate. Unfortunately they only sent 7 batters to the plate over the next two innings. Meanwhile they also collapsed on defense in the 5th inning and allowed Life Church 5 runs to take the lead. Life Church added on 5 more the following inning to stretch the lead out to 13-7. Foul Balls made up some ground in the 6th before Roy Rodabaugh was called out at the plate in a highly controversial decision. Foul Balls battled back in the final frame and had the winning run on second base when the Life Church defense made a nice play on a the potential winning hit off the bat of Andy Hahn to end the game 13-12. Dave Haas and Josh Beard were each 4-4 and Dale Wagner was 3-3 with a SAC fly in the loss.
Foul Balls had a second game on opening night and they decided to take out their frustrations on Jobu early. The first 12 batters of the game reached base and Foul Balls built an early 11-0 lead. Things were quiet for the next couple innings before Rich Brown hit an inside the park home run in the bottom of the third inning and then attempted to dislocate Andy's shoulder. Foul Balls scored a bunch more runs in the bottom of the 4th inning and Roy was able to end things with a walk off single in front of his wife and son as Foul Balls won 20-5. Rich was 4-4 with 5 RBIs while Dale was 3-3 and Dave was 2-2 with a walk.
The next game is August 8th at 9:20 against Eskimo Brothers.
ERNEST WINS THE TRIPLES CROWN
Jul 18, 2017
Foul Balls finished up the Spring season on July 18th against Scared Hitless. The championship was already in the bag, but there was still an opportunity to go 10-0 for the first time.
Foul Balls jumped out to a big lead when they batted around in the top of the first inning. They continued to tack on runs every inning after that while playing good defense. Once the game seemed to be in hand the outfield and infield traded places for the last couple innings and Bob Brabender decided to see how well his cup would work on a fly ball. The experiment didn't seem to hurt too badly and Foul Balls got an easy 19-2 win to complete the undefeated session.
Andy Hahn was 4-4 with a SAC. Scott McNeany was 3-3 with a SAC and fell a single short of the cycle. Jeff Brown was 2-2 with a couple walks. Roy Rodabaugh got his triple to break the tie with Andy and win the title.
The Fall schedule should be released later today.
SPRING TOURNAMENT CANCELLED
Jul 14, 2017
For the second time in Foul Balls history they earned the #2 seed in the Spring tournament after putting together a 9 game winning streak leading up to the tournament. Both times the tournament has been cancelled.
2017 TUESDAY SPRING CHAMPIONS
Jun 28, 2017
Perfect attendance for the t-shirt game and we got to take a picture in the daylight.
THE CLINCHER
Jun 27, 2017
Foul Balls entered play on June 27th with an 8-0 record and a chance to clinch the 2017 Spring championship with a victory against Stoeppelwerth.
Foul Balls got off to a slow start in the first inning when they were only able to get one run, but they tacked on 15 more over the next two innings to build a comfortable lead. Injuries and perfect attendance allowed some people to move around in the field and Rich Brown got to pitch a few innings for the first time this season. The bats slowed down in the 4th and 5th innings, but Stoeppelwerth never got anything going and Foul Balls cruised to a 20-3 victory.
Ben Caruso, Mo Peterson and Josh Beard combined to go 9-9 with a walk and scored 9 runs while driving in 6 runs. Ty Martin drove in 6 runs by himself.
The final game of the season is July 11th at 8:20 against Scared Hitless. The Spring tournament will start July 13th and run through the weekend.
COMEBACK KIDS
Jun 20, 2017
Foul Balls may have been a little overconfident coming into their matchup with Scared Hitless on June 20th. The records for both teams indicated that it would not be a very competitive game, but Scared Hitless came to play and definitely put some fear into Foul Balls.
Thing didn't start out so bad as Scared Hitless only got one in the top of the first inning. Foul Balls batted around in the bottom of the inning, but left the bases loaded and only scored four runs. The second and third innings saw Scared Hitless get really hot with the bats and Foul Balls helped them out by dropping four fly balls during the game. The Foul Balls bats also took a couple innings off and Scared Hitless took a 14-4 lead heading into the bottom of the 4th.
A big two out double from Mo Peterson cut the lead to 14-7 after the 4th. Scared Hitless tacked on one in the 5th and then Foul Balls loaded the bases for the top of the order, but Ben Caruso popped out and Ty Martin flew out to at least drive in one. Andy Hahn picked them up with a triple and Rich Brown followed a couple batters later with his first HR in about six years. Suddenly the score was 15-13 and it felt like Foul Balls had a chance to complete the comeback. Scared Hitless failed to score in the 6th and Foul Balls scored 3 quickly to take a lead with less than three minutes left on the clock. The Foul Balls bid to run the clock out while hitting fell about 20 seconds short, but they did add one more run to take a 17-15 lead. Scared Hitless got some runners on base in the final frame, but only got one run in and Foul Balls escaped with a 17-16 victory.
Foul Balls will play for shirts at 6:20 on June 27th against Stoeppelwerth.
SOFTBALL AFTER DARK
Jun 13, 2017
Foul Balls drew the late game against Inglorious Batterz on June 13th. The start was pushed even later due to early games running over so Foul Balls didn't take the field until roughly 9:45.
Foul Balls came out of the gates hitting and built a 4-0 lead after the first. Four more in the second inning and five more in the third stretched the lead out. They tacked on seven more in the 4th to win 20-0.
Ben Caruso and Dave Haas were 4-4. Andy Hahn was 3-3 with a walk including an inside the park home run. Foul Balls hit for the cycle on 4 consecutive batters in the 4th inning and even had a walk leading into that cycle. This was the first time all year that more than one hitter failed to score a run. There had been four games this season where one hitter failed to score, but three Foul Balls failed to record a run in this victory.
The next game is at 7:20 on June 20th against Scared Hitless.
ALL ALONE IN FIRST PLACE
Jun 06, 2017
Foul Balls and Life Church featured identical 5-0 records heading into their showdown on June 6th. Life Church had won each of their games by at least 10 runs so it shaped up to be a good battle for first place.
Foul Balls started out the game playing the field with only nine players, but Life Church was unable to take advantage before Ty Martin arrived and filled out the outfield. They did put together a three run rally with two outs to take the early lead though after Ty arrived. Foul Balls answered with a big first inning where they sent 13 batters to the plate and scored nine runs. Wyatt Buzzard had a two RBI triple with two outs and later Ty Martin drove in three runs with a single to complete the Foul Balls two out rally. Both teams added a couple runs over the next two innings before Foul Balls added six runs in the bottom of the 4th. Andy Hahn had a bases loaded triple over the drawn in right center fielder with two outs which pushed the lead to 17-7. Life Church got one run in the top of the 5th to extend the game, but Foul Balls used three walks against a new pitcher to grab one more run and end the game in five innings.
Ty was 4-4 with 3 RBIs. Ben Caruso was 3-3 with a walk and Wyatt was 3-3 with an intentional walk to deprive him of a chance at the cycle with a walk off HR. Every batter scored at least one run. 12 of the 18 runs for Foul Balls came after there were two outs in the inning including six in the first inning.
The next game in June 13th at 9:20 against Inglorious Batterz.
AVOIDING THE TRAP
May 30, 2017
Foul Balls had a classic trap game scheduled for May 30th. Coming off a big win over Eskimo Brothers they had to be careful not to overlook Jobu with Life Church looming the following week.
Foul Balls started the game much more slowly than they had all season. They scored runs in each of the first three innings, but not at the same rate as the first four games of the year. Ben Caruso also really struggled to find the strike zone and Jobu's Runs took advantage and led 6-4 after three innings. The Foul Balls offense finally broke through in the 4th and batted around to score 6 runs before scoring 0 in the next innings when they hit into 3 consecutive fielder's choices after a leadoff hit. A good 6th inning made the score 15-9 and Foul Balls tacked on insurance in the 7th to build a 10 run lead. Jobu made a push in the bottom of the 7th with the help of more walks, but Foul Balls held on for a 19-14 victory.
Andy Hahn was 4-4 with a SAC and 4 RBIs. Ben was 2-2 with 3 walks and 2 RBIs.
The next game is June 6th at 6:20 against Life Church.
WE'VE GOT THE RUNS
May 23, 2017
Foul Balls and Eskimo Brothers met in the most anticipated game of the Spring season on May 23rd. Both teams came into the game 3-0 and neither had been in a close game in 2017.
Foul Balls kept the hot bats going in the top of the first as they sent 9 batters to the plate and scored 4 runs. In the bottom of the first Foul Bals started making all the errors that they hadn't made in the first three games and Eskimo took advantage to grab a 6-4 lead. Foul Balls used 8 consecutive hits in the second inning to climb back on top, but Eskimo answered with 4 runs to make the score 13-10 in favor of Foul Balls. More of the same in the third as Foul Balls got 5 and Eskimo got 4. The fourth inning was a breakthrough as Foul Balls only got 3 runs, but they set Eskimo down 1-2-3 to take a 21-14 lead into the 5th. 5 more runs for Foul Balls in the top of the inning gave Foul Balls a chance to end things early, but Eskimo answered with 7 runs to cut it to 26-21. In the 6th Foul Balls was shut down for the first time all year as they only sent 4 batters to the plate and failed to score as the clock expired. Eskimo put up a strong fight in the bottom of the final inning. They scored a run and loaded the bases to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs, but a deep flyout ended things and Foul Balls escaped with a 26-22 win.
Dave Haas and Mo Pete were each 5-5. Jeff Brown went 1-5 and still managed to score 5 times. Andy Hahn continued his streak and has now batted in all 16 innings this year. The win keeps Foul Balls in a tie for first with Life Church.
The next game is at 6:20 on May 30th against Jobu's Runs.
STAYING HOT
May 17, 2017
Foul Balls got their first look at Stoeppelwerth on May 17th in a Wednesday night make up game for one of the earlier rain outs.
Stoeppelwerth jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning which marked the first time this year that Foul Balls trailed. Foul Balls came back with 4 runs in the bottom of the inning and continued to pile up runs each inning as they coasted to another easy win by a score of 20-2.
Ben Caruso and Andy Hahn were 4-4 while Wyatt Buzzard was 3-3 and John Buzzard was 2-2 with a walk. Andy and Mo Pete have now batted in every inning of every game this season. If you exclude the inning which ended due to the run rule then everyone besides Jeff Brown who has played in all three games has also batted every inning. The fewest number of batters in an inning this year outside of that shortened inning has been 9 batters.
The next game is a big matchup with Eskimo Brothers on May 23rd at 7:20pm.
TIME OUT!
May 16, 2017
Foul Balls finally got to play some softball again on May 16th after the fields at Charney park dried out enough to host games.
All In put up a little bit of a fight in the top of the first, but Bob Brabender made a couple stops at third base to help keep the game scoreless. Ben Caruso was robbed of a Little League home run to lead off the bottom of the inning when Nancy told everyone she'd whispered "Time" halfway through. Despite that setback Foul Balls rolled through the lineup in each of the first three innings and only needed three batters in the bottom of the 4th to end the game 17-2.
Ben, Andy Hahn, and Rich Brown were each 4-4. Dave Haas and Jim "Talivandy" Vandy were each 3-3. Andy, Mo Pete, and Rich each batted in all four innings. The next game is a make up game on Wednesday May 17th at 9:20 against Stoeppelwerth.
SO MUCH RAIN
May 09, 2017
Softball games are rained out at Lake Charney for the second consecutive week. The schedule has been updated.
As a result of the rainouts Foul Balls has games on Tuesday and Wednesday next week. On Tuesday they battle All In at 8:20. The following night they will square off with Stoeppelwerth at 9:20.
STRONG START
Apr 25, 2017
Foul Balls started the 2017 Spring season with a matchup against newcomers Inglorious Batterz in front of super fan Takoda.
The outcome was never n doubt as Foul Balls came out swinging the bats a little and Inglorious Batters proved to be completely overmatched on this day. Foul Balls sent at least nine batters to the plate in each of the three innings that they got to bat on the way to a 19-0 victory. Ben Caruso, Ernest Roy Rodabaugh IV, Mike Peterson, and Jim Vandy each reached safely on every trip to the plate. Ernie made batting practice pay off as he took the early triples lead and Dave Haas discovered why you might want to wear a cup even if you play in the outfield.
The next game is May 2nd at 8:20 against Scared Hitless.
2017 SCHEDULE RELEASED
Apr 11, 2017
The 2017 schedule has been posted. The Tuesday league has 8 teams for the Spring so there should be some new faces at the park. The first game for Foul Balls is April 25th at 7:20pm against Inglorious Batterz.
FALL TOURNAMENT BRACKET POSTED
Oct 04, 2016
Foul Balls will open the Fall tournament against Pike Collision at 8:20pm on Thursday, October 6th. This sets up a rematch with the team that eliminated them from the Spring tournament. Pike Collision is also mostly the same groupof guys that plays as Eskimo Brothers in the Tuesday league.
The full bracket is available on the Standings tab.
ALL FIRED UP
Sep 27, 2016
Foul Balls had a chance to play spoiler on September 27th against Eskimo Brothers. Eskimo entered the game tied with Life Church and leading by 10 in the runs against tiebreaker so Foul Balls needed a win or to put up a bunch of runs to give Life Church a chance.
Things did not look good early as Eskimo came out hitting and Foul Balls came out making errors. Eskimo batted around in the first and built a 7-0 lead. The score was 8-0 heading into the bottom of the third when Foul Balls began to rally. Rich Brown had a bases loaded triple off the wall and later in the inning Josh Beard had another bases loaded triple. Foul Balls scored 10 in the inning including 5 with two outs to build a 10-8 lead. Both teams added a couple in the fourth before Foul Balls padded the lead to 17-11 in the bottom of the fifth.
Eskimo made it 18-17 in the top of the sixth, but only left 4 minutes on the clock as Foul Balls came to bat. Foul Balls got some guys on base and Rich came to the plate with two runners on and two outs with one minute left on the clock. Eskimo tried to quick pitch him and Nancy gave time which angered the Eskimo pitcher. Rich grounded the next ball back to him and instead of throwing the ball to first he escalated things by running at Rich. Rich was able to avoid being plowed over, but the pitcher was allowed to remain in the game and emotions were high, especial on the Foul Balls side.
After some shouting and a meeting with the umpire the game was able to resume. Foul Balls got two out of the first three batters out, but Eskimo then had a four run rally to take a 20-18 lead. Foul Balls got the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the inning, but fell short and lost 20-18. The 18 runs were enough to cost Eskimo the tiebreaker though, so Foul Balls could take some joy in that.
The Fall tournament starts Thursday October 6th. We won't get a schedule until late Monday night, but plan to play Thursday and Friday.
EVERYONE BASK IN JIM'S GLORY
Sep 20, 2016
Foul Balls looked to win their third straight game on September 20th as they squared off with Scared Hitless.
Things got off to a pretty terrible start as they gave up a leadoff little league HR on a ground ball to second base that featured more mistakes than you would think possible. It didn't get better quickly as Scared Hitless added four more runs in the top of the first before Foul Balls only sent three batters to the plate in the bottom half. Scared Hitless tacked on another in the second and then Foul Balls started to get the bats going. Foul Balls scored at least two in every inning after that and took their first lead in the bottom of the 4th. The lead changed hands every half inning for the rest of the game and Scared Hitless led 16-13 heading into the bottom of the sixth with time running out. Foul Balls managed to get a run in and loaded the bases the bases with one out. Jim Vandy stepped to the plate and did what Jim Vandy does. His 3 RBI triple gave Foul Balls a 17-16 win and Jim got to do the jumpy thing.
Jim was 4-4 with two triples on the night. Everyone had at least one hit and scored at least one run.
The final game of the Fall regular season is September 27th at 7:20 against Eskimo Brothers. Foul Balls has a chance to play the spoiler role as Eskimo will win the championship with a victory, but Life Church would likely take the championship if Foul Balls can close the season with a win.
TWO IN A ROW
Sep 13, 2016
Foul Balls returned to the mosquito breeding grounds on September 13th in search of their third win of the season.
Things went very well in the first inning as Jeff Brown made multiple outs in the inning. While not that enjoyable for Jeff, it did mean that Foul Balls sent lots of batters to the plate and grabbed on 8-0 lead. The rest of the game was not overly exciting as both teams added a few runs here and there, but it never got close in the 14-7 victory for Foul Balls.
The highlight came when Wyatt Buzzard fouled out to end the 4th inning and the All In catcher tackled Nancy in his effort to catch the ball. Wyatt added to the humor by hiding her clicker in her hat and then not telling anyone for several minutes as they searched the ground behind home plate.
Nobody had a perfect night at the plate, but Foul Balls did get the leadoff man on base in all 7 innings which has to be very rare. 5 different players combined to accomplish that feat. Three of those innings saw the next 3 batters go down in order with the leadoff man never leaving first base.
The next game is September 20th at 9:20 against Scared Hitless.
7-6-2-5-6-2
Sep 06, 2016
Foul Balls returned to the diamond on August 6th after the entire previous week was washed out due to rain. They were looking to avoid losing to Life Church for the third time in the Fall session.
Foul Balls started off with four straight hits to start the game and build a 3-0 lead after the first inning. That was up to 8-2 after the third inning as Foul Balls continued to score in every inning. Somewhere around the middle of the game Life Church got a little carried away on the bases and Rich Brown was able to throw two runners out at the plate on the same play. Foul Balls carried a 13-4 lead into the top of the 7th when things really got out of hand. Foul Balls sent 18 batters to the plate and tacked on 14 more runs. The final result was a 27 - 4 victory.
Ben Caruso was 5-5 with a walk while Jeff Brown and Ty Martin each went 5-6. Ty led the way with 6 RBIs. Bob Brabender managed to go 2-2 in a game where 4 of his teammates went to the plate six times. Jim Vandy got himself two triples as part of his 4-5 night.
The next is at 8:20 on September 13th against All In.
NEW LOWS
Aug 23, 2016
Foul Balls dropped to 1-5 on August 23rd with a loss to All In. The 5 losses in the Fall session up to this point sets a new record for losses in a single session.
Foul Balls got out to an early 5-0 lead, but went 1-10 over the next three innings and were suddenly trailing 7-5 after four innings. Foul Balls got runners on base every inning for the rest of the 9 inning game, but 4 costly base running mistakes over five innings limited the damage they were able to inflict and the result was a 10-9 loss.
The next game is August 30th at 6:20 against Scared Hitless.
TRIPLES NIGHT
Aug 09, 2016
The summer of 2016 continued on August 9th with a game against Life Church in front of 3 fans and a dog who has been drawing some interest on the trading block lately.
Life Church made things difficult from the start with 8 runs in the top of the first inning. Foul Balls scored a couple runs with two outs in the first, but that was as close as it would get the rest of the way. Foul Balls never won an inning and Life Church slowed down enough to keep the lead at 9 and allow 7 innings to be played. The end result was a 14-4 Life Church victory. Andy Hahn was 4-4 with another triple. Dave Haas and Rob Hampton also added triples.
The next game is August 16th at 7:20 against Eskimo Brothers.
BACK IN LAST PLACE
Aug 02, 2016
Foul Balls had a doubleheader on August 2nd against All In and Scared Hitless. They managed to win their first game of the summer session while falling back into a tie for last place.
Foul Balls started the first game short handed and trotted out a 3 man outfield featuring Rob Hampton, Dale Wagner and Russ Wall for the first inning. They limited the damage to two runs and batted around in the second inning to build a 6-2 lead. After a couple slow innings they exploded for 9 runs in the top of the 5th and then hung on for a 15-5 win in 5 innings. Every batter had at least two hits and scored at least one run in game one against All In.
Foul Balls got reinforcements in the form of Dave Haas and Ty Martin for the second game while Scared Hitless added multiple Eskimo Brothers players for the matchup. The game was low scoring throughout with most of the damage coming in the 4th inning where the middle of the Foul Balls order was able to string together some hits and build a 5-2 lead. The lead was 5-3 heading into the 7th when Scared Hitless was able to take advantage of a couple defensive lapses and grab a 6-5 lead. Foul Balls got the leadoff man on and got the winning run on base in the bottom of the inning, but fell short of tying the game. Andy Hahn was 3-3 with a couple triples and Russ was 2-2.
The next game is August 9th at 8:20 against Life Church.
OUT OF LAST PLACE
Jul 26, 2016
Foul Balls and Eskimo Brothers squared off for the first time in the summer session on July 26th.
Foul Balls came out slow, but managed one run thanks to a first inning two out rally. Eskimo came out on fire and scored four runs in the first inning to grab the lead. Foul Balls evened the score in the third, but Eskimo took the lead back in the bottom of the inning and then stretched the lead to 8-4 in the sixth inning. Once again Foul Balls rallied to tie the game in the top of the seventh, but Eskimo was able to score in the bottom of the inning to win 9-8.
Dave Haas was back to being Haasome with a 4-4 night. Jim Vandy was 3-3 as well. The loss dropped Foul Balls to 0-2, but Scared Hitless lost both games of a doubleheader so technically Foul Balls is no longer in last place.
The next games are a doubleheader at 7:20 and 8:20 on August 2nd against All In and Scared Hitless.
LAST PLACE
Jul 19, 2016
Foul Balls started the Fall session off with a 6:20 matchup against Life Church in front of one of the larger crowds of the year. Unfortunately the early game problems continued as they lost their 4th 6:20 game in five attempts this year.
Foul Balls did grab an early lead in the top of the first, but Life Church responded with five runs to make it 5-1 and didn't really look back. Foul Balls took advantage of some defensive mistakes to make it 6-5 in the middle of the third, but Life Church stretched it out in the bottom of the inning and then blew it open in the 4th inning. The final score was 15-5 in five innings. Bob Brabender was 2-2 and Jeff Brown was 2-2 with a SAC.
The next game is at 8:20 against Eskimo Brothers on July 26th.
2016 SPRING TOURNAMENT RECAP
Jul 11, 2016
Foul Balls had a respectable tournament showing in the first tournament of 2016.
They got off to a bad start by being the first team to lose in the tournament when they were "upset" by the #11 seed Young Guns who were sporting a lineup consisting of 5 subs. Foul Balls still should have won the game after jumping out to a 7-0 lead, but they were unable to score again until the 6th and final inning and lost 15-12. Friday night they once again had hot bats early as they scored 8 in the first and 13 in the second to build a 21-5 lead. They went down 1-2-3 in the third, but the defense held up and they defeated Scared Hitless 21-5 in four innings.
Saturday started off with a 10am matchup with Beers. The game was fairly close throughout, but Foul Balls was the better team on this day and won 12-4. That win gave Foul Balls a 3 hour break to fuel up with Goodfellas Pizza at Andy Hahns house before squaring off with Bandits at 2pm. Things were not looking good a few innings into the game as Bandits grabbed a 7-1 lead. Foul Balls fought back to take the lead and then the two teams exchanged leads a couple times before Foul Balls went up 13-12 heading into the bottom of the 7th and held on for the victory.
That win set up a 3pm matchup with Pike Collision which is basically Eskimo Brothers, although they also had a couple quality subs playing. The game was close throughout and Foul Balls trailed 4-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth. Unfortunately Pike bats got hot and Foul Balls gave them a couple extra outs and Pike was able to score 9 runs to win 13-3.
Foul Balls finished tied for 5th as the #6 seed. The losses came to the teams that finished tied for 7th and in 4th. Those groups of people also represented the team that finished tied for 5th and in 2nd place. Life Church (Thurs) won all five games they played to take the championship over Knights.
2016 SPRING TOURNAMENT BRACKET
Jun 28, 2016
The bracket has been released and Foul Balls has earned the #6 seed out of 17 teams. The first game will be Thursday July 7th at 6:20pm on the big field against Young Guns from Monday night.
The complete brackets are posted on the Standings page.
TY SMASH!
Jun 21, 2016
Foul Balls and Eskimo finished up the Spring season on June 21st after being rained out for the second time this year the previous week.
The early start time proved to be trouble for Foul Balls as Jeff Galka was running late and left them with only 9 players. The teams allowed Foul Balls to switch to be visitors, but Foul Balls batted around in the top of the first and Jeff still had not arrived. After Eskimo briefly considered trying to force Foul Balls to take an out, they came to their senses and allowed the game to continue. Foul Balls were able to tack on a couple more hits and then Ty Martin was able to launch a two out grand slam to put Foul Balls up 10-0.
Foul Balls had to play with 9 guys in the bottom of the first but limited the damage to two runs. By the bottom of the 2nd Jeff had arrived and Foul Balls was back to a full defense. Meanwhile Foul Balls kept getting runners on, but couldn't put and more runs up. Eskimo continued to chip away, but couldn't make a big dent until they got three in the 6th to make it 10-6. Foul Balls loaded the bases in the 7th, but left them loaded for the second time in the game. In the bottom of the 7th, Eskimo was able to load the bases and get the winning run to the plate. Dale Wagner was able to haul in a high fly ball to end things though and Foul Balls held on for a 10-7 win.
Ben Caruso was 5-5 with a couple runs scored. Ty was the only batter with more than one RBI as Foul Balls took a very station to station approach on the bases. All nine batters that started the game got to run the bases in the first inning due to all three outs coming on a fielder's choice.
The Spring tournament is July 7-10 and the schedule should be out the night of June 27th.
WATCH OUT JDB!
Jun 07, 2016
June 7th felt like a split squad Spring Training game for Foul Balls as 6 guys were unable to play. John Buzzard and Bob Brabender were able to fill in and Foul Balls decided to take on All In with only 9 guys.
Foul Balls got a 2-0 lead early and got out of a couple jams in early to maintain that lead until the bottom of the 3rd when All In started to pick on the 3 man outfield. Foul Balls came back with 3 in the top of the 4th to take a 5-4 lead, but once again All In was hitting and Foul Balls helped them out a couple times on the way to making the score 10-5. A three run, two out rally in the 5th made it 10-8 and then a five run, two out rally in the 6th made the score 13-10. Foul Balls tacked two more on in the 7th and held on for the 15-10 victory.
John, Rob Hampton, and Bob combined to go 11-15 in the bottom three spots with Rob going 5-5.
The final game of the Spring season is June 14th against Eskimo Brothers at 6:20.
FOUL BALLS LET ONE SLIP AWAY
May 31, 2016
Foul Balls played a doubleheader on May 31st against 99 Problems and Eskimo Brothers. A sweep would put Foul Balls into a tie for first with Eskimo while a loss to Eskimo would all but sew up their championship.
Before worrying about Eskimo, Foul Balls had to deal with a 99 Problems team which is looking much more formidable than last year. The two teams swapped leads through the first few innings before Foul Balls took a 10-9 lead after five innings with the help of a home run from Andy Hahn. They were able to extend that lead and withstand a few more runs from 99 Problems to hold on for a 16-11 victory.
Things started well against Eskimo as Foul Balls batted around in the bottom of the 2nd to build a 8-2 lead. Eskimo kept chipping away and grabbed a 9-8 lead after the fifth as the Foul Balls bats went cold. Foul Balls rallied in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 9-9, but couldn't get the second run in. Eskimo then pushed 4 runs across in the top of the 8th and Foul Balls was unable to match.
The loss means Foul Balls will need a small miracle to get into a tiebreaker with Eskimo and another miracle to win that tiebreaker as Eskimo leads by 16 runs against right now. The next chance for Foul Balls to get the bats going is June 7th at 8:20 against All In.
BACK ON TRACK
May 24, 2016
Foul Balls played their sixth game of the season on May 24th against Scared Hitless.
The game started off the same way as the first matchup between the teams as the Scared Hitless pitcher struggled to find the strike zone. After a bad strike call to retire Dave Haas, Foul Balls strung together four straight hits with two outs to drive in 5 runs and build a 6-0 lead in the first inning. Foul Balls kept tacking on and had another big inning in the 4th which was capped by a three run home run from Haas which made the score 17-7 and Foul Balls was able to make that stand up for a win in 5 innings.
Andy Hahn was 3-3 again from the 8 spot. Rich Brown was 2-2 with a walk and Dale Wagner did not swing the bat while drawing walks in both of his plate appearances.
The next games are at 8:20 and 9:20 on May 31st against 99 Problems and Eskimo Brothers.
LOSING IN THE RAIN
May 17, 2016
May 17th was another wet night, but this time Foul Balls had to deal with the elements instead of sitting at home.
Foul Balls played a mostly uninspired game against Life Church which was lowlighted by a triple play on a pop up to deep first base. Life Church left a lot of runners on base throughout the night which kept it close, but Foul Balls fell 10-5. Jim Vandy went 3-3 so it probably wasn't his fault.
On the bright side Eskimo Brothers also lost, so Foul Balls still control their own destiny. The next game is at 7:20 on May 24th against Scared Hitless. The makeup for May 10th has also been scheduled. It'll be part of an 8:20 and 9:20 doubleheader on May 31st.
RAINED OUT
May 10, 2016
Games were rained out on May 10th. The next game is at 6:20pm on May 17th against Life Church.
TRIPLES PARTY
May 03, 2016
Foul Balls was looking to rebound from a surprise loss to 99 Problems when they squared off with All In on May 3rd. Super Fan Takoda was there to provide encouragement.
For the first time this season Foul Balls delivered a consistent offensive output throughout the entire game. Foul Balls scored at least one run in every inning and delivered big second and fifth innings on the way to an easy 17-2 win.
Andy Hahn and Rob Hampton were each 3-3 with three runs scored. Andy, Wyatt Buzzard, and Byrd each bombed a ball over the outfielders for a triple. Rich Brown delivered a diving catch in left field that nobody thought he'd get to and Ty Martin made a nice sliding catch later in the game while trying to avoid crashing into Rich. Roy Rodabaugh had a nice pick on a sharp one hopper at third and later started a double play that Jeff Brown made a nice turn on. Ben Caruso, Dave Haas and Jim Vandy also participated in the game.
The next game is a battle for first place on May 10th at 8:20 against Eskimo Brothers.
SINGLED TO DEATH
Apr 26, 2016
Foul Balls and 99 Problems squared off for the first time ever on April 26th.
Things started slowly after a long delay waiting on the umpire to show up. The teams played evenly until the top of the third when 99 problems started hitting one soft line drive after another until they'd scored 8 and built an 11-2 lead. Foul Balls answered with 8 of their own to close the gap. A base coaching mistake killed a potential rally in the 5th and Foul Balls got the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the 7th, but just couldn't string hits together. Final score was 14-12 in favor of 99 Problems. Jeff Brown stayed hot by going 4-4.
The next game is at 8:20pm on 5/3 against All In.
FORGOT THE BEER. GOT THE W.
Apr 19, 2016
April 19th got off to a rocky start with the discovery that the beer cooler had been left fully loaded on the counter. An attempted save by Jeff Brown was thwarted by a "Back in 15. Sorry for the inconvenience" sign on the door at Big Red Liquors. Despite the lack of hydration, Foul Balls committed to making a strong effort in front of an even larger human crowd than last week.
Early on the game did not seem competitive as the pitcher for Scared Hitless was unable to throw strikes. He only lasted into the second inning while walking 7 batters before they made a change. Foul Balls wasn't able to do much hitting outside of the walks though and only built a 7-0 lead. Once the new pitcher came in, the Foul Ball bats stayed cold and they didn't score again over the next three innings. Scared Hitless got on a roll though in the 3rd inning and strung a ton of singles together to tie the game. They added one in the 4th to take the lead and that held into the top of the 6th when JDB sparked a 2 out rally good for five runs. Foul Balls held the lead into the bottom of the 7th where they allowed the tying run to reach the plate, but were able to hang on for a 12-10 victory.
It was a rough night for the heart of the order as the 3-6 hitters combined to go 2-14 with 2 walks, but it was good to see the rest of the squad pick them up.
The next game is at 6:20 on April 26th against 99 Problems.
UPDATED SCHEDULE
Apr 14, 2016
A coed team dropped out so we have a new schedule. There are no longer any 9:20pm games. The next game is at 8:20pm on April 19th against Scared Hitless.
WE'RE BACK!
Apr 12, 2016
Foul Balls got the 2016 Spring season underway in a cold, muddy matchup with Life Church on April 12th. A larger than expected fan base of one person and two dogs was on hand to witness the first game of the year.
As you might expect in bad conditions after a more than six month layoff, Foul Balls got off to a pretty slow start. They only managed to get one run through the first three innings and trailed 3-1 heading into the fourth. The middle of the inning got things going at that point and rallied for four runs with two out in the fourth to take the lead. Foul Balls batted around in the 5th and left the bases loaded, but still added on five more runs to make it 10-4. More insurance in the 6th and 7th gave Foul Balls a 17-6 victory over one of the higher scoring teams in the league.
Wyatt Buzzard was 5-5 with 3 runs and 3RBIs and Jeff Brown was 4-4 with 2 runs and 3 RBIs. Andy Hahn bowled a 300 game the night before.
The next game is at 9:20pm on April 19th against Scared Hitless.
2016 SCHEDULE RELEASED
Apr 05, 2016
The 2016 schedule has been released and is available on the Schedules tab. The first Foul Balls game is scheduled for April 12th at 8:20pm against Life Church.
2015 FALL TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Oct 11, 2015
After seeing the Spring tournament rained out and missing out on a chance to play with the #2 seed and a full squad, Foul Balls limped into the Fall tournament as the #10 seed and had several guys missing or injured.
Foul Balls did get things going in their first game Thursday and upset the #7 seed Mound Rubbers. Saturday got off to a rough start with a loss to #2 Nu-Tech, but Foul Balls fought back with wins over #8 seed Jewelers and #3 seed Life Church (Tues) to advance to Sunday.
Sunday brought more trouble in the form of more shoulder troubles and a no show that left Foul Balls with only nine players against #4 seed Knights who added some quality subs their roster. Foul Balls fought through all the adversity and came within one run heading into the bottom of the 6th when time ran out while Knights were hitting. Knights would go on to finish 2nd and Nu-Tech would finish 4th. This is the second tournament in a row where both Foul Balls losses came to teams that finished in the top 4.
FINAL REGULAR SEASON GAME
Oct 06, 2015
Foul Balls got a tournament tune-up on October 6th as they played Scared Hitless two days before the start of the tournament.
Scared Hitless jumped in front early, but Foul Balls got things going in the second inning and scored runs in every inning that followed. Scared Hitless also continued to score, but at a lower rate and Foul Balls got a pretty low stress win 18-11 in six innings. Ben Caruso was 4-4 with a walk and 5 RBIs from the leadoff position. Chris Goult was also 4-4 and scored three times while somehow not driving in any runs from the 5 spot.
The first tournament game is at 9:20 on Thursday the 8th against Mound Rubbers on the small field. The complete bracket is available on the standings page.
WE(ED) WON!
Sep 22, 2015
Life Church had already locked up the championship jackets before the start of the game on September 22nd, but Foul Balls was still looking to spoil their perfect season.
Foul Balls got one in the first and added six more in the second to grab a 7-0 lead. Life Church finally got going in the bottom of the third and scored 11 runs to take the lead. Foul Balls continued to not hit and fell behind 15-7 heading into the top of the 6th. That's about when the players from the next game decided to make the entire park smell like weed. It sparked a rally though as Foul Balls scored six runs to cut the deficit to two runs. A quick definsive inning allowed the game to reach the 7th inning with less than a minute to spare. Foul Balls took advantage with 5 straight hits to start and four total runs. The score held in the bottom of the inning and Foul Balls walked away with a 17-15 victory.
The final regular season game is September 29th at 8:20 against Scared Hitless. Tournament games are October 8-11.
ANOTHER HEADLINE ABOUT LOSING
Sep 15, 2015
Foul Balls suffered a tough loss in a high scoring game on September 15th against Eskimo Brothers.
The game started off well with Foul Balls scoring 5 runs in the top of the first inning. Eskimo answered with 6 runs in the bottom of the inning to set the tone for the evening. Foul Bals scored in 6 out of 7 innings, but the lead changed hands several times. Foul Balls led 20-14 heading into the bottom of the 7th when Eskimo really got things going. They were able to push 7 runs across with only one out to get the win.
The loss drops Foul Balls to 4-4 on the season. Chris Goult was 5-5 and Ben Caruso was 5-6 with 5 runs scored. The next game is September 22nd at 8:20 against Life Church.
DISAPPOINTING LOSS
Sep 08, 2015
Foul Balls dropped a game to All In on September 8th. This was the first time that Foul Balls had lost to All In since the first time the two teams played in July 2013.
Foul Balls jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the top of the first, but then mostly went to sleep on offense the rest of the night. All In didn't hit that well either, but they did enough along with a few defensive misplays to chip away. They tied things at 8-8 in the 4th inning and then went up 11-8 in the 6th. Foul Balls did rally to tie it up in the top of the 7th, but All In was able to push a run across in the bottom of the inning to win 12-11.
The loss drops Foul Balls to 4-3. This is the first time Foul Balls has lost 3 games in a season at this park. The next game is September 15th at 7:20 against Eskimo Brothers.
WELCOME BACK
Sep 01, 2015
Foul Balls welcomed Andy Hahn back from his broken ankle on September 1st as they squared off against Scared Hitless.
Scared Hitless got out to an early lead, but Foul Balls tied it up in the second inning and batted around in the third inning to build a 10-3 lead. Scared Hitless had a couple innings where they stranded several runners, but they were only able to plate two more runs over the final four innings. Jim Vandy ended things with a single in the bottom of the 5th which means that's two consecutive games where a member of JDB walked the team off with a win.
Jim was 4-4 and Byrd was 3-3. Jeff Brown was 3-3 with a walk thanks to a little help from the Scared Hitless pitcher. Everyone scored at least once and everyone except the leadoff hitter drove in at least one run.
The next Foul Balls game is September 8th at 6:20 against All In.
CAN ANYONE READ THIS?
Aug 25, 2015
The softball website has been down for a week, but the games must go on! Foul Balls and Inquisitive Turtles both made it to the park for a late August matchup that saw Foul Balls looking to get back on the winning side.
Foul Balls rolled for the most part. The exception was the top of the 3rd inning when the Turtles put up 5 runs to take a 6-4 lead thanks in part to a streak of three hitters in a row that reached despite a Foul Balls player getting a glove on a fly ball. Foul Balls answered that with 7 runs of their own though and finished with a 17-7 victory in 5 innings.
Dale Wagner was 4-4 of course. Ben Caruso turned back the clock and went 3-3 with a walk and John Buzzard made his yearly appearance and went 2-2 with 2 walks. Jeff Brown took advantage of a rare opportunity in the two hole to knock in 4 runs on three hits.
The next Foul Balls game is September 1st at 7:20 against Scared Hitless.
TWO IN A ROW?
Aug 18, 2015
Foul Balls fell to Life Church on August 18th in a fairly high scoring matchup. This is the first time Foul Balls lost two regular season games in a row since July 2013 when Foul Balls moved to the east side.
Things were pretty even for the first inning, but Life Church scored 7 runs with two outs in the second inning to build a big lead. That turned out to be the big difference as they went on to win 17-10.
The next chance to get back on the winning side is August 25th at 8:20 against Inquisitive Turtles.
UGLY NIGHT
Aug 11, 2015
August 11th was an ugly night for Foul Balls as they lost their first game in about four months to Eskimo Brothers. Foul Balls didn't get much out of the bats and they made plenty of costly errors to help Eskimo Roll to an easy 13-3 win.
The next game is August 18th at 9:20 against Life Church.
WHEW.
Aug 04, 2015
A few Foul Balls, a couple stray gatos, a business associate and a random guy show up and play softball against All In. They win 14 - 13 and agree never to speak of this again.
#HAASSOME
Jul 21, 2015
Foul Balls got together for the first time in five weeks on July 21st to get the Fall season underway. A modified schedule meant that they squared off against Inquisitive Turtles in week one instead of the usual matchup with Eskimo Brothers.
The Turtles had a few good hits in the first inning and were aided by some questionable defense as they grabbed a 2-0 lead early. Foul Balls pretty much put any upset thoughts to bed though by batting around in the bottom of the first to take a 7-2 lead. The next few innings were mostly uneventful outside of Jeff Brown and Rick Gonser combining to make a circus catch which Nancy ruled a hit and caused Jeff to finally let her know how he feels about her.
She did allow him to keep playing and she made it up in the bottom of the inning as Foul Balls stretched the lead to 14-5 before walking off in the 5th on a base hit by Rich Brown. The final tally was 15-5. Dave Haas was the star as he brought the most fans and then went 3-3 with a couple doubles and a triple.
The next game is against Scared Hitless on July 28th at 9:20.
FALL SCHEDULE RELEASE
Jul 15, 2015
The 2015 Fall schedule has been released. Surpringly MLB Network decided not to run a 3 hour special discussing the matchups.
Team numbers got switched up so the schedule has a little bit different look than in the past few sessions. The first Foul Balls game in more than a month is at 9:20 on July 21st against Inquisitive Turtles.
SPRING TOURNAMENT RAINED OUT
Jul 10, 2015
Heavy rain during the week leading up to the tournament led to the tournament being cancelled despite sunny skies during all the scheduled game times Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
2015 SPRING TOURNAMENT BRACKETS
Jun 30, 2015
The brackets are now available on the Standings page. Foul Balls has the #2 seed in the tournament and El Gato has the #1 seed due to the Thursday champion deciding not to participate in the tournament.
The first game is 8:20pm on Friday night. The second game will be either 10am or 11am on Saturday. The latest scheduled game times are 3pm on Saturday and 2pm on Sunday. Let Ben know about your availability on all three days.
CHAMPS ARE HERE!
Jun 17, 2015
After giving someone else a chance last Fall, Foul Balls are once again your Tuesday night champions!
2015 TUESDAY SPRING CHAMPS
Jun 16, 2015
Foul Balls and Life Church squared off in the final game of the Spring season with the league title on the line. A win for Foul Balls would mean a 9-1 record and an outright title. A Life Church win would put both teams into a three way tie at 8-2 and Eskimo Brothers would take the tiebreaker on runs against.
Foul Balls got the first couple runners on base in the top of the first, but a series of fly balls followed and they were only able to put one run on the board. After Life Church tied things up, Foul Balls came up again and went down 1-2-3 in the second. Life Church got the first two runners on in the bottom half, but the rally didn't get much further than that as they took a 3-1 lead. The third inning saw Foul Balls string together some hits, including Dave Haas' first triple of the night, and they took a 5-3 lead. Each team tacked on a bit over the next inning and a half to make the score 6-5 in favor of Foul Balls heading into the fifth inning.
Rich Brown got things started in the fifth with a walk. That would be the last time a Foul Balls hitter would come to the plate and not get a hit for quite a while. Foul Balls recorded 14 singles and one triple in the fifth inning while scoring 15 runs and taking a 21-5 lead. Life Church got a few back in the bottom half, but not enough to extend the game as Foul Balls took the game 21-8. Scott McNeany was 2-2 in the big inning with a couple SAC flies in the early innings. Rich went 2-2 in the early innings before becoming the only Foul Ball to not record a hit in the fifth inning thanks to his walk and fielder's choice. Every player did score at least one run and drive in at least one run in the victory.
The Spring tournament is July 9-12. Expect to play on the 9th. The bracket should be out on June 30th.
WE LOVE DEFENSE
Jun 09, 2015
Foul Balls maintained their hold on first place on June 9th with a dominating win over All In. While the bats didn't start out as hot as they have been for the past several weeks, they did heat up eventually and the defense showed up from the start. Foul Balls played as clean a defensive game as they've ever played on the way to a 13-0 win.
Dave Haas led the way for Foul Balls with his 4-4 night. Dale Wagner and Josh Beard were each 3-3 and both Chris Goult and Wyatt Buzzard also had perfect batting averages for the evening thanks to some SAC flies.
June 16th is a t-shirt game against Life Church at 9:20pm. A win gives Foul Balls the outright championship while a loss would likely drop them into a three way tie and Eskimo Brothers would take the title with the tiebreaker.
HAT DAY!
Jun 02, 2015
Foul Balls finally broke out the new hats on June 2nd for their game against Inquisitive Turtles.
You can't get off to a much better start than Foul Balls did as they scored 12 runs in the top of the first to pretty much end things before they started. Foul Balls played mostly solid defense and continued to hit as they rolled to a 25-2 win. Wyatt Buzzard was 4-4 with 7 RBIs. Rich Brown was also 4-4, Rob Hampton was 3-3 and Josh Beard was 2-2. Jim Vandy turned one of his signature hits into a HR.
The next game is at 7:20 against All In on June 9th.
ROLLING ALONG
May 26, 2015
Foul Balls kept winning on May 26th in a late battle with Scared Hitless. Foul Balls started out by scoring a few runs in each of the first three innings to build a lead while only allowing one run. The bats cooled in the second half of the game, but the defense held up well enough to win 12-6.
Andy Hahn was 2-2 with a couple SAC flies. Nobody had a great night at the plate, but Foul Balls strung together enough hits to win comfortably.
The other big news was Life Church knocking off Eskimo Brothers which means Foul Balls has sole possession of first place with three games to go. The next game is June 2nd at 8:20 against Inquisitive Turtles.
LATE INNING MAGIC
May 19, 2015
Eskimo Brothers had a chance to all but seal their league championship against Foul Balls on May 19th. Both teams came into the game without having played a close game all season, but Eskimo Brothers did have a blowout win in the first matchup of the season.
The game started out poorly as Foul Balls had to play with 9 guys in the first inning, but they were able to limit the damage to two runs. After leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning Foul Balls only mustered 1 hit in the next three innings and were facing a 7-0 deficit heading into the bottom of the 5th inning. Chris Goult got Foul Balls on the board with a two out triple in the 5th, but Eskimo came back with three runs in the top of the 6th to make it 10-2 and it didn't look good for Foul Balls.
The sixth inning saw Foul Balls put together a two our rally though which was capped by a bases clearing double from Chris. Foul Balls scored 6 out of their 7 runs in the inning with two outs and trailed 10-9 heading into the 7th. Chris came up big on defense in the 7th when he threw a runner out at second and helped keep Eskimo stuck on 10. The bottom of the inning saw Wyatt Buzzard reach base which allowed Andy Hahn to take over as a courtesy runner for the tying run. Dave Haas was able to move him over and following an out, Rich Brown was able to drive in the tying run. Jeff Galka was up next and didn't waste the opportunity. He hit a ball over the left fielder's head to drive in the winning run and cap the comeback for an 11-10 win.
The win moves both teams to 5-1 on the season. Rob Hampton was 3-3 on the night including a couple hits during the two out rallies. Chris followed those two hits with extra base knocks that drove in a total of 5 runs.
The next Foul Balls game is May26th at 9:20 against Scared Hitless.
ANOTHER SHORT GAME
May 12, 2015
Foul Balls broke out their new jerseys and kept their streak alive of not playing a full seven inning game on May 12th against Life Church.
Things went really well from start to finish for Foul Balls on this night. They sent at least 10 batters to the plate in each of the first three innings and Wyatt Buzzard capped off the night with one out in the fourth inning as he hit a walk off 3 run HR to give Foul Balls a 22-6 win. Ty Martin, Andy Hahn, Wyatt, Jeff Brown, Jim Vandy and Dale Wagner each reached base safely every time they came to the plate. Jim led the way with 6 RBIs and both Andy and Wyatt scored four times.
The next game is May 19th at 6:20 against Eskimo Brothers. This is a must win game if Foul Balls wants any chance for free shirts.
BATTING AROUND AND AROUND
May 05, 2015
The first Family Night of 2015 saw Foul Balls taking on All In. Several families were in attendance to cheer for their favorite Ball.
The game got off to a slow start as All In took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first and Foul Balls failed to score. The second inning saw Foul Balls put three runs on the board before the top of the lineup killed the rally. The score was still 3-1 in the bottom of the third inning when Foul Balls exploded for 14 runs while batting around twice. Andy Hahn launched the first Foul Balls home run of the season in the middle of that rally. Foul Balls held again in the top of the fourth and earned a 17-1 victory.
Dave Haas, Jeff Galka, and Jim Vandy were each 3-3 on the night. Jeff led the team with 4 RBIs. Dale Wagner was also 2-2 with a walk. Kelly Boyle made her first Foul Balls appearance subbing for Byrd and he might not want to miss many more games as she went 2-3 with 2 RBIs and Jim/Dale/Boyle combined to go 7-8 with a walk.
The next game is May 12th at 8:20 against Life Church.
OH JOSH!
Apr 28, 2015
Foul Balls kept rolling on another cold April night as Ty Martin and Dale Wagner made their first appearances of the season.
Foul Balls got out to a 5-0 lead after the top of the 3rd against Inquisitive Turtles, but the Turtle bounced back with 4 runs in the bottom of the inning to narrow the gap. Jim/Dale/Byrd got things going in the 4th inning though as the first 11 batters of the inning all recorded hits. The team ended up going 12 for 13 with a SAC in the nine run inning. After a quick defensive inning Foul Balls got it going one more time with 8 straight hits for 6 more runs before Dale hit into an unassisted double play by the left center fielder to end the rally. The Turtles got a few back in the bottom of the inning, but not enough to continue and Foul Balls took the game by a score of 20-7 in five innings.
Ty and Wyatt Buzzard were each 4-4 and each drove in 3 runs. Wyatt also scored all four times. Jeff Brown was 3-3 with a SAC and Andy Hahn scored three times. Every player had at least one hit and scored at least one run. Rob Hampton was the only one to get his car stuck in the grass.
The next game is the first Family Day at the park. Foul Balls will play All In at 6:20 on Cinco de Mayo.
FIRST WIN OF THE YEAR
Apr 21, 2015
Foul Balls had to bundle up for a chilly game against Scared Hitless on April 21st, but for the second consecutive game Foul Balls had at least one fan in attendence thanks to Rob Hampton's son Dillon.
After a terrible first week, Foul Balls had a pretty consistent night in week two. They jumped out to a small early lead and scored between two and four runs every inning on the way to a pretty easy 15-5 win. Everyone reached base at least twice, but Byrd was the star with a 3-3 night that also featured a walk and three runs batted in including the walk off RBI in the bottom of the 5th inning.
The next game is at 9:20 on April 28th against Inquisitive Turtles.
SHITTY START TO THE SEASON
Apr 14, 2015
Foul Balls got their 2015 season underway with a matchup against their biggest rivals Eskimo Brothers. The game marked the return of Jeff Galka to pitch and Byrd's baby Bennett also made his first appearance at the park.
Things started poorly for Foul Balls as walks and defensive miscues helped Eskimo Brothers to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first and then the first three Balls were retired in order in the bottom half of the inning. Things got no better over the next several innings although the score was still only 6-0 heading into the bottom of the 5th. Foul Balls got the bases loaded with two outs but the Eskimo SS made a nice play to snag a line drive from Andy Hahn and kill the rally. After that Eskimo Brothers put up 8 runs in the next inning and the game was pretty much over. Dave Haas and Jim Vandy put together a couple hits with two outs in the bottom of the 6th to avoid the shutout, but the final score was 14-1.
The loss drops Foul Balls to 3-4 all time against Eskimo Brothers and it's the second straight blowout loss in the series. Foul Balls will look to bounce back against Scared Hitless at 8:20 on April 21st.
FALL TOURNAMENT
Oct 12, 2014
Foul Balls had a much more enjoyable tournament experience in the 2014 Fall tournament than they'd had in their first two end of season tournaments despite entering with a worse seed after not winning the league for the first time.
As the #5 seed they got things started on Friday with a close game against Mound Rubbers. That win set up a matchup with Milwaukee Beers who finished 2nd in the Spring tournament as well as the Thursday league. Foul Balls took a big hit early in that game as the magic black bat cracked, but recovered very well and pulled off a 15-5 victory. The lineup did take a hit as Andy Hahn came up lame running the bases and was forced to take the rest of the day off.
After a few hours to rest, drink, or play other games; Foul Balls met Bandits in the winner's bracket semifinals. Foul Balls grabbed a 2-0 lead, but couldn't quite hang with the #1 seed as they lost 10-8 to fall into the loser's bracket.
Sunday morning presented problems with several players being unavailable as well as a matchup against El Gato which was using several of the same players. A few subs were called in and the teams played 9v9 while sharing a dugout and bats. El Gato was able to get the victory, but the collection of misfits and injured players on the Foul Balls side kept things close.
The loss meant Foul Balls was eliminated in a tie for 5th place with their losses coming to the teams that finished 2nd (Bandits) and 3rd (El Gato) in the tournament.
NEW ATTENDANCE RECORD
Sep 30, 2014
Foul Balls played in front of a huge crowd on Family Day to close out the Fall season. 17 fans were there to pay a small amount of attention as Foul Balls battled Scared Hitless in a mostly meaningless game on September 30th.
Nerves may have gotten the better of Foul Balls early as they gave Scared Hitless about 4 extra outs in the first inning and fell behind 4-0. Those went away as soon as they came to bat though as Foul Balls hit well in every inning. They scored at least 3 runs in each inning except for the final inning which was cut short by the 10 run rule as Foul Balls won 19-9 in 5 innings.
Rich Brown had the best night at the plate by going 4-4 with 3 RBIs. Wyatt Buzzard hit another first inning home run and drove in 4 runs total. Every batter had at least one hit and scored at least one run.
The win made Foul Balls 8-2 which was good enough for the 5 seed in the tournament. The first game is at 6:20 on Friday the 10th. The complete brackets are available on the Standings page.
TOO MUCH POWER
Sep 23, 2014
Foul Balls might have to put in a request to move the fences back after all the balls that left the yard on September 23rd.
Wyatt Buzzard got the fireworks started early by bouncing a HR off the top of the fence in the first inning as Foul Balls jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Life Church got most of those back with help from some bad defense in the bottom of the inning, but FB had scored a couple more runs when Wyatt crushed another ball over the fence in the second inning. This one only counted for an out though and lived up to the saying of home runs kill rallies. Life Church pulled ahead in the second inning and Foul Balls had the bases loaded in the third when Chris Goult crushed a HR to center for another rally killing DBO.
The Life Church lead was 12-8 heading into the fifth with the clock ticking down. Foul Balls managed to tie it up, but couldn't hold on defense. Luckily they got the third out of the inning with under a minute remaining and went to the final inning down four. The first three batters reached before a SAC and a FC made things 16-14 with two outs. Three more hits with two down gave Foul Balls a one run lead though and for the first time all night Life Church failed to score a run in an inning as Foul Balls won 17-16.
Ben Caruso was 5-5 and Dale Wagner was 2-2. Chris was a HR shy of the cycle thanks to Wyatt hitting his HR first.
The final game of the season is at 6:20 on September 30th against Scared Hitless.
SEE YA!
Sep 16, 2014
Wyatt Buzzard's monster 290 HR led the way for Foul Balls against All In on September 16th.
Runs were hard to come by early and the bases were hard to run all night. Foul Balls had a 2-0 lead heading into the 4th when they batted around and stretched the lead to 7. Wyatt's HR made it 11-2 in the 6th and Foul Balls went on cruise control from there. Final score was 18-9.
The win guarantees a 2nd place finish for Foul Balls in the Fall season. Rich Brown, Andy Hahn, and Wyatt each had four hits in this victory. Andy and Wyatt hogged half of the RBIs. Every player scored at least one run for Foul Balls.
The next game is at 9:20 on September 23rd against Life Church.
THE CYCLE CONTINUES
Sep 09, 2014
Foul Balls won their 5th game of the season on September 9th against 365 Data Center.
Foul Balls had kind of a slow start, but they did score in every inning except the second inning. 365/Balzonya had never scored more than 7 runs against Foul Balls and that trend continued with this game, although some late runs did make the final score 17-6.
Wyatt Buzzard was the cycler this week and he finished it in style with a deep HR to center in the 7th inning. Andy Hahn used a pair of SAC flies to go 3-3 with 3 RBIs.
The next game is at 7:20 on September 16th against All In.
LOTS OF HITTING
Sep 02, 2014
Foul Balls got the bats back on track to start September against Scared Hitless.
Things were still a little slow through the first five innings, but Foul Balls never trailed as they built up to an 8-7 lead by scoring a couple almost every inning through the first five. Things really opened up in the 6th and 7th as they batted around in both innings and ended the game with a nine run victory.
Andy Hahn led the way by hitting for the cycle. He went 4-4 with a SAC fly and 5 RBIs. Wyatt Buzzard also drove in 5 runs. Josh Beard was also 4-4 and he added a walk and 3 RBIs.
The next game for Foul Balls is September 9th at 8:20 against 365 Data Center/Balzonya.
WELL THAT SUCKED
Aug 26, 2014
Foul Balls had a chance to take control of the league with a victory over Eskimo Brothers on August 26th.
Unfortunately Foul Balls came out flat and never got anything going at the plate. The game stayed close through 5 innings as the score was only 3-2, but Eskimo Brothers got a few hits and took advantage of several extra outs over the final two innings to make the final score 15-2. Wyatt Buzzard went 3-3 so it probably wasn't his fault.
Foul Balls need to win out and get some help to have a chance now. The next game is September 2nd at 7:20pm.
ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER WIN
Aug 19, 2014
Foul Balls and Life Church got their game in on August 19th to the surprise of most people involved. Despite heavy rain in most of the surrounding area, the softball field stayed dry all night and avoided a rainout.
Foul Balls managed to escape any damage from some very shaky pitching early by Ben Caruso and then grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks to one of Wyatt Buzzard's signature triples. Dusty Jones took over the pitching and settled the defense down as the bats continued to add one or two runs per inning. Wyatt, Andy Hahn and Jeff Brown each had chances for a walkoff HR in the 5th, but ended up letting everyone down. Life Church added one run in the 6th to ruin the shutout, but Foul Balls still won by a score of 8-1. Ty Martin was 3-3 with a couple runs scored and an RBI.
The next Foul Balls game is August 26th at 6:20. This is a huge game against Eskimo Brothers who also have one loss and defeated Foul Balls earlier this season.
TWO BIG INNINGS
Aug 12, 2014
Foul Balls and All In squared off on August 12th in a matchup of 1-1 teams.
The bats started off very cold for Foul Balls as they went 1-8 to start the game. They trailed 4-2 heading into the bottom of the 4th when they batted around to take a three run lead. All In answered with 5 runs of their own, but Foul Balls batted around again in the 5th to take a 15-9 lead. They couldn't add anymore in the 6th, but the defense held up for a 15-11 victory.
Dale Wagner was 2-2 with a SAC. The bottom five in the lineup each scored at least twice and Rich Brown led the way in RBIs with four.
The next game is at 8:20 against Life Church on August 19th.
BACK IN THE W COLUMN
Aug 05, 2014
Foul Balls entered their game on August 5th against 365 Data Center (Balzonya) looking for their first victory in nearly a month.
As usual, Foul Balls came out hitting in the first inning. They left the bases loaded though and only scored one run. Fortunately the hits kept coming throughout the remainder of the innings this time and Foul Balls scored at least one run in every inning on the way to a 10-0 victory.
Dusty Jones hobbled his way to a shutout as the guys behind him played solid defense. Rob Hampton was 3-3 and Ben Caruso was 3-3 with a SAC fly. Every Foul Balls batter had at least one hit in the game.
The next game is at 6:20 against All In on August 12th.
RAIN
Jul 29, 2014
The game on July 29th was postponed due to the horrific storm pictured below shortly before game time. The schedule and results are updated.
MORE SUCK
Jul 22, 2014
Foul Balls backed up their tournament performance with a similar display on the first night of Fall league against Eskimo Brothers.
Things got off to a good start again as Foul Balls were up 5-1 with no outs in the bottom of the second, but three straight outs left them up only 6-1 after two innings. The bats went silent for the next four innings while Eskimo Brothers had one big 10 run inning in the fifth to grab a 12-7 lead. It looked like Foul Balls might rally after getting the first two batters on base in the seventh, but it quickly sputtered out and Foul Balls fell 12-8.
The next chance for redemption is July 29th at 8:20 against Scared Hitless.
TOURNAMENT TIME
Jul 09, 2014
The 2014 Spring tournament begins on Thursday July 10th. Brackets are posted on the standings page. Foul Balls starts on the big diamond at 7:20pm against Fury which is a Thursday night team. The next game after that will be on Friday the 11th at either 6:20pm or 8:20pm.
GETTING THE AVERAGES DOWN
Jul 08, 2014
The final game of the Spring session was not a pretty game for Foul Balls. Life Church defeated All In beforehand so there was limited motivation with the outright championship already in the bag.
Foul Balls started out scrambling a bit as they nearly had to start with eight guys, but they managed to only give up two runs in the first. Those runs were quickly made up in the bottom half of the inning, but after the first three Foul Balls hitters reached base things slowed way down. The game sped along as Foul Balls went 2-16 over the rest of the first inning into the fifth inning. Josh Beard broke that up with a two out single in the fifth and sparked a four run rally to grab a 6-4 lead.
Foul Balls held that through the sixth, but in the top of the seventh inning Eskimo Brothers scored three runs and put Foul Balls in the hole heading into the bottom of the last frame. The top of the Foul Balls lineup got it done though with an infield hit followed by a double down the line by Rich Brown and Andy Hahn finished it off with a double to deep center field for an 8-7 win.
Andy went 4-4 with a couple doubles to lead the way. Ben Caruso and Rich each went 3-4 and scored three times in front of Andy. Three players managed to each make the first, second, and third out of different innings in their three at bats.
PADDING THE STATS
Jul 01, 2014
Foul Balls and Balzonya met in a makeup game on July 1st with 5 of the regular Foul Balls unavailable to play. A win would clinch a tie for the championship and Foul Balls had the tiebreaker over All In.
Other than picking up a random person at the park to avoid playing with nine the night ended up being mostly stress free. Foul Balls jumped out to an early 5 run lead after the first inning. Things slowed down over the next few innings, but Balzonya only made up one run as Foul Balls took a 7-3 lead into the fifth inning. At that point Foul Balls started hitting and Balzonya stopped catching the ball and Foul Balls poured on 19 more runs over the final two innings en route to a 26-7 victory.
There were plenty of good stat lines as you'd expect when a team scores 26 times. Ben Caruso was 6-6 and Chris Goult was 4-4 with a SAC fly. Everyone reached base safely at least 3 times and scored at least twice and drove in at least one run. Lots of stat category races are very close heading into the final game of the spring.
That final game of the spring season is July 8th at 8:20 against Eskimo Brothers. A win (or a loss by All In) gives Foul Balls the outright championship.
BACK TO BACK
Jul 01, 2014
For the second session in a row, Foul Balls are your Tuesday night champions!
BIG WIN
Jun 17, 2014
Foul Balls had to call in the reserves on June 17th for a rematch against Life Church. Three guys we unavailable for the game against the only team to defeat Foul Balls in 2014.
The game was close throughout the first several innings as neither team let by more than 2 runs through 4 innings. In the fifth inning Foul Balls scored four to make the lead 12-7 and held on the rest of the way for a 13-9 victory. Jim Vandy, John Buzzard, and Dave Haas led the way by going 11-12. The only other players to even manage two hits were Dusty Jones and Rob Hampton. Andy Hahn's one hit did travel the longest distance though.
There's still work to be done though as Foul Balls still might not be able to clinch an outright title until the last week of the season. The next game is June 24th against Eskimo Brothers at 8:20.
BATTLE FOR FIRST PLACE
Jun 10, 2014
Foul Balls and All In squared off in a light drizzle on June 10th with first place on the line.
Foul Balls spent most of the first couple innings looking out at the parking lot waiting for players to run up just in time to bat or play the field. While that was going on they did send seven batters to the plate in the first, but only scored 2 runs. All In started out how and built a 4-2 lead after two innings, but at that point the full Foul Balls squad had arrived. Six straight hits including another HR from Wyatt Buzzard gave Foul Balls a 7-4 lead after three innings. Another big inning made the lead 14-4 but a couple defensive lapses allowed All In to score one run and extend that game to a sixth inning. Foul Balls took advantage of the extra swings and got 12 hits in the first 13 at bats for 10 more runs and coasted to a 24-6 win.
The win moves Foul Balls to 6-1 and solo first place. Jeff Brown was 5-5 on the night while Rich Brown only went 4-5, but that included 3 triples and 5 RBIs.
The next game is a chance to avenge the only loss of the season at 9:20 on the 17th against Life Church. Also note that the game time on July 1st was updated in case you plan your schedule really far in advance.
BOUNCING BACK
Jun 03, 2014
Foul Balls were looking to get back to winning against Balzonya after dropping their first game of the year last week.
Things didn't start off that well as Foul Balls only got two hits the first time through the lineup and several defensive miscues helped Balzonya build a 6-1 lead after two innings. The bats finally got going in the third inning as Foul Balls got 5 consecutive hits with two outs and trimmed the lead to 6-5. Three runs in the fourth gave Foul Balls a lead and when the first 8 batters of the fifth inning scored Foul Balls built a 16-6 lead and held on in the bottom of the inning to close it out.
The next game is a battle for first place at 7:20pm on June 10th against All In.
BITTER TASTE OF DEFEAT
May 28, 2014
Foul Balls got their first taste of defeat on May 28th against Life Church.
Life Church jumped out to an early lead with 5 runs in the first inning, but Foul Balls made is 6-5 after two innings. A huge 4th inning by Life Church helped them get a 17-6 lead heading into the bottom of the 5th and Foul Balls had to rally with 8 straight hits after two outs to make the score 17-12 and avoid the ten run rule. Life Church added four insurance runs in the top of the 6th inning and those turned out to be big as Foul Balls rallied again for 6 runs, but left the tying run on deck for a 21-18 loss in a time shortened game.
The loss drops Foul Balls to 4-1 and a tie for first place. Andy Hahn muscled up for a home run to the deep part of the park in the final inning. Ben Caruso was 4-4 with a walk and Jim Vandy was also 4-4.
The next game for Foul Balls is at 8:20 on June 3rd against Balzonya.
WYATT BUZZARD'S WORLD
May 27, 2014
Foul Balls took on Scared Hitless for the second time in 2014 on May 27th. Due to all of the rain this was only the fourth game of the year for Foul Balls.
Foul Balls took control of the game early with two in the first and five in the second (although only 4 went up on the scoreboard). The bats cooled down after that and Scared Hitless put together a small rally in the bottom of the 6th to pull within 2 or 3, but Wyatt Buzzard hit his second career home run and second home run in two weeks in the 7th to pad the lead and Foul Balls held on for the 10-5 victory.
Most of the lineup had a bad day, but fortunately the 3-6 hitters went 12-14 with a walk and a SAC fly. Wyatt was 3-3 and drove in 5 runs. He overshadowed Andy Hahn who went 3-3 and needed a HR for the cycle in his last AB, but took a walk and let Wyatt hit the HR right after that.
The next Foul Balls game is tonight at 8:20.
FIRST FOR EVERYTHING
May 20, 2014
Foul Balls had to scramble a bit to start the game on May 20th as they faced off in a first place battle against Eskimo Brothers.
An early game time with no subs led to Eskimo Brothers getting one inning to play against a shorthanded Foul Balls defense and they took advantage to score four runs in the first inning. Foul Balls did a little damage every inning, but still trailed 10-4 heading into the bottom of the 4th inning. That's when Foul Balls busted out with 6 runs including Wyatt Buzzard's first career over the fence home run. They then broke the tie with four runs in the 5th and added one more in the 6th before holding on for a 15-11 win.
The win makes Foul Balls 3-0 and gives them solo possession of first place. Ty Martin went 5-5 with 3 RBIs to lead the way to the victory.
The next games for Foul Balls are Tuesday May 27th at 7:20 and Wednesday May 28th at 8:20.
RAINED OUT
May 14, 2014
May 13th was another rain out. The schedule has been updated.
The next game is Tuesday May 20th at 6:20 against Eskimo Brothers. This is a showdown between the top two teams from last year and the only two undefeated teams this season as well.
There is also a game on Wednesday May 21st at 8:20. That's a make up game for the rainout this week.
FAMILY DAY
May 06, 2014
May 6th was Family Day at the ballpark thanks to an early game time and some good weather. Foul Balls had their biggest crowd of supporters in their history and the fans were not disappointed by the play on the field. Mostly because they were probably ignoring it anyway.
After not throwing a batter out at first in their first game of the year, Foul Balls got their infield work started early by recording ground outs against the first three All In batters of the game. The offense got started in the bottom of the first and added runs in each of the first four innings while leaving at least two runners stranded every inning to build a 9-0 lead. All In finally pushed a run across in the 5th and the Foul Balls bats went cold, but they held on for a 9-1 victory.
The next game is May 13th at 8:20 against Life Church.
OFF AND RUNNING IN 2014
Apr 22, 2014
The 2014 softball season got started a week late after snow/rain caused week one to be rescheduled. Foul Balls got the year started against Scared Hitless on April 22nd with temperatures still in the 40s/50s.
Things got off to a little bit of a rough start as Scared Hitless started with a couple walks and a HR to build a 3-0 lead. They continued to hit, but couldn't do more damage as they stranded the bases loaded. Foul Balls came back with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to even the score. Scared Hitless came out swinging again and scored 6 more and stranded 3 runners again in the second to build a 9-3 lead. That lead held until the bottom of the 3rd when Foul Balls scored 10 runs to build a 13-9 lead. 4 more runs got tacked on in the 4th to make it 17-9. Scared Hitless got a couple back in the 5th, but time ran out as Foul Balls batted in the bottom of the 5th. The result was a 18-11 opening night victory for Foul Balls.
Everyone had at least one hit and one run scored in the victory. Ben Caruso, Jeff Brown, Dusty Jones, and Jim Vandy each have perfect batting averages after one game. Foul Balls won the game without throwing a batter out at first base.
The next Foul Balls game is April 29th at 9:20pm against Balzonya.
TOURNAMENT COLLAPSE
Oct 13, 2013
Foul Balls came into the Summer/Fall tournament as a #2 seed after winning the Tuesday night league. They looked to have a good chance in the tournament with almost a full team available and a couple quality subs. Unfortunately things didn't work out at all Foul Balls lost their first two games on Friday night so they didn't even get to play on the weekend. The recap of the rest of the tournament is below.
#4 Seed Jewelers Boutique won the 2013 Men's Fall Tournament in dramatic fashion with a walk off Home Run in the bottom of the 9th inning. Congratulations, Jewelers Boutique.
Congatulations to the following teams on their finish in the tournament:
2nd Place #6 Seed Knight's of Whiskey Business
3rd Place #17 Seed Milwaukee Beers
4th Place #12 Seed El Gato Volador
5th Place #15 Seed Triple B's
5th Place #3 Seed Pike Collision
Final three was all Thursday Teams. Eight straight tournaments that a League Champ has not won the tournament. Jewelers Boutique was only the 4th single digit seed out of the last eight tournaments to be champs. #17 Seed Milwaukee Beers finished in third place. The lowest seed ever to win the tournament is #14 Seed Tribute to Silver Fox.
WHAT WINNING LOOKS LIKE
Oct 02, 2013
Please inform your acquaintances about us.
CHAMPIONS!
Oct 01, 2013
Foul Balls came into the last game of the Summer/Fall season with a 7-2 record needing a win over Scared Hitless in order to claim the league championship by a game over Eskimo Brothers.
A generous double play call in the top of the first helped Foul Balls hold Scared Hitless scoreless in the first, and four hits plus a walk led to a 3-0 lead after one inning. Scared Hitless came back in a big way in the second and grabbed a 9-3 lead, but JimDaleByrd sparked Foul Balls to six runs in the bottom of the inning and tied things up 9-9. Scared Hitless got a couple more in the third, but Foul Balls had a four run, two out rally in the bottom of the third to regain the lead at 13-11.
From then on Dusty Jones was dialed in on the mound and the Foul Balls defense held Scared Hitless scoreless over the next two innings. One in the 4th and five runs in the bottom of the 5th gave Foul Balls an eight run lead heading into the sixth where the defense held again. With JimDaleByrd set to lead off everyone knew it was pretty much just a formality. All three reached base and one batter later Dale stepped on home plate to seal the title.
Ty Martin was 3-3 with 4 RBIs and Andy Hahn was 3-3 with 3 RBIs. Wyatt Buzzard finally hit a couple triples and really almost everyone had a good night at the plate. Dusty also had several key strikeouts on the mound.
Next games for Foul Balls are in the tournament which is the 10th-13th. The first game is most likely Friday evening, but the official schedule should be out on October 4th.
ONE STEP AWAY
Sep 24, 2013
Foul Balls took care of business on September 24th against Pitches Be Crazy as they continued on their quest for a title.
Pitches Be Crazy jumped out to a lead in the top of the first and Foul Balls tied it up, but Pitches came back with three more runs in the second to take a 6-3 lead. Ty Martin tied things in the bottom of the third with a three run inside the park home run and Foul Balls built the lead with three runs in each of the next two innings while holding on defense. Pitches got one more run in the 6th, but they were shut down in the 7th and Foul Balls walked away with a 12-7 win. Rob Hampton was 3-3 and Gary Sweeney had no official at bats but walked three times while scoring a run and driving in a run with a bases loaded walk.
The win puts Foul Balls in first place by a game over Eskimo Brothers, but the tiebreak would go to Eskimo Brothers on total runs allowed. That means either Eskimo Brothers needs to lose at 7:20pm or Foul Balls will need to win their final game at 10:20pm against Scared Hitless in order to win the league.
BIG WIN
Sep 17, 2013
Foul Balls faced off against Eskimo Brothers in another battle for first place on September 17th.
Things started off well as Foul Balls sent 9 batters to the plate in the first, but they scored the minimum of three runs as they left the bases loaded. They continued to add on runs while playing solid defense as they built an 11-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 5th. Eskimo Brothers put together some hits and the defense let up a bit which allowed Eskimo Brothers to score seven runs and make the score 11-9. Foul Balls bounced back with 5 in the top of the 6th including an inside the park home run by Andy Hahn. After that Foul Balls held Eskimo Brothers to two runs over the final two innings and recorded a 16-11 victory.
Byrd was the defensive star with a catch on a foul tip that probably shouldn't really have been an out and a great play backing up third to allow Foul Balls to get out of an inning where Eskimo Brothers were threatening. Jeff Brown tried to impress his wife by going 4-4 and Ty Martin went 3-3 with a walk even though nobody from his family was in attendance.
The next game for Foul Balls is at 8:20pm on September 24th against Pitches Be Crazy which was a close game the first time the teams met up.
BACK IN FIRST PLACE
Sep 10, 2013
Foul Balls got their first chance in a couple months to play two games on the same night as they faced off against two other 3-2 teams.
The first game against Balzonya was pretty close throughout, but Foul Balls scored at least one run in 4 out of 6 innings and their three runs in the bottom of the sixth gave them a six run cushion which held up for a 10-4 victory.
Game two was all Foul Balls from the start. Foul Balls sent at least 9 batters to the plate in each of the first three innings and only recorded one out in the 4th inning before winning by the 15 run rule by a score of 20-5.
Chris Korb and Andy Hahn and Rich Brown were all 6-7 on the night. Wyatt Buzzard had a 7 RBI performance in the second game of the night.
The next Foul Balls game is September 17th against Eskimo Brothers at 8:20pm. This will be the battle for first place as Eskimo Brothers are a half game back right now and they defeated Foul Balls in the previous meeting.
FIRST PLACE NO LONGER
Aug 27, 2013
Foul Balls fell out of first place just one week after earning a share of the lead in the standings with a loss to Eskimo Brothers on August 27th.
Things started slowly and stayed slow throughout the game for Foul Balls with the exception of a 6 run second inning. Eskimo Brothers didn't do all that much either, but they scored a couple runs each inning which was enough for an 11-8 victory.
Next week is a bye week so the next game is September 10th at 8:20pm.
THE NEW BATS WORK
Aug 20, 2013
The new bat showed up in time for Foul Balls to use it against Pitches Be Crazy in a battle for first place on August 20th. Rob Hampton also showed up with a surprise new bat which led to four softball bats leaning against the fence for Foul Balls.
Things got off to a good start in the first when 5 of the first 6 batters reached based, but when Rob lined out to short left field and Jeff Brown was doubled off second they were left with only two runs. After a quiet second inning, Foul Balls got it going again with 7 of the first 8 batters reaching base. Once again the inning ended when a bases loaded line drive was caught and Wyatt Buzzard was doubled off third. The wheels came off a little bit on defense in the third inning and Pitches Be Crazy batted around to score 9 runs and take a 10-6 lead.
After another quiet inning the bottom of the lineup kick started another rally which sent 12 batters to the plate and resulted in 7 more runs for a 14-10 lead. The lead got cut to two runs heading into the 7th and Foul Balls wasn't able to add on at all, but they held on defense in the bottom of the 7th and earned the 14-12 win and a share of first place.
Foul Balls managed to strand an impressive 10 runners on base in the win. Jeff went 4-4 with an inside the parker which broke the 10-10 tie in the 6th. Each batter had at least one hit in the game.
The next game is at 6:20 on August 27th against Eskimo Brothers.
TWO BATS
Aug 06, 2013
Foul Balls and Life Church squared off under the lights on August 6th as Foul Balls looked to bounce back from a poor performance in the previous game.
Things didn't get off to a great start as the game started right on time, but only eight Foul Balls were at the park. Fortunately FB were visitors so by the time they had to take the field there were 9 defenders and unfortunately the bottom of the first took long enough that there were 10 defenders by the time Life Church ended the first inning with a 6-1 lead. Things picked up in the third as Foul Balls nearly batted around and added on four runs, but Life Church also tacked on a couple to maintain a 8-5 lead.
In the 4th inning Foul Balls sent 13 batters to the plate and took the lead thanks to scoring nine more runs. Life Church grabbed a one run lead heading into the 6th inning with time running out and once again Foul Balls stepped up with the bats. They batted around again while scoring five runs to take a four run lead and the defense was able to hold Life Church to only two runs in the bottom of the inning to secure a 19-17 victory.
Life Church was very patient at the plate, but that worked against them a couple times as Dusty Jones recorded two strikeouts looking. Ben Caruso was 5-5 at the plate to lead things off. Andy Hahn kept things going in the cleanup spot by going 4-4 with a walk. Dale Wagner maintained the momentum in the seven spot with a 4-4 night. Every Foul Balls player scored at least one run and drove in at least one run.
There is no game on August 13th. The next Foul Balls game is August 20th at 7:20 against Pitches Be Crazy who are currently in first place.
SOME REALLY FOUL BALLS
Jul 30, 2013
Foul Balls lived up to their name on July 30th. After a weak first inning of hitting Foul Balls took the field and proceeded to give away several extra outs and dig a large hole for themselves. It got so bad that one fan actually peed themselves just so they wouldn't have to watch.
The light hitting continued throughout the game for Foul Balls and they ended up fouling out 5 or 6 times during the game. The only good inning came in the 5th when the game was on the verge of ending early and the bottom of the order stepped up with 4 straight hits to spark a 4 run inning. The final score was somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-5. Half the team had two hits, but only Gary Sweeney had two RBI.
The next game is at 9:20 on August 6th.
BRAND NEW SEASON
Jul 23, 2013
Foul Balls played their first game in more than a month on July 23rd. It marked the first game of the summer season and the first game for Foul Balls at Oren J Alexander Park.
Everyone was in good spirits before the game after getting into the park without paying $3 for the first time in years. Rob Hampton led off the year with a single and Chris Korb followed that up with a home run over the short porch in left field for an early lead. Foul Balls got a few more runs over the next two innings before Balzonya closed the gap to 5-4 in the middle innings. The Foul Balls bats stayed quiet until the top of the 7th when they got one more run to earn a two run lead and Dusty Jones made that stand up for a 6-4 victory.
Chris Korb was the top batter for Foul Balls with a 3-4 night including the home run. Ben Caruso, Ty Martin, and Dale Wagner were each 2-3. Jim Vandy and Dale teamed up for the defensive play of the night when Jim caught a ball and threw a runner out trying to tag from first to end an inning before the runner from third scored.
The next game is at 6:20 on July 30th against All In.
READY? FIGHT!
Jun 19, 2013
Foul Balls paid their last $3 gate fee as they closed out a spectacularly awful season at Midwest on June 19th.
The first game of the night was an almost perfect way for Foul Balls to go out as they didn't record a hit until their 9th batter and only got 3 hits all game while failing to score a run. Josh Beard, Jeff Brown, and Jim Vandy were the "stars" of this game thanks to their one hit each.
The second game of the night started out better and was fairly close throughout, but none of that really mattered as it was all just the precursor to the Foul Balls grand exit. Nobody technically was thrown out, but benches cleared, plenty of colorful language filled the air and Dusty Jones crushed someone with a blindside hit. Andy Hahn was the player of the game with his 3 hits and throwing the ball that helped trigger the mess at the end of the night.
There will be more Foul Balls action in 2013, but it won't be at Midwest. Stay tuned for news about a schedule from the new place. The first game should be on July 23rd.
SOMEBODY LIKES DUDES?
Jun 12, 2013
Foul Balls headed into a triple header on June 12th with about a 33% chance of winning at least one game and 100% chance that several members of the team would have rather been watching hockey than losing softball games.
Hamilton Beverage set the tone for the night as they jumped out to a 9-1 lead after the first inning. Foul Balls briefly gained some hope as they scored 6 in the second inning, but Hamilton Beverage wasn't going to stop hitting and eventually won the game 20-11 in six innings. Dale Wagner was 3-3 with a walk in the leadoff spot. Dusty Jones was 2-2 with a SAC fly and Gary Sweeney got his first official hit of the year after having his week one hits rained out.
The second game started out even worse for Foul Balls and there was clearly not going to be any hope for a victory. Wyatt Buzzard handled the pitching and forced the Bunt Pirates to swing at bad pitches, but they didn't have much trouble doing that as they put up 22 runs in four innings to win 22-3. Ben Caruso and Josh Beard were each 2-2 and Gary knocked in two of the three runs.
After being inspired by watching hockey and drinking beer, Foul Balls returned to the field for an 11pm game against BC Carpet. Dusty made his pitching debut in a strong wind and this one was close throughout with both offenses drying up through the middle innings. Foul Balls cut the deficit to one heading into the bottom of the 7th and Dale appeared to start things off by legging out an infield hit, but was called out and the next two batters were retired for a 10-9 BC Carpet win. Jeff Brown, Ben, and Wyatt were each 3-4 in the loss.
The final Foul Balls games at Midwest (at least this year) are June 19th at 9pm and 10pm and both are legitimate chances for a victory.
RETURN OF CALE
Jun 05, 2013
Foul Balls had a few players missing on June 5th and had to dig deep into the pile of potential subs in order to field a full team. One of the results was Cale Sizelove making his first appearance since 2010.
Foul Balls got off to a great start in game one with 6 straight batters reaching to start the game before the next three hitters were retired in order. Cale led the defense by making a couple plays in the field to hold the lead in the first inning and FB added three more runs for a 7-0 lead. At that point Melon Farmers kind of took over and put up 17 runs over the next four innings while Foul Balls only sent 9 batters to the plate over the next three innings on the way to a 17-7 loss. Wyatt Buzzard was 2-2 with 4 RBI in the loss.
The second game didn't get off to a great start as Bunt Pirates took a 7-2 lead through two innings, but Foul Balls hung in and eventually tied the score 9-9 after five innings. Bunt Pirates took a 16-10 lead into the bottom of the last inning and Foul Balls rallied to bring the winning run to the plate, but fell just short and lost 16-14. Ben Caruso, Rob Hampton, and Eric Martin were each 4-5 in the loss and Eric contributed 4 RBI.
I'm still waiting to receive an updated schedule so I'm not sure what time the games will be on June 12th. The original schedule has us at 8pm and 9pm.
SCHEDULE UPDATE
Jun 03, 2013
I was just notified that Foul Balls plays at 7pm and 8pm on June 5th instead of 7pm and 10pm like we were originally scheduled. The guy said I was going to get an email with an updated schedule so I'll let you know if there are other changes.
SWEPT AWAY
May 29, 2013
May 29th was Chris Korb's debut with Foul Balls, but it was spoiled by Glasser and Ebbs/Indy Promo as Foul Balls dropped both games of the doubleheader.
The games played out in almost the exact same fashion as the score was close through the first 4-5 innings and then Foul Balls gave up a big inning to fall behind by about 10 runs. The story of the night was a lack of hitting as Foul Balls only managed 6 runs in each game on the way to 13-6 and 12-6 losses. The best hitting nights were from Andy Hahn (6-8) and Jeff Brown (5-7). Defensive highlights of the night were Wyatt Buzzard starting a 4-3-2 double play and making the turn on a 6-4-3 double play.
Games on June 5th are at 7pm and 8pm.
WIN #2
May 15, 2013
Foul Balls got their second victory of the season on May 15th.
Their first game of the night was a rematch against Club 39 who defeated Foul Balls by two in a low scoring game on the first night of the year. The rematch was close again and Foul Balls held a one run lead heading into the last inning. Club 39 grabbed a four run lead in the top of the inning and Foul Balls tried to battle back when they got the first 3 men on base in the bottom half, but fell short for another two run loss. Wyatt Buzzard and Jeff Brown were each 4-4 and Dusty Jones was 2-2 with a walk in the loss.
Game two saw the first pitching change of the year for Foul Balls and it was a welcome sight as Rich Brown seemed to do a much better job of getting the ball over the plate against Nine Inch Males. NIM was overmatched for the most part although they kept it close until the fifth inning when Foul Balls started to pull away before eventually winning by a score of 15-6. Rich was 4-4 with 4 runs scored and Dusty recorded 7 RBI in the win.
The next Foul Balls games are on May 22nd at 9pm and 10pm.
MORE LOSSES PILING UP
May 08, 2013
Foul Balls dropped a 7pm and 10pm game for second week in a row on May 8th. The losses make Foul Balls 1-8 on the season.
The first game was kind of close for a couple innings as Foul Balls fell behind 6-0, but then scored 4 runs in the bottom of the first to make the score 6-4. They held in the second and fourth innings, but allowed 6 in the third and 10 in the fifth to fall way behind and lose 22-4. The loss probably wasn't Wyatt Buzzard's fault since he went 3-3. Dale Wagner was 1-1 with a walk so maybe he's off the hook also.
After a couple hours of drinking Foul Balls got back to business, but didn't have much better results. They were only able to score 5 runs and Moxie had no problem getting to 15 by the bottom of the 5th to end the game early. Rob Hampton is a machine so of course he went 3-3 again. Andy Hahn went 2-2 in the second game.
The games on May 15th are at 8pm and 9pm.
WE DRANK A LOT OF BEER
May 01, 2013
Foul Balls had their first night with a 7pm game and a 10pm game on May 1st. The situation seemed to lend itself much better to drinking a lot of beer than winning softball games.
The first game was a rematch of the only Foul Balls victory of the season over Moose Knuckles. Foul Balls scored a couple runs early to take the lead, but they stalled out after that while Moose Knuckles continued to add a run or two almost every inning and ended up with a 7-3 victory. Rob Hampton stayed hot and went 3-3 again. Dale Wagner didn't have nearly as good a game, but still set a Juiced/Dox/BH/FB record by hitting into three double plays in one game. Bennett Brown also made his presence felt by throwing balls onto the field from the dugout while the game was going on and removing the grip tape from Rich's bat halfway through the game.
The second game against Melon Farmers looked like it might be an easy win based on last year, but this seems to be a whole new group of Melon Farmers. To add to the fun the game didn't get started until 10:45. The Melon Farmers scored four in the first, but Foul Balls were able to tie the score in the bottom of the inning. Unfortunately that was the last time the score was close as Melon Farmers scored six in the bottom of the second to start pulling away. The final score was 14-7. Nobody really hit well, but Dave Haas was the star of the game by responding to a text at 9:30pm asking him to fill in for a 10pm game and then rounding the bases like Jim Vandy and nearly taking out the first baseman in the fifth inning.
The next games are at 7pm and 10pm again on May 8th.
TRYING TO MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE
Apr 24, 2013
Foul Balls arrived at the park on April 24th with one goal in mind: Help Wyatt Buzzard turn his first double play ever.
Foul Balls had to start the first game with only eight players and play the majority of the game with nine guys so Wyatt didn't move to second base right away. Meanwhile, the Foul Ball bats picked up where they left off last week as they only managed one run through the first four innings. Bunt Pirates had no trouble taking advantage of the missing outfielder as they racked up 12 runs in those first four innings. Foul Balls had three doubles in a row in the 5th to add a couple runs, but Bunt Pirates easily added one more in the bottom of the 5th to end the game by the ten run rule. Rob Hampton stayed hot and went 2-2 with a walk to be the star for the losing side.
Game two saw Wyatt starting at second base and early in the game he got his perfect chance for a double play. The throw to second was right on the money and Wyatt was in great position to make the transfer and fire to first and fulfill his lifelong dream. Unfortunately Wyatt forgot how many outs there were and didn't throw the ball to first base and his dream was crushed.
Foul Balls fell behind early again in the second game, but battled back throughout the game. They tied the score at 5-5 and 11-11, but each time Indy Promo added runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead back. The game was 13-11 heading into the sixth when Foul Balls were unable to score and with only two minutes left on the clock Indy Promo chose to let the clock run out to secure the win. Jim Vandy was 4-4 at the plate during the game and after the game Wyatt offered money to Dusty for sexual favors which was unexpected.
The games next week are at 7pm and 10pm so get ready for a long night.
FIRST WIN OF THE YEAR
Apr 17, 2013
Foul Balls picked up where they left off last week in their first game of the night against Moose Knuckles. 5 of the first 6 batters reached safely as Foul Balls jumped out to an early lead. After a quiet second inning Foul Balls added 15 runs over the next 4 innings while scoring in every inning. They had a shot to end things in five innings with the winning run on first and no outs, but Moose Knuckles was able to hold on and then score enough runs to push the game to seven innings where Foul Balls eventually won 18-14.
Ben Caruso was 4-5 with 4 runs and a weak person's home run. Jeff Brown and Ty Martin also had four hits each and Ty led the team with 4 RBI in game one. 9 FB batters drove in at least one run and 9 FB batters scored at least one run in the victory.
Game two was much less fun for everyone in blue. Ben struggled to throw strikes and when he did Glaser & Ebbs hit the ball well as they scored 13 runs in the first three innings and probably could have had more. Meanwhile FB didn't reach base until the third inning and didn't score until the fourth inning. The misery eventually ended after 5 innings as Foul Balls fell 17-4.
Ty was 2-3 and had a nice diving catch in the field. Dale Wagner broke up the perfect game in the third with a walk and later added a SAC fly. Rob Hampton broke up the no hitter later in the third and finished 2-2.
The games next week are at 8pm and 9pm again. The first game is on field #1.
APRIL SHOWERS
Apr 10, 2013
The 2013 season got underway on April 10th. Foul Balls showed up to play their first games in the rain despite a forecast claiming that there was 0% chance of rain according to the weather channel.
The first game got started with a popup to catcher and the Foul Ball offense never got that much better. There were only two innings where Foul Balls recorded more than one hit and that's where the runs came from. Fortunately Club 39 wasn't hitting either so the game stayed close throughout. Foul Balls trimmed the lead to 5-4 in the 6th inning thanks to Andy Hahn's first home run of the year, but they couldn't get any closer as Club 39 took the win 6-4 in the first game of the year.
The rain was still mostly holding off as the second game got underway against BC Carpet. BC came out crushing the ball and Foul Balls was fortunate to snag a line drive for the third out with the bases loaded and only allow 3 in the first. FB showed a lot of patience at the plate and the first three batters of the game walked as the BC pitcher struggled. A combination of the pitcher struggling, bad defense, and a few solid base hits sprinkled in gave FB 8 runs in the first and 10 in the second to build a 18-7 lead. The sky opened up in the top of the third though and although everyone was able to rush and complete that half inning the game was called and will have to be made up so none of the stats actually count. Most people probably wish they would count, but Gary Sweeney is probably the most disappointed as he loses out on his 2-2 with 5 RBI and an inside the park HR.
The next Foul Balls games are on April 17th at 8pm on #3 and 9pm on #5.
NEW TEAM NAME
Mar 01, 2013
Dox and Banana Hammocks are no more! They've been merged into Foul Balls.
2012 IS OVER
Aug 28, 2012
Dox and Banana Hammocks finished up the frustrating 2012 season on August 28th with a pair of losses.
The Banana Hammocks started the summer by scoring 20 runs in the first inning of their first game and holding on for a victory before losing their last 9 games to finish 1-9. Dox surprisingly was in first place at 6-2 in what was supposed to be a tougher league before dropping the last two games to finish 6-4.
FIRST PLACE!
Aug 14, 2012
Dox and The Fishbowl met in a battle of first place teams on August 14th in front of 2 fans!
The Fishbowl took a 6-1 lead after two innings, but Dox came alive in the 3rd and sent 21 batters to the plate while scoring 17 runs to take a 12 run lead. The Fishbowl answered with 6 funs of their own and got a couple more runs back to cut the lead to four heading into the fifth. Dox tacked on five in the fifth inning though and held solid on defense for the final two innings and finished up with a 25-16 victory.
Dan Schuster made his return and went 5-5 with 4 runs scored and 6 RBIs. Wyatt Buzzard was also 5-5 with 6 RBIs. Every Dox player reached base safely at least twice and scored at least one run.
The next Dox game is August 21st at 8pm against Hope and our old friend Dan Kobold.
LAST PLACE!
Aug 14, 2012
Minutes after Dox finished scoring 25 runs, Banana Hammocks took the field against Bobby Knight's Furniture and didn't do much of anything.
BKF played very solid defense and hit the ball really well in a game that was never really in doubt after BH only scored one run in the first inning despite having the first four batters reach base. Banana Hammocks failed to make it through the batting order twice before BKF ended things with a win by the 15 run rule with no outs in the 4th inning.
The next Banana Hammocks game is on August 21st at 9pm against Silver Inn. It's possible the game will be played on field 4.
THE REPLACEMENTS
Aug 07, 2012
The Banana Hammocks had to ask everyone they could think of in order to field a team against Ale House on August 7th. In the end there were four subs playing including three guys who played with BH for the first time.
As was the case last time BH faced off against Ale House, defensive mistakes cost the Hammocks and caused them to fall behind early. The score was 8-2 after two innings, but BH came back to tie the game in the 4th with a three run, two out rally. Each team piled on a few more runs in the next few innings until BH trailed by three heading into the top of the 7th. The Hammocks were able to score a couple runs with two outs and got the tying and go ahead runs on first and third, but were unable to complete the comeback and fell by a final score of 13-12.
The next Banana Hammocks game is August 14th at 8pm against Bobby Knight's Furniture on field #1.
WHAT CAN DRINKING DO FOR YOU?
Aug 07, 2012
Dox had a couple hours to drink following the BH loss to Ale House before getting a shot at a rematch. Somehow the Fish Bowl was out of almost all beers, but they survived thanks to 32 oz Blue Moons for $5.
Once the game started Dos came out swinging and scored five runs in the first inning. Once again the Dox defense was shaky early which allowed Ale House to tie things up in the bottom of the inning, but Dox kept hitting. Dox scored 5 runs in each inning while sending at least 9 batters to the plate each inning and didn't allow any runs after the first inning. The result was a 4 inning game with a final score of 20-5 that kept Dox in the hunt for the title.
Ben Caruso, Chris Korb, and Jeff Brown were each 4-4 and combined for 11 runs and 8 RBIs. Wyatt Buzzard, Jim Vandy, and Dale Wagner each had 3 RBIs.
August 14th at 7pm on field #1 is a rematch of Dox's biggest loss against The Fishbowl and should have a huge impact on the championship hunt as both teams were tied for first place heading into play on August 7th.
LATE NIGHT DOUBLEHEADER
Jul 31, 2012
Dox bounced back with their fourth win of the summer on July 31st against Heavy Metal.
Heavy Metal had an early lead, but Dox batted around in the 4th and 5th innings to take a 19-7 lead and held on for the 19-15 win in six innings.
BH also fell behind in their game, but scored 7 runs in the 5th inning to get the deficit to three runs. Unfortunately they couldn't quite close the gap and Phat Monkeys stretched it out in the last inning for a 17-12 win.
The next games are on August 7th at 7pm for BH and 10pm for Dox on field #6.
TRIPLES FESTIVAL
Jul 24, 2012
Dox finished up the first half of the summer session against Winning Ugly on July 24th.
Dox started out strong with four runs in the first, but fell way behind with some shaky defense that allowed Winning Ugly to score 11 in the first inning. Dox outplayed Winning Ugly the rest of the way, but weren't quite able to make up the gap and finished with a 17-16 loss. Ty Martin was 4-4 with a walk and 5 runs scored. Dusty Jones had two triples and Wyatt Buzzard and Chris Korb each added triples of their own.
The next Dox game is July 31st at 9pm on field #3 against Heavy Metal.
UGH
Jul 24, 2012
The Banana Hammocks got their butts kicked by Money Shots on July 24, 2012.
Money Shots jumped out to an early 7-0 lead by hitting the crap out of the ball and the Hammocks didn't hit early. After Money Shots piled on more runs in the second the game appeared out of reach. The final score was 18-3, but the game wasn't really that close.
The next Banana Hammocks game is July 31 at 10pm on field #3 against Phat Monkeys.
KOBOLD IS BACK!
Jul 17, 2012
Dan Kobold made his first appearance in a Dox game in several years on July 17, 2012. Unfortunately he was representing Hope as the attempted to hand Dox their second consecutive loss.
After a rare coin flip victory Dox gave up one run in the first, but put up two of their own in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. Both teams scored 3 in the second and 0 in the third to maintain the one run Dox lead. Dox was able to hold Hope scoreless one more time and take on a couple runs in the fourth to build a three run lead. Each team added one in the fifth before Hope pushed two across in the sixth to cut the lead to one. Dox didn't add to the lead in the bottom of the inning, but they were able to hold on in the final inning for the victory. The final score was 8-7.
The next Dox game is July 24th against Winning Ugly at 8pm on field #6.
SLIDING
Jul 17, 2012
The Banana Hammocks slide continued on July 17th as they dropped a close one against Silver Inn.
The first inning was the difference as BH failed to score in the top of the inning and then made several mistakes in the field which allowed Silver Inn to score 6 runs. The Banana Hammocks scored four runs in the third inning and then one more in the fifth to cut the Silver Inn lead to 6-5, but Silver Inn got two of their own in the bottom of the fifth and BH couldn't do any additional damage in the 8-5 loss.
The next BH game is at 9pm on July 24th against Money Shots on field #6.
ONE BAD INNING
Jul 10, 2012
The Banana Hammocks took on Bobby Knight's Furniture on July 10th.
Things were bad from the very start as BKF came out swinging and got a lot of soft line drive hits early. The Hammock defense also played a big part as they made about 6 errors in the first inning and allowed BKF to take a 10-0 lead. The BH bats were also asleep throughout the entire game so even though things got a little better on defense, the game was never close. The final score was 14-3 in five innings.
Ben Caruso was 1-1 with two walks and Dusty Jones was 2-2 in his return. The next BH game is at 8pm on July 17th against Silver Inn on field #1.
BACK TO NORMAL
Jul 10, 2012
Dox put their four game winning streak on the line against The Fishbowl on July 10th.
After the poor performance by BH nobody had very high hopes for the late game, but Dox came out swinging and scored 7 runs in the first inning. Unfortunately they also left 9 runners on base in the first four innings and once the Fishbowl got going in the 3rd and 4th innings they took a commanding lead which Dox was unable to overcome. The final score was 20-10 in five innings.
Ben Caruso was 3-3 with a walk and Dale Wagner was 2-2 with a walk. The next Dox game is July 17th at 7pm against Hope on field #1.
ONE UP; ONE DOWN
Jul 03, 2012
Dox and BH split a doubleheader against Ale House on July 3rd in front of one of their biggest crowds of the year (one person).
Dox got first crack at it and used an 8 run second inning to build a big lead which they added to each inning until making it 16-6 during the bottom of the 5th inning. Wyatt Buzzard, Josh Beard, and Ben Caruso were each perfect at the plate and every batter had at least two hits and one run.
The BH lineup was exactly the same as Dox, but a rough defensive second inning allowed Ale House to score 8 runs and build a 12-3 lead. BH came back a little bit, but time ran out with BH down 16-9 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Chris Korb was 3-3 in the second game.
The next games are 7:00 for BH and 10:00 for Dox. Both games are on field #4.
UNDEFEATED ON TUESDAYS
Jun 26, 2012
Dox made their Tuesday debut on June 26th against Heavy Metal. This marked the fourth different league night for Dox over the past 7 years.
The summer session started off well as Dox batted around in each of the first two innings to build a 10-4 lead while battling a very difficult sun that made it hard on both the hitters and anyone taking throws from the outfielders. The runs slowed just a bit after that, but Dox continued to build the lead and ended up with a 14-5 victory in five innings after the time limit was reached.
Andy Hahn and Ty Martin were each 3-3 with a walk. Dan Schuster and Chris Korb each drove in four runs and Chris had a three run home run in the first inning. Dox hitters also swung and missed 6 times in the first two innings while dealing with the sun.
The next Dox game is July 3rd at 9pm against Ale House on field #3.
LEARNING NEW RULES
Jun 26, 2012
The Banana Hammocks started off their summer session against a Phat Monkeys squad that had played BH fairly evenly in the past. After a rare coin flip win allowed BH to be the home team the Phat Monkeys jumped out to a 4 run lead in the top of the first. The Hammocks needed to answer and did so with a 20 run first inning that was only stopped when the umpire informed everyone that there is a rule that limits teams to 20 runs per inning.
The Phat Monkeys did continue to chip away and after BH failed to score in the second inning the lead was cut to 7 runs heading into the bottom of the third. BH scored a couple more there and had added 5 more in the fourth to take a 13 run lead when time was called. The final score was 27-14.
The first 12 batters of the game reached base for BH and the team batting average in that inning was 1.000 since they sent 23 batters to the plate and the only outs were made on SAC flies. Every hitter scored at least two runs except Andy Hahn and Andy was actually 2-2 with a walk and a SAC. Every hitter also drove in at least one run. 5 hitters had perfect batting averages for the game.
The next Banana Hammocks game is July 3rd at 10pm against Ale House on field #3.
ANOTHER SPRING COMPLETE
Jun 13, 2012
The Banana Hammocks finished off the Spring season with yet another matchup against Beer Snobs on June 13th.
BH won easily again despite poor hitting performances by about half of the guys and one bad inning in the field which allowed Beer Snobs to score 5 runs which was almost as much as they'd scored in the first three games combined. Strong hitting performances from Jeff Brown, Dusty Jones, Dale Wagner, and Josh Beard led the way to a 12-5 victory.
The Hammocks are moving to Tuesday nights for the Summer. The first game is expected to be June 26th although a schedule has not yet been released.
ANOTHER WIN?
Jun 13, 2012
The Dox fortunes took an unexpected turn over the last couple weeks as Dox beat Wards on June 13th to win their second straight game to end the Summer. Combined with the two BH wins that's two straight weeks of playing winning softball.
Dox fell behind in the first, but evened the score in the second inning and jumped out to a five run lead after the 4th inning. Wards closed the gap to 13-11 heading into the 7th. After setting Dox down 1-2-3 in the top of the inning Wards got the first two batters on base, but Chris Korb was able to induce a double play followed by another ground out to preserve the victory. Josh Beard and Ben Caruso each went 3-3 while Dan Schuster and Dale Wagner each drove in 3 runs.
The Dox will play on Tuesday nights this Summer. The first game is expected to be June 26th although a schedule has not yet been released.
GOOD EFFORT!
Jun 06, 2012
Dox faced off with Hamilton Beverage on June 6th, 2012. The first meeting between the two teams featured 41 runs so plenty of offense was expected.
Dox got on the board early as the first two batters reached base and Andy Hahn drove everyone in with an inside the park home run. The excitement died down a little bit after that and Dox had a 4-2 lead heading into the third inning when Dox batted around to take an 11-2 lead. 5 more runs in the 4th made the score 16-4 and Dox held in the bottom of the inning and then again after the flip-flop rule to win the game 16-4. The win "improves" the Dox record to 2-7 on the year.
Ty Martin hit leadoff again and went 4-4 with 4 RBIs. Jeff Brown moved into the sixth spot in the order and went 3-3. Every Dox hitter scored at least one run.
The final Dox game of the Spring is June 13th at 9:00 on field #5 against Wards.
GOOD JOB!
Jun 06, 2012
The Banana Hammocks faced Beer Snobs for the third time this season on June 6th and the result was not much different than the previous two games.
The Hammocks came out swinging and put up 11 runs in the first inning thanks to 11 consecutive hits. They tacked on a few more in the next two innings and ended up with a 16-0 victory.
Chris Korb went 3-3 at the plate and drove in 3 runs. Jeff Brown and Rob Hampton were both late additions to the lineup and each went 2-2. Every BH player scored at least one run and drove in at least one run.
The final game of the Spring season will feature another game against Beer Snobs. This one should be on field #6 at 7:00.
WE DID BETTER THAN THE RANGERS
May 30, 2012
Dox fielded a depleted squad of 9 players against Glaser & Ebbs on May 30th and the game was not competitive.
Highlights were Ty Martin going 2-2 in the leadoff spot and a defensive double play on the second G&E batter of the game. The final score was 14-0 in five innings, but the Texas Rangers were losing 17-0 at the same point in their game on May 30th so maybe Dox is better than a MLB team?
The next chance to prove it is June 6th at 8:00 on field #3.
JUST CAN'T BEAT THE GIRLS
May 30, 2012
Banana Hammocks got their third shot at The Association on May 30th and it was another close game.
Once again BH took and early lead and it felt like they should cruise to victory, but somehow The Association stayed in it. A couple empty innings made the score 10-6 heading into the bottom of the 6th and The Association was able to push across six runs to take the lead. BH battled back and got the go ahead run on base in the top of the 7th before ultimately falling short once again.
Jeff Fox filled in and went 4-4 with three runs scored. Dan Schuster was 2-2 with a walk and a Sac and Dusty Jones was 3-3 with a SAC and 4 RBIs. The BH defense also managed to turn three ground ball double plays in the losing effort.
The next BH game is June 6th at 10:00 on field #1.
IF THERE WAS A TORNADO YOU WERE F*CKED
May 23, 2012
The Banana Hammocks matched up with Melon Farmers for the third time on May 23rd. The first two meetings were easy wins for the Hammocks, but this time Melon Farmers swapped out more than half of their team for ringers and it proved to be a bit more of a challenge.
After an unusual coin flip win which made BH the home team, Melon Farmers scored two in the top of the first before BH batted around and scored 8 in the bottom of the inning. At that point Melon Farmers switched half of their ringers for other ringers and they started hitting while BH stopped hitting. A huge 11 run outburst in the sixth inning sealed it for Melon Farmers as they won 22-10.
Jim Vandy was the story of the night for the Hammocks as he went 3-3 and managed a very unusual play on the bases when he collided with the third base coach while rounding third in the 3rd inning and ended up wrapped around a pole in the entrance to the Melon Farmer dugout.
The next BH game is at 9:00 on May 30th against The Association on field #6.
ROLLER COASTER
May 23, 2012
Fresh off their first win of the season, Dox had a winnable rematch with Club 39 on May 23rd.
The game didn't start of that well as Dox failed to score in the first two innings and fell behind 6-0 before scoring 5 in the bottom of the third. Club 39 scored 10 more runs over the next two innings and all of the sudden Dox was looking at getting 10 runned again. Fortunately Dox rallied in the fifth after the first two batters made outs and were able to push three runs across to stay alive. Then following a three pitch inning in the field Dox scored 8 more runs to tie it at 16-16.
Dox held again on defense in the 7th and had a chance to win with one run. After the first two batters made outs Andy Hahn and Wyatt Buzzard recorded back to back hits, but Dox was unable to get one more for the win. The defense held again in the 8th after loading the bases with no outs, but Dox could not score the runner from second when they flew out three times. Finally in the 9th inning the pitching fell apart and Club 39 walked their way to 10 runs. Dox led off the inning again with two outs in the bottom half and tried to rally, but fell short with the tying run in the hole as the game ended as a 26-20 loss.
The next Dox game is at 7:00 on May 30th against Glaser & Ebbs on field #4.
HARD LEMONADE IS MANLY
May 16, 2012
The Banana Hammocks and Beer Snobs faced off in a lopsided battle on May 16th.
BH batted around in the first and third innings and Chris Korb made his pitching debut as the Hammocks dominated from the start. Chris held the Beer Snobs scoreless until the 4th inning when they pushed two runs across to make the final score 18-2. Wyatt Buzzard drove in 6 of the runs and then rewarded himself with a refreshing Mike's Hard Lemonade after the game. Chris and Dusty each went 4-4.
The next BH game is at 8:00 on May 23rd on field #2.
OUR FIRST WIN
May 16, 2012
After one trip through the league with no victories, Dox got their first chance for a rematch against Master Batters on April 16th.
Dox had the unusual opportunity to be the home team and used it to fall behind early in the top of the first before fighting back to even the score 2-2 in the bottom of the inning. Dox pushed another run across in the second and then nobody was able to score for four more innings. With the score still 3-2 in the 7th Master Batters was able to tie the game and give Dox the chance to win it in the bottom of the inning. Wyatt Buzzard led off the bottom of the 7th with a triple and Master Batters walked the bases loaded, but a fielder's choice and some miscommunication on the potential winning SAC fly led to extra innings. Master Batters got one run in the 8th, but the bottom three in the Dox order came up big with consecutive hits to start the 8th which led to a 5-4 victory.
The next Dox game is May 23rd at 10:00pm on #2.
WE'RE ALL LOSERS
May 09, 2012
Playing softball this spring for Dox has been pretty much the opposite of being a kid at Chuck E Cheese. That trend continued on May 9th as Dox fell to 0-5.
Dox and Wards took turns taking the lead for the first four innings before Wards exploded with an 8 run fifth to go up 15-11. Dox didn't do much hitting in the last two innings and Wards was able protect the lead for a 17-12 victory. Dan Schuster led the Dox at the plate by going 4-4 with a triple and 3 RBIs.
The next Dox game is at 9:00 on May 16th against Master Batters on field #4.
LOSING TO GIRLS
May 09, 2012
The Banana Hammocks got a chance to make up for their first loss of the season when they got a rematch with The Association on May 9th.
BH started out string with six straight hits to start the game. It looked like it would be a laugher, but then the BH bats went ice cold as the Hammocks made 14 consecutive outs. Meanwhile The Association continued to chip away and eventually took a 10-6 lead in the 5th inning. BH tried to rally a couple times, but fell short and lost 11-10.
The next BH game is at 7:00 on May 16th against Beer Snobs on field #6.
ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER LOSS
May 02, 2012
Dox dropped their fourth straight game to start the 2012 season against Hamilton Beverage on May 2nd.
Hamilton Beverage took an early lead, but Dox batted around in the second inning to take a 9-5 lead. Hamilton fought back with 9 of their own in the bottom of the inning and the teams played relatively evenly for the rest of the game until the time ran out during the bottom of the 5th inning giving Hamilton a 25-16 victory.
Dan Schuster was the hitting star with 7 RBIs thanks to his bases loaded triple that should have been ruled a HR and his grand slam in his next trip to the plate thanks to the first one not being ruled a home run. Rob Hampton was 4-4 and Dale Wagner returned to the team after a couple weeks off and went 2-2 with a walk.
The next Dox game is May 9th at 8:00 against Wards.
HITTING CLINIC
May 02, 2012
The Banana Hammock bats were hot for the second week in a row on May 2nd.
Thinks got off to a fast star as they batted around in the first inning and scored 9 runs. The second inning was even better as BH scored 11 runs after the first two batters made outs. That inning featured a streak of 4 hits, followed by a walk, followed by 9 more consecutive hits. Every batter reached base in the inning. After that the game was not in doubt, but BH tacked on some more runs and won 26-4 in four innings.
Rich Brown and Dan Schuster were each 5-5. Dan's included a HR and 6 RBIs. Dusty Jones was 4-4 in the middle of the order and somehow did not have any RBIs. Chris Korb was also 3-3 with a SAC.
The next BH game is May 9th at 10:00 against The Association.
DODGING RAINDROPS
Apr 25, 2012
The Banana Hammocks avoided what looked like a likely rainout on April 25th. While multi-million dollar homes in Carmel were getting hit by lightning and catching on fire, the BH bats caught fire and propelled them to an easy victory.
The Hammocks only took a 3-0 lead after the first inning, but they batted around in the second and came one hitter away from batting around in the third to take a 25-1 lead after three innings. Thanks to some confusing umpiring BH played two more innings in the field without batting and gave up a few more runs to make the final score 25-4.
The Hammocks didn't face much defense in the game which resulted in lots of good hitting nights. Everyone reached base at least twice and scored at least once and drove in at least one run. Ty Martin, Dan Schuster, and Jeff Fox each reached base all four times they came to the plate. Dan and Dave Haas each had inside the park home runs.
The next BH game is at 9:00 on May 2nd of field #5.
THE LOSING CONTINUES
Apr 25, 2012
Dox dropped another game on April 25th to move their record to 0-3 on the season.
Dox fell behind early and stayed comfortably behind all game despite putting up 14 runs in six innings. Glaser & Ebbs really had the bats going and scored at least 2 runs every innings, even while some players batted opposite handed late in the game. The final score was 24 -14.
Seven of the ten Dox players reached base at least three times in the game but Dusty Jones was the only one to record a perfect batting average as he went 3-3 with a SAC thanks to Chris Korb scoring from second base.
The next Dox game is at 7:00 on May 2nd on field #5 against Hamilton Beverage.
PITCHER'S DUEL
Apr 18, 2012
The Banana Hammock's game on April 18th against The Association was a low scoring affair that would come down to the final inning.
The game started out well as four of the first five BH batters reached safely, but that only resulted in two runs. The Hammocks tacked on a few more over the next couple innings to lead 5-2 in the 4th. At that point the bats went about as cold as you will ever see. BH made 8 consecutive outs and closed the game by going 1-11. Despite all that they still had a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th. That's when the defense fell apart. Three straight errors on ground balls set things up and then some previously unseen power allowed The Association to steal a 6-5 win.
There weren't really any offensive bright spots in this ugly hitting performance. The next BH game is at 8:00 on April 25th against Beer Snobs on field #1.
COME GET YOUR WHOOPIN'
Apr 18, 2012
Dox faced off against Club 39 in the second game of the 2012 season on April 18th in front of a not-nearly sold out crowd.
Just like in the BH game, Dox came out hitting the ball. 5 of the first 6 batters reached safely, but they only resulted in two runs. Unlike in the BH game, Dox brought the poor defense from the start. Several extra outs in almost every inning was too much for Dox to overcome as they fell to a walk off home run 19-7 in 5 innings.
Ben Caruso was 3-3 with a couple runs scored, Dan Schuster was 2-2 with a walk, and Wyatt Buzzard was 2-2 with a walk and 2 RBI. The next Dox game is April 25th at 10:00 against Glaser & Ebbs on field #2.
MONEY
Apr 11, 2012
We've got 21 people committed between the two teams so it's $52 this session for each team that you are playing on. Try to bring cash or a check to the next game. To make it easier you can pay Ben Caruso for both teams and I'll pay Wyatt.
OPENING NIGHT DONE RIGHT
Apr 11, 2012
The Banana Hammocks started off the season with the late game on April 11th against Free Agents.
After scoring a couple runs in the first inning the Hammocks really got the bats going in the second inning and batted around to take a 9-3 lead. The third inning started off with four straight hits, but a bad call derailed BH and they only scored four more runs the rest of the way. Even so it was enough to end things early with a 15-5 victory in five innings.
Andy Hahn was 4-4 with an RBI and Ben Caruso was 3-3 with a walk and two RBIs. Dusty Jones played his first game in a couple years and went 1-1 with a couple of walks.
The next Banana Hammocks game is April 18th against The Association at 7:00pm on field #6.
OPENING NIGHT
Apr 11, 2012
Dox opened the 2012 season on April 11th against Master Batters. After having warm temperatures for weeks leading up to the first game, the temperature was below 50 by the time the first pitch was thrown.
The first four batters reached base for Dox in the opening inning, but they were only able to push across two runs thanks to some good throws by the Master Batters defense to nail the Dox at the plate. That would be a trend as three Dox players were thrown out at home over the first four innings. Dox fell behind 10-2 after three innings, but batted around in the 4th to tie the score and batted around again in the 5th to build a seven run lead. The lead was trimmed to four by the time the Master Batters came to the plate in the bottom of the final inning and they wasted no time scoring 5 runs before Dox could record an out as Dox fell 18-17.
Both of the new guys had good first games. Rob Hampton went 4-4 with a couple RBIs and Matt Christie went 3-4 with one RBI. Old veterans Dan Schuster and Dale Wagner each had 3 hits and a walk, while Andy Hahn muscled up for a home run in the 4th and then sprinted around the bases anyway. Ben Caruso struck out the side on foul tips in the 4th inning.
The next Dox game is April 18th at 9:00pm against Club 39 on field #4.
ANDY MAKES PLAYS WITH HIS DICK
Sep 08, 2011
Dox and BH both finished up the Summer season on a positive note with wins over Chef Mike.
BH started the night off by building a 12-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third inning. Chef Mike closed the gap to 12-8 after 4 innings and then exploded in the sixth to take a 19-16 lead. Banana Hammocks clutched up in the seventh inning though and batted around to score 6 runs and held on for the 22-19 victory.
Dox played a game that started out closer. After tying the score at 4-4 in the top of the third, Chef Mike scored four to take the lead and stretched it to 10-5 in the 4th inning. Dox sent 17 batters to the plate in the 5th inning though to score 13 runs and take an 18-10 victory. They held on to win 19-10 as time ran out after six innings.
CHAMPIONS!
Sep 08, 2011
Not us.
STAYING BUSY
Aug 25, 2011
Another busy week this week.
Dox started the night off by beating Chef Mike 11-5. Corey Meisel was 4-4, Dan Schuster was 3-3 with an over the fence HR, and Ben Caruso had an inside the park HR and 5 RBIs.
Banana Hammocks gave Chef Mike a rematch after an hour of drinking and things didn't go quite as well. BH fell behind and used a series of errors to tie the game at 8-8 after five innings. Chef Mike took the lead back in the sixth though and BH couldn't fight back. The final score was 11-9. Kevin hall had 5 RBIs including an inside the park grand slam during the series of Chef Mike's defensive adventures.
Dox play at 8:00 and BH play at 10:00 on #6 on September 1st. Let Rich know if you aren't able to make it.
BUSY WEEK
Aug 18, 2011
It's busy time for the website guy so no recaps from the games on the 18th. Banana Hammocks won and Dox lost again. Stats are updated. Dox play at 7:00 on the 25th and BH play at 9:00.
BACK IN THE W COLUMN
Aug 11, 2011
The Banana Hammocks matched up with 30 Meters on August 11th in a rematch of the game that BH won with 8 guys earlier in the year.
BH didn't hit the ball very well, but they didn't really need to as 30 Meters was held scoreless until the final inning despite borrowing a bat to replace the only crappy bat they had. BH had a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the 7th when 30 Meters decided to go back to old reliable and they were able to push a couple runs across before falling 5-2.
The next action for BH will be August 18th at 8:00 on #6 against Beer Leaguers.
COULD DOX ACTUALLY WIN A GAME?
Aug 11, 2011
Dox definitely came into the August 11th matchup against Motor Boaters as the underdog. Dox was 0-5 on the summer and the Dox/BH franchise had already lost twice to Motor Boaters this summer by a combined 20 runs.
Things didn't get off to a good start in this one either as Dox led off the game by going down 1-2-3 and then displayed some questionable defense to fall behind 2-0. Things turned around in the second as Dox scored 4 to take a lead. Dox added to that lead in the fourth as they batted around and scored 7 runs with two outs to take an 11-3 lead. Dox added 3 more over the next two innings, but Motor Boaters managed to add 10 more to make the score 14-13 Dox heading into the seventh.
Dox had the top of the order up in the seventh, but for the second time in the game they went down 1-2-3. That gave Motor Boaters a great chance to win with the 10, 1, and 2 hitters coming to the plate, but Dox shut them down in order to secure the 14-13 victory. Jim Vandy was 4-4 and Ty Martin was 3-3 with a walk. Every Dox player scored except Byrd and every Dox player drove in at least one run except Ben Caruso. Dale Wagner managed the rare feat of getting an 1B, RBI, BB, SAC, and FC in the same game in only 4 trips to the plate.
The next Dox game is August 11th at 10:00 on #6 against Penske.
DOX CAN'T EVEN BEAT MYSTERY MACHINE
Aug 04, 2011
Dox lost to Mystery Machine for the second time this summer on August 4th, 2011. The good news was that Dox had their second highest scoring output of the summer. The pathetic news was that they only scored 5 runs to do it.
Neither team had the bats going very well early. Dox broke out for 3 runs in the top of the 4th, but Mystery Machine tied it in the bottom of the inning. Both teams added a run in the 6th and then Dox scored in the top of the 7th to take a one run lead. Mystery Machine got hot though in the bottom of the inning and scored two runs without making an out to win by a final score of 6-5.
The next Dox game is August 11th at 9:00 on #3 against Motor Boaters.
THE LOSING STREAK CONTINUES
Aug 04, 2011
Banana Hammocks extended the BH/Dox losing streak to 5 games with a loss to 5th Inning on August 4th, 2011.
The game was not close from the start as 5th Inning jumped out to a 5-1 lead after the first inning. BH were able to stay within 10 and play all 7 innings, but that's about the extent of the good news as 5th Inning won 16-11. Dale Wagner did go 4-4 so the loss was probably not his fault.
The next Banana Hammocks game is August 11th at 7:00 on #3 against 30 Meters.
MORE OF THE SAME FOR DOX
Jul 28, 2011
A week off didn't help Dox as they dropped their fourth straight game to open the summer. The latest loss was a 9v9 game against Midwest Bankers.
Dox actually hung in the game reasonably well, but a few defensive lapses and lack of clutch hitting ultimately proved to be the difference as Dox fell 13-10.
The next chance for Dox to get their first win is August 4th at 8:00 on #6 against Mystery Machine.
ANOTHER SAD DISPLAY
Jul 28, 2011
The Banana Hammocks took on Motor Boaters on August 28th and nearly got shut out for the first time. Through the first five innings BH failed to score a run and dropped into a 5-0 hole. Kevin Hall crossed the plate in the sixth to end the shut out, but poor pitching and defense helped Motor Boaters push 7 runs across in the 7th and build up a big lead. BH batted around in the last inning but ran out of steam and ended up with a 12-6 loss.
The Banana Hammocks will take on 5th Inning at 10:00 on August 4th on field #6.
BRADEN'S FIRST GAME
Jul 14, 2011
Braden Hall's mom brought him to his first softball game on July 14th, 2011 as Banana Hammocks faced off against Beer Leaguers.
Beer Leaguers got 3 in the first, but BH scored in each of the first two innings to tie it at 3-3. Beer Leaguers scored two in the 3rd to take another lead before BH batted around in the 4th and 5th innings to secure a 15-5 victory in 5. The bottom and top of the order led the way for BH as Jeff Galka went 3-3 with a walk, Rich Brown went 4-4 with 4 RBIs, and Ben Caruso went 5-5 and drove in the game ending run.
There is no game on July 21. The next BH action will be July 28th at 9:00 on #1 against Motor Boaters.
OFFICIALLY ON A LOSING STREAK
Jul 14, 2011
Dox dropped their third straight game to open the summer on July 14th, 2011.
Facing a tough matchup against a very good hitting Penske team and only playing with 9 players, Dox did actually have a pretty good defensive game. Penske was limited to only 12 runs in 6 trips to the plate despite scoring in every inning except for the second. Dox just couldn't string together any hits after pulling within one after two innings and only scored once more the rest of the night on the way to a 12-4 loss.
There is no game on July 21. The next Dox game will be July 28th at 7:00 on #1 against Midwest Bankers.
WE SUCK
Jul 07, 2011
Dox fell behind early against Motor Boaters on July 7th and never recovered.
Poor hitting and poor fielding led to a blowout loss against a team that Dox should be able to beat. The final score was 18 - 4.
The next Dox game is July 14th at 9:00 on #1 against Penske.
WE ONLY NEED EIGHT
Jul 07, 2011
Banana Hammocks faced a 10:00 game on July 7th after just being blown out in the Dox game. Everyone was even less excited about the late game since there were only 8 guys available.
Playing with 8 guys meant only 3 outfielders and 3 infielders. It also meant an automatic out every time through the order. BH started out slow again with the bats but hung tough on defense and only trailed 3-2 heading into the bottom of the 4th when they exploded for 8 consecutive runs despite having to take two automatic outs in the inning. 30 Meters got 3 back in the fifth, but BH added two in the 6th and held on for a 12-6 victory.
The next BH game is July 14th at 7:00 on #1 against Beer Leaguers.
ONE UGLY SCORESHEET
Jun 30, 2011
The Dox didn't play with much fire in their summer opener against Mystery Machine and the result was a disappointing loss against a team that they'd beaten the previous six times.
The game actually started out fairly smoothly when Dox held Mystery Machine scoreless and then got three hits with 2 outs to build a 3-0 lead after one inning. Following that inning Dox only got two consecutive hits one time and hit into 6 FCs as they failed to score another run over the final six innings. Mystery Machine didn't do much hitting either, but did enough to win 7-3. The next Dox game is July 7th at 8:00 against Motor Boaters on #6.
BH CAN'T CLOSE IT OUT
Jun 30, 2011
Following poor showing by Dox, the same group of guys came out playing much better as Banana Hammocks against 5th Inning.
The beers between games must have helped as BH put up 7 runs in the first two innings to lead 7-3. The game stayed pretty close throughout, but BH maintained a 3 or 4 run lead after every inning. The Hammocks led 13-10 heading into the 7th and were unable to pad the lead. 5th Inning came out hitting in their half and were able to over take BH with a 2 out single that drove in the winning run from 3rd. The final score was 14-13.
The next Banana Hammocks game is July 7th at 10:00 against 30 Meters on #6.
HAMMOCKS SORT OF TIE FOR FIRST
Jun 16, 2011
The Banana Hammocks closed out the Spring with a win over Chef Mike to finish the season 6-4. Midwest somehow thinks that the Hammocks went 8-2 which would put them in a three way tie for first, but BH withdrew from the tiebreaker due to not having a desire to stay for an 11pm game.
The final Spring game against Chef Mike was a pretty close contest. The score was tied 5-5 heading into the bottom of the 4th when BH got 5 runs to build a lead. Chef Mike added a few more, but so did BH and the final score was 12-8. Ben Caruso was 4-4 with 3 runs scored and John Buzzard was 2-2 with a walk.
The summer schedule is posted and BH gets underway on June 30th at 9:00 against 5th Inning on #3.
DOX GET HOT TO END THE SPRING
Jun 16, 2011
Dox used a few big innings and a few smaller innings to end the season with a 19-8 victory over Chef Mike on June 16th. The game was pretty close through 5 innings before Dox added 9 runs in the last two innings. Dan Schuster and Wyatt Buzzard went to the plate a combined 10 times and went 5-5 with 3 SAC flies and 2 walks. Dan drove in 5 runs and Wyatt drove in three. Andy Hahn scored 4 times while hitting in front of that duo. Dox ends the Spring season with a record of 6-4 and no free shirts.
There are no games on June 23rd. The first Dox game of the summer is June 30th at 7:00 against Mystery Machine on #3.
RICH TRIED TO FIGHT A GUY
Jun 09, 2011
Dox played an uninspired game in Dan Schuster's return to the lineup after missing about a year due to shoulder surgery. They scored a run in the top of the first but then couldn't score again until the fifth inning and fell behind 7-2. They got a couple runners on base in each of the last two innings but only managed one more run. Following the final out Rich Brown and the Warning Track Power catcher exchanged words and hugged for a few seconds before being separated and heading to the beer.
Andy Hahn tried to impress his parents by going 3-3, but nobody wanted to drive him in after he got on base. Nobody else did anything very noteworthy. The final game of the Spring season is June 16th at 10:00 pm against Chef Mike.
NEW TEAM NAME, SAME STORY
Jun 09, 2011
After losing to Warning Track Power as Dox an hour earlier, BH took the field and didn't fare any better. The Hammocks fell behind 9-1 after the top of the 3rd. There was some excitement as BH scored 6 in the third and then held WTP scoreless in the 4th, but BH was shut down in each of the next two innings and WTP scored 8 runs in the 5th to win 17 - 7.
The final game of the Spring season is June 16th at 8:00 pm against Chef Mike.
RAIN OUT INFORMATION POSTED
Jun 08, 2011
Midwest sent out an email today with updated schedules. As expected, the games that were rained out on May 26th will be made up on June 16th. This means that BH plays at 8:00 and Dox plays at 10:00 that night. Both games will be on field #6.
DOX BEAT FIFTH INNING IN FIVE INNINGS
Jun 02, 2011
Dox came back strong after a week off due to rain. The June 2nd matchup against Fifth Inning marked the first time all Spring that Dox or BH scored at least one run in every inning.
The game was still close through most of the game even though Dox was scoring consistently. The score was tied at sixes after two innings and again at tens after four innings. Fifth Inning couldn't score in the top of the 5th though and Dox sent 14 batters to the plate to create a 20 - 10 lead and end the game early.
Justin Burge filled in and went 5-5 on the night. Wyatt Buzzard went 4-5 right behind him and drove in 4 runs. Kevin Hall only went 2-4 behind Wyatt, but one of his hits was an inside the park home run and he collected 4 RBIs. Corey Meisel was 4-4 with 0 solo home runs.
The next Dox game is June 9th at 8:00 on #6 against Warning Track Power.
BH LOSES UGLY
Jun 02, 2011
The Banana Hammock bats didn't start out nearly as hot on June 2nd as the Dox bats. After a leadoff triple and a single by Kevin Hall to drive that run in with two outs in the first, the next batter was retired. The Banana Hammocks then went down 1-2-3 in the next three innings before Kevin got another hit to start the fifth. By the end of the fifth inning BH was in an 8-2 hole. BH was able to rally and tie the score in the top of the sixth with a 6 run, two out rally, but Big Wood scored 5 in the bottom of the inning to build the lead back up. Once again Dox rallied to tie the score in the top of the seventh, but Big Wood had the answer again in the bottom of the inning and prevailed with a 14 - 13 victory.
Kevin Hall was 4-4 as he was the only hitter to not participate in the consecutive outs streak. The next Banana Hammocks game is June 9th at 10:00 on #6 against Warning Track Power.
RETURN OF COACH BUZZARD
May 19, 2011
The Banana Hammocks got a lift on May 19, 2011 with the return of John Buzzard to the lineup. John had been away for several weeks coaching the White Sox but was able to get back to the softball field and guide his team to victory.
Although BH was inspired by John's return, they didn't really get off to a great start. The score was tied 3-3 heading into the fourth inning when the Hammocks got things going and batted around for 6 runs and built a 9-6 lead. Things slowed down again after that, but the defense held strong and BH held on for a 10 - 8 win.
Kevin Hall was 3-3 and scored a couple of runs. Corey Meisel hit a home run for the third straight game. The next Banana Hammocks game is May 26th at 8:00 on #6 against Chef Mike.
MORE TROUBLE SWEEPING
May 19, 2011
Dox matched up against Phat Monkees in the nightcap on May 19th, 2011 and failed to complete the sweep that BH started earlier in the night.
The game started out pretty rough as Dox has trouble catching and throwing the ball in the first couple of innings. Those problems along with Phat Monkees bats coming alive in the second game led to an 11-1 deficit after two innings. Dox battled back, but left a couple runners on in the sixth when they had a chance to really cut into the lead. Dox trailed by seven going into the top of the 7th and got a rally going, but it fell short when the tying run lined out to the pitcher to end the game. The final score was 14 - 11.
Corey Meisel was 3-3 with a SAC fly and Andy Hahn was 3-3 with a walk. The next Dox game is May 26th at 10:00 on #6 against Chef Mike.
MYSTERY MACHINE FALLS AGAIN
May 12, 2011
Dox completed the Spring sweep of Mystery Machine in the first warm game of the year on May 12, 2011. Neither team featured much of an offense and the game moved along very quickly. Corey Meisel hit a two run home run in the second inning to give Dox a lead and Jeff Galka made it stand up as the Dox offense provided a few more runs to bad the lead through the final five innings. The final score of this rivalry game was 7-2 and improved the Dox record to 4-2.
Dale Wagner stayed hot by going 2-2 with a walk while playing a great game in the outfield and Ty Martin went 3-3. No Dox player scored or drove in more than one run. Austin Hart almost killed a guy with his throw while doubling a runner off second base, but fortunately the ball missed him.
The next Dox game will be May 19th against Phat Monkees on field #2 at 9:00.
REVENGE FOR THE BLOWOUT
May 12, 2011
The Banana Hammocks got a rematch opportunity with Penske on May 12, 2011. Penske won the first game by 21 runs, but the Hammocks hoped that a little warmer weather would produce some better results this time.
Neither team started out hitting very well. Banana Hammocks did score two in the first inning to take the lead, but the score was only 3-2 heading into the bottom of the 3rd. Penske took the lead with a four run inning and then won the next inning to push the lead to 7 - 4. Finally, in the 5th inning, the BH bats came alive and the Hammocks batted around while scoring 8 runs to take the lead. Penske got two back in the bottom of the inning before BH game back with another big inning of 11 runs to gain a 14 run lead heading into the bottom of the 6th with no time on the clock. While a 14 run lead is normally safe, Penske did put together a big inning without too much help from the Hammocks. They scored 12 runs in the bottom of the inning and had the winning run either on deck or at the plate when the final out was recorded to give BH a 23 - 21 win.
Rich Brown and Corey Meisel lead the way with the bats. Rich was 5-5 with 5 RBIs while Corey was 3-3 with a HR, 2 walks, and 4 RBIs. Every Banana Hammock scored at least one run as BH pushed their record to 4-2. The next Banana Hammocks game will be May 19th against Phat Monkees on field #2 at 7:00.
JUSTIN BURGE MAKES HIS 2011 DEBUT
May 05, 2011
Dox was facing their first player shortage of the season on Cinco De Mayo with Jim Vandy serving his one week suspension and Josh Beard unable to get out of work. Fortunately Justin Burge was able to make it out to the park early and fill in. Unfortunately for him he was rewarded with an injured hamstring, but he still had a pretty decent day at the plate and drove in a key run late in the game.
Dox game out swinging and got six hits and a SAC fly in their first seven batters. Unfortunately that was just about the last positive note for a few innings as Dox only got one more in the second and failed to score again until the seventh. Dox trailed by three runs heading into the bottom of the seventh but the first three runners reached and Andy Hahn came to the plate with the tying run at second and delivered a double to knot the game at 8 - 8. Warning Track Power was only able to score one run in the 8th and Dox made quick work of the extra inning by loading the bases with no outs and scoring two runs in the next at bat when the WTP second baseman was unable make a play on a ground ball.
Burge was 3-4 with 3 RBIs. Dale Wagner was also 3-4 and Rich Brown was the only Dox player to score 3 times. The next Dox game is May 12th at 8:00 pm on field #5 against Mystery Machine.
IT'S KEVIN HALL'S WORLD
May 05, 2011
The May 5th nightcap featured another matchup with Warning Track Power. The Banana Hammocks got off to another slow start as they failed to score in the first two innings and fell behind 3 - 0. The third inning went much better as 8 consecutive Hammocks scored. Both teams scored 3 runs over the next three innings before BH batted around again in the top of the 7th. This time 7 consecutive batters scored. Jeff Galka was able to make the big lead stand up in the bottom of the inning and BH won by a final score of 18 - 9.
Kevin Hall was the big superstar of game two. He went 4-5 and hit one out of the park in the sixth inning. He also hit the top of the fence in the 7th and could have finished with a cycle if he had been able to make it to third base, but Wyatt Buzzard had no plans to score from first on the play. Austin Hart also launched one out of the park, but just a little too late to count as Kevin did it first. Andy Hahn collected 4 RBIs and two walks to go with the two walks he had in the first game of the night.
The next Banana Hammocks game is May 12th at 10:00 pm against Penske on field #5.
BIG INNING POWERS HAMMOCKS TO VICTORY
Apr 28, 2011
The Hammocks played their fourth cold game of the year on April 28th against Big Wood. The bats started off as cold as the weather as they failed to score in the first. Things picked up as they scored 5 over the next two innings to make the score 5-5 heading into the bottom of the 4th. In the fourth things finally got rolling as everyone batted at least twice and BH scored 16 to make the score 21 - 5. One half inning later that score was final.
Rich Brown was 3-3 with a walk and 3 runs scored. Wyatt Buzzard was 3-4 with 3 runs scored and led the way with 4 RBIs. Jim Vandy was the only hitter to reach base 3 times in the 4th inning with two hits and a walk. The next Banana Hammocks game is May 5th at 9:00. Don't forget your sombrero.
AT LEAST BYRD HAD A GOOD GAME
Apr 28, 2011
Dox played a tight game with 5th Inning late on April 28. The game was close throughout as both teams were cold early and then each team scored 6 in the fourth inning to make the score 10-8 in favor of 5th Inning.
The game became a little controversial in the 5th when Jim Vandy was ejected for disputing a play at first and Dox was forced to continue with nine players. The defense held up but the offense fell short when 5th inning realized that there should have been an automatic out the next time Jim would have batted and the game was called with the tying and go ahead runs on base.
Ben Caruso was 4-4 with 3 runs scored and Rich Brown and Kevin Hall each added three hits. Byrd was also happy with his performance after the game. The next Dox game will be at 7:00 on Cinco de Mayo against Warning Track Power.
FIRST EJECTION
Apr 28, 2011
Jim Vandy may have been spending a little too much time around Rich Brown lately as Jim became the first Dox/BH player to be thrown out of a game in 2011. In an effort to show that this type of behavior will not be tolerated Jim has been suspended for a week and will be forced to leave the country during that time.
BH COMEBACK FALLS SHORT
Apr 21, 2011
Chef Mike has been a familiar and fairly evenly matched foe over the past couple years and April 21, 2011 was their first meeting between with Banana Hammocks.
The Hammocks dug a giant hole early as Chef Mike came out crushing the ball and BH was only able to get two hits in their first 10 batters. A four run, two out rally in the third made the score 10 - 4, but 7 more runs over the next two innings put the Hammocks down 13 heading into the bottom of the fifth. After the first two batters made outs, the Hammocks put together another rally and scored 5 to extend the game. They then won the sixth inning and held Chef Mike scoreless in the seventh to make the score 19 - 14 heading into the final half inning. Another rally ensued, but ultimately fell short with the go ahead run forced out at second base to end the game as a 19 - 18 loss.
Ben Caruso and Rich Brown were each 4-5 on the night. Kevin Hall was the RBI leader with 4 and Jeff Galka led the way with 4 runs scored out of the 11 spot in the lineup including one run for giving up a third HR to Chef Mike. The next BH game is April 28 at 8:00 against Big Wood.
DOX SALVAGES ANOTHER SPLIT
Apr 21, 2011
After BH fell in the early game, Dox was able to use a hot start to salvage a split on the night against Chef Mike.
Dox started things out about as opposite as possible from BH. Instead of falling behind early Dox got 6 out of their first 7 batters on base and scored 5 in the first and 2 in the second to take a 7 - 1 lead after two innings. Chef Mike also made things much easier for Dox with the way they hit in the night cap. They still crushed the ball, but in game two those balls started going right at people instead of in the gaps. Rich Brown made several plays in that had Chef Mike telling each other to hit it somewhere else and Ty Martin made a very nice catch deep in left. Dox added 3 more runs in the fifth and 1 in the seventh while Chef Mike was only able to tack on 3 more runs in the final two innings. The end result was a Dox win by the score of 11 - 4.
Corey Meisel fell a single short of a cycle with 3 runs scored and 4 RBIs. Ben Caruso and Andy Hahn each had three hits and a couple runs scored. The next Dox game is at 10:00 on April 28th against 5th Inning.
POOR SHOWING FOR DOX
Apr 14, 2011
After scoring 17 runs in their first game, the Dox forgot their hitting shoes on April 14th for their matchup with Phat Monkees. The Phat Monkees only scored 13 runs over seven innings, but it was more than enough with the Dox bats asleep for the majority of the game. Dox were able to score 3 in the fourth and 3 in the sixth with the help of some extra outs provided by the Phat Monkey defense, but that was about all they could muster in a 13 - 7 loss.
Rich Brown and Wyatt Buzzard each had three hits, but no Dox player scored more than one run or drove in more than one run and only four players did both. Dox first chance to redeem themselves will be on April 21st at 9:00 against Chef Mike on #3.
HAMMOCKS DO WHAT DOX COULDN'T
Apr 14, 2011
Most of the Banana Hammock team got an early look at their opponent on April 14, 2011 during the Dox game a couple hours earlier. Although Dox had lost to Phat Monkees, most felt that a win was definitely attainable with some slightly better hitting in the second game of the night.
The Hammocks fell behind early again, but did score at least one run in every inning except the fourth so spirits stayed high. The big inning was when BH batted around in the third to score five runs and take a 7-4 lead. After that Jeff Galka went on cruise control on the mound and held the Monkees scoreless over the next three innings as BH build the lead to 12-8. The Monkees did put together a little rally in the top of the seventh when they got the tying run into the on deck circle, but they were not able to complete the comeback and BH prevailed by a final score of 12 - 8.
Andy Hahn went 4-4 with four runs scored to lead the way and Jeff went 3-3 with a SAC to help keep the line moving. Corey Meisel was the RBI leader as he went 3-4 and knocked in 4 runs.
The next chance to see the Banana Hammocks will be on April 21st at 7:00 against Chef Mike on #3.
BANANA HAMMOCKS OFF TO A ROUGH START
Apr 07, 2011
Opening Night for the 2011 Banana Hammocks was April 7th and it went alright for about one inning before taking a turn for the worse.
Penske scored five runs in the top of the first, but BH batted around and scored six in the bottom half to take the lead. BH added one more on defense when the bad guys started hitting too many home runs, but six runs in the third, nine in the fourth, and eleven in the fifth put BH in a pretty big hole that they were unable to climb out of. The final score was 31 - 10 in five innings.
Game two should be better and that takes place on April 14th at 10:00pm against Phat Monkees.
STARTING THE YEAR OFF RIGHT
Apr 07, 2011
Dox took to the field for the first time in 2011 on April 7th against Mystery Machine. Dox and BH have a long track record of mostly close games against Mystery Machine and they carried a combined 4 game winning streak over their familiar opponent into the game.
Jeff Galka came out on fire on the mound as he held Mystery Machine scoreless through 3 innings. Dox didn't do any damage in the first inning other than an Andy "Hahn Solo" home run, but strung together 7 consecutive hits in the second inning to make the score 6-0. Starting in the fourth inning Jeff's magic wore off a little and Mystery Machine put up 14 runs over the next three innings including one on Kevin Hall's home run that became an out and a run for the bad guys.
After building their big lead to start, Dox trailed 14 - 8 heading into the bottom of the sixth. After the lead off batter was retired Dox went on to bat around and score 8 runs, including 6 with two outs. Mystery Machine fought back to tie it in the top of the seventh, but with Jim Vandy due to lead off for Dox in the bottom half you knew that wasn't going to be enough. Rumor has it that the on deck batter didn't even bother getting ready to hit as Jim took matters into his own hands and ended things with an inside the park home run to win 17 - 16.
Austin Hart went 3-4 with a double, two triples, and four RBIs to lead the way. Byrd managed to go 2-3 with 3 runs scored despite failing to hit the ball out of the infield. The next Dox game is April 14, 2011 at 8:00pm against Phat Monkees.
SPRING SOFTBALL IS HERE!
Mar 31, 2011
Spring schedules have been posted and the season is set to begin on April 7th. Dox plays at 7:00 and Banana Hammocks play at 9:00. Both games will be on field #2.
There is an optional pre-game meeting scheduled for around 5:35 at Wing N It.
SUMMER CHAMPIONS
Sep 02, 2010
Baby Jesus wrapped up the season by coming back from being down 14-7 after four innings to win 16-15 in extra innings. The win earned Baby Jesus another free shirt thanks to their 8-2 record.
LAST WEEK OF THE SEASON
Aug 28, 2010
All stats have been entered and the schedule is up to date. Wednesday features Baby Jesus at 8 and Dox at 10. Thursday has Dox at 7 and Baby Jesus at 9.
Let Ben know whether or not you are able to play golf on September 11th so that the appropriate number of tee times can be arranged.
UPDATED SCHEDULES
Aug 20, 2010
I've updated the schedules for both teams based on the rain out information we received today. Game results are also up to date even though stats haven't been updated yet.
Anyone who is going to miss games should let the appropriate manager know even if you already told them at the park because they probably didn't pay very good attention.
BUSY TIMES
Aug 15, 2010
There hasn't been a lot of time to keep the website updated lately, but the results and stats are up to date now even if there isn't a written account of how those stats occurred.
ANOTHER CRACK AT MYSTERY MACHINE
Jul 29, 2010
We're going to try again to play the "championship" game against Mystery Machine. Dox is going to play their normal game at 10:00 on August 5th and then stick around to play against Mystery Machine at 11:00. Sizelove will be there so expect great things.
BACK ON THE WINNING SIDE
Jul 22, 2010
After a couple losses to start the summer and a couple weeks off for rain outs, Dox got back to their winning ways on July 22nd against Chef Mike.
Dox took an early 5-0 lead into the bottom of the 2nd when Chef Mike came back to score six runs and take a lead. After pulling even in the third, Dox looked ready to take control with two runs in and two men on and no outs when Dox found an amazing way to kill the rally. Ben Caruso popped out to deep shortstop as Andy Hahn took off for second not thinking the ball would be caught. Unfortunately it was caught easily and Andy was doubled off first. After seeing the throw go to first, Rich Brown tagged from third and tried to score. He beat the throw, but stepped on the catchers foot instead of the plate and he was called out to end the triple play after the catcher ran over to tag him. It didn't end up mattering too much though as Chef Mike wasn't able to score any additional runs and Dox added 12 more to win by a final of 20 - 6.
With 20 runs scored there were a couple big hitting performances. Wyatt Buzzard was 5-5 with 5 RBIs. Ty Martin was 4-4 with 6 RBIs and a SAC. Not bad for the #8 and #9 hitters in the lineup thanks to batting order based on order of arrival. Rich, Jim Vandy, and Kevin Hall each had four hits as well, but they did each make an out.
The next Dox game should be July 29th at 9:00 against 5th Inning.
HE'S BACK
Jul 22, 2010
If there's an opportunity to beat Mystery Machine you know Cale Sizelove wants to participate. On July 22nd he got his chance as Baby Jesus played a late game against Cale's old arch nemesis.
The game was a pitcher's duel as Baby Jesus got their first batter in and then didn't score again until the fifth inning. They were down 2-1 in the top of the fifth when they strung together four hits followed by a walk and a SAC which built a 4-2 lead. Both teams continued to be pathetic at the plate after that and the lead held for a 4-2 victory.
It's hard to win when the 3-5 hitters go 0-8 and only 2 hitters in the entire lineup got more than one hit, but that's what happened. Cale had an RBI to drive in the tying run in the 5th inning. Jeff Galka not only pitched well, but also went 2-2 at the plate while driving in the winning run.
WHY ARE WE PLAYING AT 11:00?
Jul 22, 2010
Was it a Dox game? Was it a Baby Jesus game? Was there a championship involved? Why are we playing after they stopped selling beer? All good questions that nobody working at the complex seemed to be able to answer. Lured into staying by a phone call during the week, everyone thought that Dox was supposed to beat Mystery Machine again in order to break a tie for the Spring league championship even though Dox already had free shirts and a plaque. When Baby Jesus arrived to play at 10 though they were informed that they had a game at 11:00 against a different team. In the end Baby Jesus ended up playing a makeup game (not sure what was being made up) and Mystery Machine had to go home pissed off that they waited 45 minutes and then didn't get to play a game.
When the game started Baby Jesus came out fired up since they were under the impression this was for some sort of championship. They carried a 6-2 lead into the 4th when whoever the opponent was came back with five runs to take a lead. Baby Jesus had a big sixth inning to build a five run lead with the clock running out and it looked like they were going to take care of business, but a few bad hops created some extra outs and it took a miracle stop by Andy Hahn on a ground ball up the middle to get the final out and send the game to extras with the score tied at 13.
Baby Jesus put up four in the top of the inning and were looking to hold that lead. The opponents did get a few runners on and had a scary play where a runner was forced out at second and ended up getting hit in the head from point blank range as he stood up right as a throw was being made home to try and get a runner who was trying to score. All indications are that they runner survived and Baby Jesus also survived to win 17-15.
Jeff Galka stayed perfect on the night by going 4-4. Rich Brown did one better by going 5-5. Bryan West was only 3-4, but he was the most clutch as all three of his hits came with two outs and drove in a run.
The next game for Baby Jesus should be July 29th at 7:00.
DEFENDING THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Jun 24, 2010
Dox got an unexpected surprise when they got to the field to start the summer session and found out they had actually won the spring session two weeks earlier for the third consecutive spring season. With the upcoming free shirts on their minds, Dox set out to defend their title against 5th Inning.
Maybe the Dox were too excited about the shirts or maybe they were just a bit rusty, but things got off to a very slow start. 5th Inning built a 5-0 lead before Dox were able to get two back in the bottom of the 5th. The lead was stretched all the way out to 10 runs heading into the bottom of the 7th when Dox but together a 7 run, 2 out rally thanks to a series of weakly hit balls and bad defense. Unfortunately the luck ran out and Dox lost by a final score of 12-9.
The next Dox game is July 1st at 9:00 on field #6 against Bar Louie.
LET'S SUIT UP
Jun 24, 2010
Baby Jesus made it's debut on June 24th against Slumpbusters??. The game got under way much later than the team would have liked after they got kicked off their assigned field by shoddy scheduling and decision making and were forced to play on a field that was way behind schedule.
Once the game did start things didn't go well for BJ. They surrendered 4 in each of the first two innings and trailed 8-1 after three. They got four back in the fourth with two outs and kept chipping away until they were able to tie the game at 9-9 after six innings. John Buzzard came up with a huge 2 out triple to put Baby Jesus up one and later scored to make it 11-9 heading into the bottom of the last inning. It was not meant to be though, as not even a HR for an out could stop Slumpbusters??. A two out singles allowed the winning run to score from third and the first game for Baby Jesus went into the books as a 12-11 loss.
The next chance for a Baby Jesus win is July 1st at 7:00. It might be on field 5 against Mystery Machine, but based on what happened on Thursday there is probably a good chance that's not correct.
CUSTOMARY CHAMPIONSHIP PICTURE
Jun 10, 2010
COACH IS AWAY, DOX CONTINUE TO PLAY
Jun 10, 2010
Even though the coach decided to take a month off of softball, the rest of the Dox team continued to play ball every week. Surprisingly they also managed to keep a book so stats for all of the games have been entered. Some notes that were scribbled on the score sheets are below.
May 20, 2010 (Dox win 13 - 8)
Jim tries to spark a two out rally in the second inning with a clutch walk. No dice.
Shooter's 3.5' slide punctuates the Dox victory
BEN EAT SHIT!!! - J.V.
May 27, 2010 (Dox win 19 - 6)
Lineup Shake Up!!!
Dox score 9 in first, 0 in second, 0 in third, 0 in fourth, 10 in fifth
June 3, 2010 (Dox lose 17 - 16)
Tight Game
Andy: "Am I going?!" as he hits inside the park HR to tie the game in the 7th.
Andy: "That's how you do it"
June 10, 2010 (Dox win 11 - 5)
Close game until Dox score 7 in the fifth
3 more added in the sixth to stretch the lead
Dox finished out the season 7-3 and somehow managed to win the league and score free shirts. The summer session should start on June 24th.
ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON COMPLETE
Jun 10, 2010
The normally dependable webmaster decided to take a month off of softball to travel through Europe, but the Hammocks kept playing softball and were able to earn another league championship. Surprisingly they also managed to keep a pretty decent book during that time so stats for all of the games have been entered. Some notes that were scribbled on the score sheets are below.
May 20, 2010 (BH win 14 - 9)
YAKETY SAX Soundtrack
LASER SHOW
Tom Emanski Clinic
May 27, 2010 (BH lose 10 - 9)
Austin SHOW!!! (Not Enough)
THAT ONE HURT
Rich loses fight with dugout bench
June 3, 2010 (BH win 14 - 2)
1st out of the 2nd inning occurred when an overthrown ball hits Byrd in the dugout opening. Lead runner was called out
June 10, 2010 (BH win 9 - 2)
Close game until late
John Buzzard unleashed the fury for a solo HR in the 7th inning
The Hammocks decided not to make up the rain out game which I am now declaring a tie since I don't think the other team wanted to play either. This makes the final record for Spring 2010 8-1-1 which was good for first place (as usual). Free shirts have yet to be distributed. The summer session is expected to start on June 24th.
ONE BIG INNING
May 06, 2010
The Banana Hammocks came out hot on May 6th and used a big first inning to propel themselves to an easy victory over Structure Point. After scoring 11 runs in the first inning the Hammocks pretty much stopped scoring runs, but it didn't matter because Structure Point didn't score at all until the fifth inning. The umpire had a scorekeeping error that wasn't discovered until after the game so BH managed to win 13-4 by the ten run rule in five innings. Andy Hahn led the way by going 4-4 with 4 RBIs. Ben Caruso was also 4-4.
The next BH game is May 13th at 9:00 on field #1 against Gordon Flesch.
PERFECT SEASON COMES TO AN END
May 06, 2010
The Dox ran into some hot bats on May 6th when they faced off with Commercial Finishing.
Good hitting and some suspect Dox defense allowed CF to lead 7-4 after one and 15-7 after two. Dox hit the ball reasonably well, but Commercial Finishing continued to score runs every inning and Dox weren't able to close the gap. The final score was 22-11 which dropped Dox to 4-1 on the season.
The next Dox game is at 7:00 on May 13th on field #1 against Chef Mike.
THE BATS FINALLY WOKE UP
Apr 29, 2010
Dox took on Front Page Sports Bar on April 29th in an effort to move to 4-0.
Dox knew they were in for a battle after the game had to be delayed for about 10 minutes while FPSB finished scoring more than 20 runs in a win on another field. FPSB did put up two runs in the top of the first, but Dox answered with 6 runs in the bottom of the inning thanks to some good hitting and a willingness to take walks as the FPSB pitcher struggled. Front Page showed how they scored all those runs in the previous game during the second inning as the put up 10 runs while smoking almost every ball they hit. Dox weren't intimidated though and came back with seven runs of their own while batting around for the second time and forcing a pitching change.
From there the Dox just continued to play good defense and FPSB couldn't get anything to drop in. Dox scored two in the third, three in the fourth and then with two down and two out in the fifth Kevin Hall singled to drive in the fourth run of the inning and end the game 22-12.
Kevin was the brightest star of the night once again. He finished 4-4 with a walk and his first over the fence home run of the season. Jim Vandy was 3-3 with a walk. The Dox walked 9 times in the game, but it was somehow three short of the all time record for this website. That must have been a boring game.
The next Dox game is May 6th at 10:00 on #3 against Commercial Finishing.
POWER SURGE
Apr 29, 2010
The wind was gusting out to left and center fields as Banana Hammocks matched up with NE Tech on April 29th. It was an early game so there was a decent sized crowd on hand to witness the awesome display of power that resulted.
The Hammocks got an early 3-0 lead, but things stayed close throughout as neither team was able to score more than four runs in an inning. NE Tech was up 8-6 in the bottom of the 5th when Austin Hart stepped up with a runner on first and launched one over the fence for a rare BH over the fence home run. Lawyer followed that up with another home run ball which wasn't as cool since it resulted in an out.
NE Tech took the lead back in the sixth, but the first three Hammocks scored to grab a one run lead. Unfortunately Austin has been lifting weights or something though because as soon as the Hammocks took the lead he hit another home run ball which resulted in an out as well as a run for NE Tech which evened the score heading into the seventh. Fortunately BH was able to hold on defense and then made it look easy in the bottom of the inning with the first three batters reaching base and Jim Vandy crossing the plate to win the game.
Andy Hahn wasn't able to hit one over the fence but he did leg out an inside the park HR as well as a triple. He ended up 3-3 with a walk and 3 RBIs. John Buzzard was also 3-3 with a walk but his hits weren't quite as exciting as Andy's.
The next BH game is May 6th at 8:00 on #5 against Structure Point.
LOTS OF SCORING
Apr 22, 2010
Dox squared off against Mystery Machine on April 22nd.
Dox jumped out to an early lead and seemed to be coasting along towards an easy victory with an 8-3 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth when Mystery Machine caught fire (with the help of a few errors) and scored seven runs to take a 10-8 lead. Dox was able to quickly counter though with a twelve run inning which saw 17 batters come to the plate. Every Dox player got a hit, a walk or hit a SAC fly during the first time through the order in the top of the sixth. Following the big inning Jeff Galka was able to shut down the Mystery Machine bats and Dox won 20-10 in six innings.
Kevin Hall put up the best numbers by going 5-5 with 5 RBIs. He was a HR short of the cycle. Jeff was 4-4 with a SAC and 4 RBIs. He was a double, triple, and HR short of the cycle. Dale Wagner was also perfect. He finished 3-3 with 2 RBIs and a walk.
The next Dox game is April 29th at 9:00 on field #4 against Front Page Sports Bar.
A HOT BOSTON
Apr 22, 2010
The Banana Hammocks played a close game with Motor Boaters on April 22nd in front of a nearly sell out crowd.
Neither team was able to string much together as the score stayed close throughout the entire game with the lead changing hands seven times. The Hammocks were down 8-5 going into the bottom of the sixth when Josh Beard was able to start a rally that saw the first six batters reach base. Austin Hart completed that rally with a two run single that put BH up 9-8. Motor Boaters battled back to take a 10-9 lead and it was once again up to Byrd to start a rally. Consecutive hits by Byrd and John Buzzard set Byrd up to score on a SAC fly and after a single by Rich Brown the Hammocks had two runners on with Kevin Hall at the plate. Kevin delivered another hit which scored John from second and won the game 11-10. Kevin Hall went 4-4 with a SAC and 4 RBIs to lead the way.
The next BH game is April 29th at 7:00 on field #3 against NE Tech.
HOT START AND HOLD ON
Apr 15, 2010
Dox put their undefeated record on the line against Slump Busters on April 15th. The weather and time slot made the second game of the season much more pleasant for everyone involved.
Dox jumped out to a big lead early on with six runs in the first inning. After batting around in the first they went down in order in the second and failed to score again in the third which allowed Slump Busters to make the score 6-3. From there Jim Vandy, Dale Wagner, and Josh Beard were able to trigger rallies in both the 4th and 6th innings which gave Dox some breathing room and Dox ended up taking the game 12-6.
Highlights included Jeff Galka striking out another batter swinging and Ty Martin falling over the fence in a failed effort to catch a foul ball.
The next Dox game is at 8:00 on April 22nd on field #4 against Mystery Machine.
TOTALLY UNDEFEATED
Apr 15, 2010
Banana Hammocks kept their seven and a half month undefeated streak going on April 15th with a decisive victory over Wolfpack.
They Hammocks simply listened to Coach Buzzard's instructions and made sure to send at least six batters to the plate every inning and the game was never really close. BH scored at least two runs in each of the four innings they batted and played solid defense to hold Wolfpack to only three runs. The final score was 13-3 in 4.5 innings.
Wyatt Buzzard led the way by going 3-3 with 4 RBIs and his usual triple. Josh Beard was also 3-3 and Coach Buzzard was 2-2 with a bases loaded SAC fly to the second baseman that advanced all the runners.
The next Banana Hammocks game is April 22nd at 10:00 against Motor Boaters on field #6.
THE HAMMOCKS ARE BACK
Apr 08, 2010
April 8, 2010 marked the first night of action for the 2010 Banana Hammocks. Despite temperatures in the low 40s, there was a large cheering section anticipating a Banana Hammocks victory.
The BH players looked like a bunch of guys playing for the first time all year. Gordon Flesch took an early 3-0 lead and it took the Hammocks three innings to tie things up. Gordon Flesch took another lead into the bottom of the sixth when BH was able to tie things up and then take advantage of a two out bases loaded dropped fly ball of the bat of Andy Hahn which scored three runs to open a 7-4 lead. Rumor has it that Renee Hayes pulled an ARod and yelled "I Got It" and caused the Gordon Flesch player to let the ball drop. The Hammocks game up one more run in the seventh but held on for a 7-5 victory.
Andy Hahn led the team by going 4-4 with 5 RBIs. The rest of the team was still in spring training mode and hopes to be ready for next week when the Hammocks face off against Wolfpack at 9:00 on field #3.
NEW NIGHT FOR DOX
Apr 08, 2010
The Dox moved to Thursday nights for the first time in 2010 and were rewarded with cold temperatures and a late start to an already late game on the first night of the season. The game also marked the first time the Dox has had a dog cheering them on (or playing with a stick) in the stands.
Despite the cold weather Dox jumped out to a quick lead. They scored three in the first, four in the second, and two in the third to take a 9-2 lead and looked to be on pace for a victory by the ten run rule. The bats slowed down after that, but Dox did stretch the lead to 10 heading into the bottom of the sixth. At that point NE Tech was able to string together a bunch of soft hits and close the gap to 12-10. Dox added three insurance runs in the seventh and then held NE Tech to two runs in the final inning for a 15-12 victory.
Jeff Galka probably had the best game for the Dox by striking out three people swinging and missing. Dan Schuster had the best day at the plate with 6 RBIs in his first three trips to the plate which resulted in two triples and a double.
The next Dox game is at 7:00 on April 15th against Slumpbusters on field #2.
IT'S OVER!
Oct 19, 2009
The 2009 softball season is officially over! Dox closed things out by blowing a seventh inning lead and eventually losing 11-10 in the eigth after they were unable to move the runner off second base. Look for Dox back in the D league in 2010.
WE SUCK. STATS UPDATED.
Oct 12, 2009
Stats and game results are updated through October 12th. One more week to get the averages back up.
DOX WIN A GAME
Sep 14, 2009
After a rough first week to start the Fall the Dox came back with a good effort on September 14th.
Work schedules caused the Dox to have to play with nine guys in the first game. The Dox fell behind early but kept the game within five runs at all times. The Dox were able to cut the lead to 12-10 after five, but they went down in order in both the sixth and seventh and lost 12-10.
Byrd was able to make it out to the park for the late game so the Dox were at full strength in the field for game two. A couple early runs gave the Dox a lead and after Indy RBI scored a few runs to take a lead in the top of the fourth the Dox fought back with four of their own to keep a lead. A big fifth inning got the Dox close to a ten run rule victory but not quite. Indy RBI cut the lead to three in the sixth and led off the seventh with a solo shot to cut the lead to two. The Dox were able to fight though and only allow one more run and prevail with a 13-12 win.
Highlights of the night were some questionable umpiring that gave the Dox a couple extra runs out of the blue in the second game (unsure if Indy RBI had any phantom runs), a solo home run from Corey Meisel, and Kevin Hall getting hit in the shoulder trying to get out of the way during a double play which resulted in a bad interference call from the umpire. Ty Martin and Kevin Hall were each 4-4 in game two.
BEAT DOWNS
Aug 31, 2009
The Dox dropped the first two games of the Fall by the ten run rule. The Dox only managed 6 runs in 10 innings at the plate.
According to the new schedule, the next Dox games are on August 14th and not on Labor Day. They are still at 7:00 and 9:00 on field #4.
JEANS NIGHT TEAM PICTURE
Aug 29, 2009
JEANS DAY = BH WIN
Aug 27, 2009
The much anticipated jeans night took place on August 28th with seven Hammocks participating. The jeans may not have helped the Hammocks performance but they were still able to do enough to pull out a victory in the final game of the year.
The Hammocks scored two in the first and two in the second to take a 4-0 lead. The next few innings moved along quickly with very little scoring. Heading into the 7th inning BH held a 4-3 lead before Augusta Motors were able to put up two runs and take a lead in the top of the inning and put the pressure on the Hammocks. The Hammocks loaded the bases with two outs for Jim Vandy and Jim came through with a base hit to score John Buzzard from third and Kevin Hall was able to slide around the throw and score the winning run from second even though he wasn't wearing jeans. Ben Caruso and Jim each had three hits in the victory.
FALL IS HERE
Aug 25, 2009
The Fall team is using the Dox name so that we can take advantage of their forfeit fee and NSA sanction that are already paid for. The first games are at 6:00 and 8:00 on August 31st. It appears that it's still a C league so if anyone feels like hitting home runs there should be some available. The entire schedule is available on the schedules page.
SUMMER IS OVER
Aug 24, 2009
The Dox finally snapped a four game losing streak on August 24th with a win over Wards. Rich Brown, Wyatt Buzzard and Josh Beard made guest appearances in the final Dox game of the summer. Wards didn't do quite as good a job recruiting subs and started the game with eight players before finally getting up to ten players by the final inning.
The Dox didn't really take advantage of the shorthanded defensive setup early and only scored two in the first inning. Wards put up eight in the top of the second but the Dox scored their first five hitters in the second to close the gap to one run. After a boring third inning and no runs by Wards in the top of the fourth, Dox sent 14 hitters to the plate in the fifth and scored the minimum 8 runs to take a 16-8 lead. Dox had chances to end it in the fifth and sixth but couldn't do anything at the plate. Wards rallied in the top of the seventh and sent the go ahead run to the plate but popped up and Byrd secured the catch for an 18-16 win. Rich was 5-5 with 4 RBIs. Rich and Brandon Howard were each a home run short of a cycle.
STATS ARE UPDATED
Aug 20, 2009
We'll have a real write up once the Hammocks win a game again. Don't forget your jeans for the game August 27th at 6:30 on #4.
MORE LOSING
Aug 17, 2009
The Dox lost to Country Wide on August 17th to drop their record to 3-6. They took a lead into the bottom of the 7th after Kevin Hall hit a go ahead home run in the top of the inning, but were not able to hold the lead.
The final Dox game of the summer is August 24th at 9:00 on field #6.
A PRETTY NICE LITTLE SATURDAY
Aug 08, 2009
The Dox spent a long day at the ballpark on August 8, 2009 as they participated in a nine team D league city tournament. The day started out before 9:00 a.m. and didn't finish up until about 9:30 p.m.
Not only was it an early start to the day, but it was also a frustrating start. The Dox couldn't get anything going at all in game one as they only managed one run and seven hits while losing 3-1 to CNHI. After a five hour break the Dox began the journey through the loser's bracket with two easy victories over More Cowbell and Slumpbusters in which the Dox went up early and were able to end things in five innings.
Game four pitted the Dox against Rabid Bats who had many recognizable faces including some of the Outkast players. The Dox fell behind early and trailed throughout. They entered the seventh inning down by three runs but clutched up and were able to score four runs while recording only one out to earn the victory.
Game five was a rematch with CNHI who defeated Dox in game one. The Dox went up early and seemed to be in control. A questionable call or two kept CNHI close early and then they exploded for seven runs in the fourth to take a 10-7 lead. With the Dox trailing heading into the top of the seventh, they were able to rally again and take a three run lead. CNHI fought back in the bottom of the inning and had runners on with only one out and down one run when Chris Korb was able to snag a line drive and double the runner off first base to seal the Dox victory.
The loser's bracket finals had Dox squaring off with Augusta Motors who featured a five man infield against the Dox. Dox fell behind early and were down 6-3 after three. Over the next few innings they continued to have trouble finding the gaps in the outfield and it seemed like anything hit well was right at someone. Trailing by four heading into the final inning Dox got the first two runners on base but were not able to get anything else going as they finally fell by a score of 8-4.
Thanks to all the players who were able to make it out for at least one game: Ty, Dan S, Corey, Chad (drove in from Chicago), Bart (drove in from Monticello), Chris, Andy H, Jeff, Dale, Andy M, and our high school buddies Alex and Corey. Also thanks to all the fans that came out and watched and thanks to Tiffany for running to the store for bananas and water to help keep us from dying.
HAMMOCKS PLAYING SOFTBALL
Aug 06, 2009
The Hammocks came out strong on August 6th against the Mighty Molars. Coach Buzzard didn't issue demand at least six batters per inning this time, but the Hammocks did it anyway on the way to an easy night.
This started off quickly with three runs in the top of the first. Mighty Molars evened the score in the bottom of the inning, but had to use their home run to do it. Corey Meisel got the lead back with a three run home run in the second inning, but once again Mighty Molars came back and tied it in the bottom of the inning. The Hammocks had an 8-7 lead with the bases loaded and two outs in the third when they decided to get hot and six straight batters reached base to drive in six two out runs and build a seven run lead. The fourth inning saw the Hammocks pad the lead to more than 10 runs and a quiet fifth inning resulted in a 20-8 win.
Rich Brown was 5-5 with five singles. Ben Caruso was 4-4 with a walk. Jeff Galka was 2-3 with two singles and two walks but managed to drive in five runs to lead the team. Every Hammock scored at least one run and drove in at least one run on the night.
The next Banana Hammocks game is at 9:30 on August 13th on field #5 against Burge's Midwest Bankers who are responsible for the only BH loss this summer.
DOX DOWN AND UMPIRE DOWN
Aug 03, 2009
The Dox dropped another game against Knuckleheads on August 3, 2009. The game was low scoring and close throughout until the bottom of the sixth when Knuckleheads got hot and scored seven runs to win 14-4.
The game was delayed briefly in the middle of the fourth inning when Marcus (the umpire) suddenly left the field. He ended up being taken away in an ambulance without any official word and a replacement finished out the game.
The next regular Dox game is at 7:00 on August 10th on field #5. I expect to have information about the city tournament which will be held this weekend by Thursday night so expect an email/text/call/singing telegram.
HAMMOCKS STEAL ONE
Jul 30, 2009
The second half of the Banana Hammocks season started against Chef Mike on July 30, 2009. Chef Mike featured their usual mix of three old guys with a bunch of younger guys. The Hammocks featured every male that John Buzzard knew with cleats and a glove who was available to play and BH still had to play with only 9 guys until Melissa showed up in the sixth inning.
The game was a pitcher's dual. Chef Mike got one in each of the first three innings to build a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the third when the Hammocks fought back for two runs. The fourth inning was scoreless and Chef Mike made the lead 6-3 with 3 more runs in the fifth. After holding Chef Mike scoreless in the sixth the Banana Hammocks took advantage of an error in the infield with two outs and scored four runs with two outs to tie the game.
Chef Mike came up empty in the seventh but things weren't looking great for BH after the first two batters made outs. Josh Beard was up third in the inning and came up with a clutch single. Jim Vandy followed with a walk and John Buzzard came to the plate with a chance to be a hero. As usual John pulled through in the clutch with a single to left which scored Byrd from second for a 7-6 Hammocks win.
The next Banana Hammocks game is August 6th at 8:30 against Mighty Molars on field #1.
AND BACK TO .500
Jul 27, 2009
Dox and Hughes played a rematch on July 27, 2009. In the first game Dox won 14-4, but the second game was a different story.
Hughes batted first and were able to build a six run lead before the Dox even got a bat in their hands. Dox got three runs back on a Chris Korb home run, but five more runs for Hughes in the third gave them an 11-3 lead heading into the bottom of the third. The Dox were never able send more than six batters to the plate so even though the Hughes bats cooled the Dox were never able to get closer than three runs. The final score was 12-8. Chris was 3-3 with 4 RBIs and was pretty much the only real bright spot in the lineup.
The next Dox game is at 10:00 on August 3rd against Knuckleheads on field #2.
POISON
Jul 23, 2009
Despite the concert going on over at Verizon on July 23, 2009 the Banana Hammocks still had a game to play. With three players missing John Buzzard called on some friends and family members to fill in the gaps.
The Hammocks started out with 7 straight hits in the top of the first inning, but only managed to score three runs. Augusta was having trouble solving the pitches James was throwing up to the plate though and through four innings the score was 4-2. Another streak of hits in the fifth inning gave the Hammocks 6 more runs and a 10-4 lead. That was the score heading into the final inning when Augusta finally found their stroke. With two outs in the final inning and the Hammocks clinging to a one run lead Augusta got the tying run on second base before popping out to catcher to end the game. Ben Caruso and Wyatt Buzzard each took advantage of the 5 infielder setup by Augusta and went 4-4. James led the Hammocks with 4 RBIs.
The next Banana Hammocks game is July 30th at 7:30 on field #4 against Chef Mike.
MOVING BACK OVER .500
Jul 20, 2009
Dox finished off the first half of the Summer with a game against Wards on July 20, 2009. The Dox came into the game 2-2 with every game decided by the 10 run rule.
Wards capitalized on a couple Dox mistakes to score two runs in the first but when a Wards hitter that couldn't count to three stopped running after a teammate was forced out at second the Dox were able to turn an unconventional 3-6-1-4 double play to get out of the inning. Dox answered with five runs in the bottom of that inning and after Wards took a 6-5 lead in the top of the third Dox answered again with six runs to take an 11-6 lead. Both teams cooled off at the plate for the rest of the game and the Dox were not able to build a ten run lead but they did enough to hold on for a 14-8 victory. James Vandy and Brandon Howard each recorded inside the park home runs against the three man outfield of Wards and Dan Schuster was a missed call away from going 4-4 with two doubles and a triple.
The next Dox game is July 27th at 9:00 on field #5 against Hughes.
LATE NIGHT DRUNK SOFTBALL
Jul 16, 2009
The Banana Hammocks got warmed up for their 10:30 game on July 16th over at Famous Dave's. $1.15 pints were flowing and the Hammocks were happy to down them prior to their matchup with 9 Outs.
The Hammocks got the first four runners on in the first but were only able to score two runs in the first. Batting around in the top of the second gave BH an 8-1 lead but 9 Outs came back with five in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to two. Aft two slow innings at the plate by the Hammocks, 9 outs got three runs in the bottom of the fourth to square things at 10-10. After 9 outs was able to get 2 outs in the first three batters of the top of the fifth the next four Hammocks came through in the clutch to score four runs with two outs and grab a 14-10 lead. From there the Hammocks defense was able to bend and not break over the next two innings and secured a win by the final score of 15-10 in 6 innings.
Ben Caruso and Rich Brown were each 4-4 at the top of the order and Andy Hahn and Coach Buzzard surrounded them with three hits each. Wyatt Buzzard chipped in his usual two triples and picked up a nice strawberry on his slide into third on the first one.
The next Hammocks action will be July 23rd at 6:30 on field #1 against Augusta.
HOW DID JEFF NOT DIE?
Jul 13, 2009
Dox had the early game on July 13th against Country Wide. With the home run derby due to start at 8:00 the Dox were looking to play a quick game and get back to watch the action in St. Louis.
Two runs in each of the first two innings gave the Dox a small lead early and solid defense allowed the Dox to maintain that lead through three innings. A scary moment occurred during the top of the third when the leadoff hitter for Country Wide smoked a ball back at Jeff Galka's face. Somehow Jeff managed to get his bare hand up and deflect the ball which saved his face but still didn't feel very comfortable. Jeff stayed in the game though and not only continued to pitch well, but he also fielded another softer comebacker as well as drew two walks.
The Dox finally got the bats going for only the third inning this summer in the bottom of the fifth inning. With a four run lead and the top of the order up the Dox put up 8 hits and a walk while recording no outs and finished Country Wide off by a score of 11-1. Ty Martin stayed hot by going 3-3 with 2 RBIs to lead the Dox at the plate. Jim Vandy and Kevin Hall also added some excitement by manufacturing a couple of Web Gems in the outfield.
The next Dox game is July 20th at 8:00 against Wards on #3.
SHOOTOUT
Jul 09, 2009
The Banana Hammocks matched up with Midwest Bankers on July 9th in what turned out to be a high scoring affair. The teams combined for 45 runs in 4.5 innings before time ran out.
It appeared that the Hammocks were off to a good start when 8 out of the first 9 BH hitters singled to start the game, but when the next two batters were retired the Hammocks only came out of the first inning with 6 runs. The Bankers countered in the bottom of the inning with some hot bats and scored 10 runs to take a four run lead after one. The second inning was tame for both teams but in the third the Hammocks batted around again and scored 8 runs to take a four run lead of their own. Midwest answered again with six runs in the bottom of the third to take the lead back. After BH scored three to tie in the top of the fourth Midwest answered with 9 runs to build a big lead with only a couple minutes left on the clock. The Hammocks tried to rally but fell well short and were only able to come up with two runs in the top of the fifth. The final score was Bankers 26 and Hammocks 19.
Kevin Hall led the Hammocks by going 4-4 from the cleanup spot. Every Hammock scored at least one time and nine out of ten drove in at least one run.
The next Hammocks game is in the dreaded 10:30 time slot on July 16th on field #4 against 9 Outs.
FIVE RUNS AREN'T ENOUGH EITHER
Jul 06, 2009
Dox continued to slump on July 6th against Indy RBI. The loss makes Dox 1-2 for the summer.
While Indy RBI never completely pulled away, Dox never really made it very close either. Dox only sent more than five hitters to the plate in two of the seven innings and ended up losing 10-5.
The next game is 7:00 on July 13th on #6 against Country Wide.
TWO RUNS AREN'T GONNA CUT IT
Jun 29, 2009
Dox was forced to play their second game of the summer short handed after neither of the people who said they'd fill in showed up. One of the guys from Monster.com filled in to give the Dox nine players, but none of it really ended up mattering much as the Dox bats were asleep most of the game.
Things were crappy from the start as Knuckleheads scored three in the first inning and Dox went down in order in the bottom of the inning. Dox scored one in the second and one in the third but Knuckleheads kept scoring and ended up with a 15-2 win in five innings. Dox actually may not have made any mistakes that gave Knuckleheads an extra out so they can be proud of the defense despite the score. Ty Martin was 3-3 and Dale Wagner went 2-2 in his new cleats.
Dox will look to bounce back at 10:00 on July 6th on field #2 against Indy RBI.
HAMMOCKS RETURN TO THEIR WINNING WAYS
Jun 25, 2009
The Banana Hammocks took the field on June 25th looking for their first win in three weeks after a loss in their last game and a bye week prior to the summer session. The Hammocks were opposed by Chef Mike. This was the first meeting between the two teams since the Hammocks defeated Chef Mike in a playoff game to decide the Summer 2008 championship.
The Hammocks hit well in the first four innings. Each inning saw at least the required six batters come to the plate and BH scored at least 3 runs each inning. With a 13-4 lead it appeared that BH let off the gas though and Chef Mike fought their way back with seven runs over the next two innings as the BH bats went cold. With the lead trimmed down to two runs to start the seventh inning, John Buzzard showed why he's the coach as he started off a string of seven straight hits that created five runs and a seven run lead that held up as BH won 18-11.
The next Banana Hammocks game is July 2nd at 8:30 on field #4 against Mighty Molars.
NEW LEAGUE, SAME RESULT
Jun 22, 2009
Dox moved up to the C league for the Summer session of 2009 after going 10-0 during the Spring in the D league. A slow start had the near sellout Dox crowd nervous, but the bats came around and the end result was very similar to most of the first ten games of the year.
It took 8 Dox hitters before the first hit of the game was recorded on a bloop single by Jim Vandy. Four unearned runs by Hughes put Dox down 4-0 heading into the fourth inning. Nine Dox hits in the fourth got some of the confidence back and six more runs in the top of the sixth inning put Dox up 14-4. Jeff Galka continued to force Hughes to hit the ball at his fielders and the lead stood up for a mercy rule victory in six innings.
Nick from Jim's other Monday team filled in for Brandon and went 3-3 on the night. Dan Kobold and Ty Martin both went 3-4 and Kobold led the Dox with four RBIs including a three RBI double to drive in the first three Dox runs.
The next Dox game is June 29th at 9:00 against Knuckleheads on field #5. There are also possibly city tournament games June 30th - July3rd if we have enough players to field a team. Let Ben know what your availability is for all of those days if you haven't done so already.
DOX FINISH IT OFF
Jun 16, 2009
Dox took on TKB during a monsoon on June 16th with the league championship on the line. Dox was undefeated and had beaten the 8-1 TKB squad by a score of 19-5 earlier in the year, but the terrible weather seemed certain to level the playing field.
The first three innings were very unspectacular with neither team able to score any runs. Ty Martin drove in two runs in the top of the fourth to finally break the tie and then Dox took advantage of a TKB mistake to score five unearned runs in the fifth (4 with 2 outs) to go up 7-0. Usually that means Dox is getting ready to win by the ten rule but the Dox bats shut down again and TKB started hitting. TKB scored one in the 5th and 3 in the 6th to cut the lead to 7-4. TKB then got two runners on with no outs in the 7th, but Dox defense held strong and held on for the 7-4 win.
With only seven runs scored there weren't many hitting stars. Ty was 3-3 with 3 RBIs. Brandon Howard, Chris Korb, and Kevin Hall were the only other Dox with more than one hit.
The first Dox game of the summer is June 22nd at 8:00 on field #2 against Hughes.
THE MIGHTY HAMMOCKS HAVE STRUCK OUT
Jun 11, 2009
Most of the Hammocks showed up for the rematch with Sandlot on June 11th sporting camo shorts and/or eye black and ready to get revenge for the only loss on the season.
The first inning went smoothly with the Hammocks jumping out to a 4-0 lead thanks to a triple by Andy Hahn and a home run by Corey Meisel. The Banana Hammocks gave Sandlot an extra out in the third inning and just like last time they capitalized with four runs to tie the score. The Hammocks came back in the fourth with two more runs and then Sandlot pushed one across in the fifth and one in the sixth to tie things up at 6-6 heading into the last inning. Things were looking rough after Sandlot scored two in the seventh and BH got two quick outs in the bottom of the inning, but they bounced back to load the bases and Burge delivered a two RBI hit to send things into extras. Unfortunately Sandlot was able to take advantage of the extra inning and push across three runs while the Hammocks could only push one across to make the final score 11-9. Corey was the only Hammock with three hits and Burge led the team with 3 RBIs.
The Summer session starts June 25th with the first game time TBA.
ALMOST A CLOSE GAME
Jun 08, 2009
Dox matched up with Oles on June 8th. After winning the first matchup by the 20 run rule Dox expected an easy win but Oles put up a good fight before falling in six innings.
Oles came out hitting in the top of the first and Dox made a couple errors to help Oles build a 4-0 lead. Dox answered with seven runs of their own in the first and four in the third to take an 11-4 lead. Oles didn't quit though and five runs over the next two innings cut the lead to 12-9. Things were looking iffy for Dox after the first two batters in the fifth made outs, but 8 straight hits got the Dox within one run of ending it. Oles scored two in the 6th and tried to hustle through the Dox lineup to get another chance at the plate, but the heart of the order took care of business and scored three runs to take it 21-11.
Jim Vandy was 2-2 with 5 RBIs. Dan Schuster, Dan Kobold, Chris Korb, and Ty Martin each had four hits. Schuster and Ty both had excellent catches in the outfield and Schuster also gunned a runner down at the plate and went yard (with a runner on base for a change).
Dox play at 7:00 on Monday 6/15 and Tuesday 6/16.
FIRST SEVEN INNING GAME FOR BH
Jun 04, 2009
The Hammocks had trouble getting the bats going on June 4th and for the first time all season they got to play a full seven inning game without having to stop for the clock or the ten run rule.
BH got out to an early 7-2 lead through two innings and then added three more in the top of the third inning. Koorsen fought back though with five in the bottom of the inning to make it 10-7. The rest of the game stayed closed, but only because neither team could get the bats going. BH scored three more the rest of the way and held on for a 13-27 victory.
Kevin Hall looked sharp in his first game as a married man. He had two assists from the outfield as well as an inside the park home run. Rich Brown was 3-3 with 4 RBIs.
The final scheduled Banana Hammocks game of the Spring is at 8:00 against Sandlot on field #3 on June 11th. I believe that a win would make both BH and Sandlot 9-1 which could cause a playoff game for the championship.
GETTING THE AVERAGES UP
Jun 01, 2009
With four Dox missing on June 1st, Dox called on a couple subs to help take on Ball Beaters. Andy Hahn made another appearance as well as Jeff's buddy Ty and Dox had no problem playing with only 9 guys.
After the first six Dox hitters scored in the top of the first inning everyone was pretty sure this was going to be another easy win. Six more runs in the next two innings had Dox up 12-0 before Ball Beaters came alive and scored seven runs in the bottom of the third to cut into the lead. After a boring fourth inning the Dox bats came back alive in the fifth. Dox went 18-20 in the inning and scored 16 runs to build a 30-7 lead which held up for the final score in five innings.
Dan Schuster and Brandon Howard were each 6-6 on the night. Andy Hahn did his thing as usual and added two more triples and lead the Dox with 7 RBIs on the night. Five Dox players drove in at least four runs. Every player in the lineup had at least three hits and eight players scored at least three times although nobody managed to score more than four times.
The next Dox game is at 10:00 on June 8th on #3 against Oles. The following week Dox plays at 7:00 on both Monday June 15th and Tuesday June 16th. Tuesday is the makeup for the rain out earlier this season.
KEVIN AND HEATHER GOT MARRIED!
May 30, 2009
Kevin and Heather made it official on May 30th, 2009. Coach Buzzard was there to oversee the proceedings.
NEW PITCHER AND THE WOOD BAT
May 28, 2009
John Buzzard got the start on the rubber for the Banana Hammocks on May 28th. This was his first pitching appearance of the season.
BH jumped out to an early six run lead in the first inning and after the Hammocks had gotten through the order twice it was clear that the Deutch Bags were not going to present a significant threat. The wood bat made its first appearance in the fourth inning and by my recollection the first 6 hitters to use it reached base. Some BH players were too scared to use the wood bat but Ben, Rich, Andy, Kevin, Byrd and John each gave it at least one try. John's pitching went smoothly and the Hammocks cruised to a 16-5 win in five innings.
The next Hammocks action is June 4th at 7:00 on field #4.
NOLAN EDWARD SIZELOVE
May 26, 2009
Nolan Edward Sizelove has arrived! He weighed in at 6.9 pounds and measured 20.5" long.
ANOTHER SHORT GAME
May 25, 2009
Dox played another 5 inning, 30 minute game on May 25th. SDNL was 4-1 coming into the game but they were not able to solve the pitching of Jeff Galka as Dox coasted to a 13-2 victory.
Five runs in the first and five more in the fourth were the majority of the Dox offense. Rich Brown and Chris Korb were each 4-4. Chris had a two run HR as part of the fourth inning scoring and he led the Dox with four RBIs in the game.
Jeff: The next game for the Dox is June 1st at 9:00 on field #2. Ty, Kevin, Jim, and Dan K are all missing so Coach is working on lining up replacements. If anyone else is unable to make it please let him know ASAP.
JUST PUT DOWN HAMMOCKS STINK
May 21, 2009
The Banana Hammocks will try to redeem themselves on May 28th at 10:00 against Deutch Bags on field #3.
SHUTOUT
May 18, 2009
Dox moved to 5-0 on May 18th with an easy victory over Beer Snobs.
Dox sent at least six men to the plate every inning during an easy 20-0 victory. Dan Schuster and Dale Wagner were each perfect for the night at the plate and Rich Brown was only a poor base running play from an unnamed teammate away from being 4-4 as well. Dan Kobold led the Dox with 5 RBIs and Jeff Galka pitched four shutout innings.
The Dox do play on Memorial Day next week at 8:00 on field #4 against SDNL. Ty Martin will be busy with wedding related activities for the next couple weeks so if anyone else is going to be absent let coach know.
JOHN BUZZARD: MOST FEARED HITTER IN SOFTBALL
May 14, 2009
The Banana Hammocks had a rematch with Schmidt on May 14th and if you love seeing people walk then John Buzzard did not disappoint.
Hammock fans and players were kind of nervous through the first five innings as the Hammocks couldn't get the bats or gloves going. Schmidt actually led 7-6 heading into the sixth inning and some were beginning to wonder if this was the night the mighty Banana Hammocks would fall. A nine run sixth inning seemed like it would put those fears to rest, but Schmidt came back with six of their own in the bottom of the sixth to make it a two run game heading into the last inning. Seven straight hits or walks to lead of the seventh netted BH five more runs and the seven run lead turned out to be more than enough as Schmidt was shut down in the final inning without scoring. Final score: BH 20 and Schmidt 13.
John walked three times to load the bases for the worst RBI man on the team and would have had a fourth walk in the sixth inning except he intentionally turned a ball into a strike to get an extra pitch. Rich Brown played his first game with Boots in the crowd and lead the team with 5 RBIs. Corey Meisel had an inside the park HR to put the Hammocks ahead briefly in the fifth inning.
The next time the Hammocks take the field will be May 21st at 9:00 against Sandlot on field #1.
SUPER SUB
May 11, 2009
Dox moved to 4-0 on the year with a victory over Oles on May 11th, 2009. It was the third consecutive game cut short due to the mercy rule.
Things actually started out kind of slow for the Dox as they only scored two in the first and one more in the second to take a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third. Dan Schuster changed that with a Han Solo shot to start the third inning. He came back to the bench apologizing and then the rest of the Dox really started to hit. The Dox ended up going 20-23 with a walk in the third inning with only one or two errors made by the defense. Andy Hahn was filling in for Rich Brown and contributed an inside the park grand slam in his first third inning at bat and then followed that up with a three run inside the park job in his second time up. After all the dust settled and Oles managed to record a third out the score sat at 22-0 and finished at 22-2 after one more half inning.
Four Dox hitters came to the plate three times in the third. Dan Kobold and Chris Korb each had three hits in the inning. Every hitter in the lineup scored at least one run and had at least one hit in the third inning and every player had at least two hits in the game. Nobody got four hits or scored four runs in the game though.
The next Dox action is on May 18th at 7:00 on field #1 against Beer Snobs. Chris Korb will not be there so if anyone else is going to miss then let coach know as soon as possible.
THE PERFECT SUB FOR RICH
May 07, 2009
The Banana Hammocks took the field the day after the birth of Boots without their usual pitcher. Luckily they were able to find a replacement player who filled Rich's shoes perfectly minus the pitching.
The Hammocks gave up three runs early but scored four in the bottom of the first to grab a lead. Big Wood picked up two in the second to take the lead but that would be all they would get for the rest of the night. The biggest excitement came in the bottom of the fourth as BH was preparing to take the lead back. Rich's sub struck out for the second time in the game and managed to get himself kicked out of the game leaving the Hammocks with only nine players and an automatic out in the lineup. Fortunately none of that lasted a very long time as the only out made by the Hammocks in the fifth inning was that automatic out and Dox coasted to a 15-5 victory.
Andy Hahn showed off his power with a HR in the first inning and another ball over the fence for an out in the second inning. He ended up going 3-4 with 6 RBIs in the game. Every regular BH player scored at least one run and Wyatt was the only Hammock without an RBI thanks to Andy clearing the bases before he got to hit. Ben Caruso filled in for Rich on the mound and had his slider working as he racked up 3 swinging strike outs but he did struggle with the overhand toss from the rubber to first base.
The next Hammock action is May 14th at 8:00 on #3 against Schmidt.
BOOTS IN DA HOUSE!
May 06, 2009
Bennett Richard Brown aka Boots was born on May 6th, 2009 at 2:45 pm. He weighed in at 8.5 pounds and measured 21" long. Both Bennett and Rachel are doing great. There are rumors going around that he might be the coolest kid within the 465 loop.
A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS
May 04, 2009
Many of the usual Dox were unavailable on May 4th for the matchup with the Sallie Mae Loan Sharks. Dan Kobold, Kevin Hall and Rich Brown were each missing so Andy Hahn from the Banana Hammocks filled in at second base and Ty Martin's buddy Jean Paul played outfield.
Jeff Galka was also missing due to work for the first inning so Chris Korb was forced to pitch with only three outfielders behind him. The Loan Sharks came out hitting the ball and also benefitted from a couple bad throws by the Dox and built a 4 run lead after the top of the first inning. Dox got two back in the first and then got eight more in the second inning to build a 10-4 lead. The defense held strong behind Jeff until the fifth when the Loan Sharks pushed one more run across, but Brandon Howard ended things with an RBI triple to make the final score 15-5.
Dan Schuster was the only Dox hitter to reach base on every trip to the plate. He was 3-3 with an inside the park home run, 3 RBIs and a walk. Ty and Brandon each had three hits.
The next Dox game is at 10:00 on May 11th on field #3 against Oles. Jeff Galka will be unavailable so anyone else that is going to miss needs to let coach know as soon as possible.
CRUISING ALONG
Apr 27, 2009
Dox took on TKB on April 27th, 2009. The game marked the fourth matchup between the two teams over the years with TKB winning all of the previous games by at least five runs.
A five run top of the first inning by the Dox set the tone for the game and three more runs in the second inning gave Dox an 8-1 lead after two. Dox stretched the lead to ten after four innings, but when they failed to score any runs in the fifth after loading the bases with no outs TKB was able to push a run across and eventually forced a seventh inning. In the top of the seventh Dox scored six more insurance runs and held on defense for a 19-5 win.
Jim Vandy led the Dox at the plate with a 4-4 night. Dan Schuster took advantage of the guys in front of him getting on base and drove in six runs. The Dox infield also impressed with double plays in the second and fourth. They also turned a double play which should have ended the game in the seventh if not for a blown call by the umpire.
The next Dox game is at 9:00 on May 4th on field #4. We're missing Dan Kobold so let coach know if you are unable to make it.
BEATING UP ON SOME DEUTCH BAGS
Apr 23, 2009
April 23, 2009 marked the season debut for Cale Sizelove as the Banana Hammocks took on some Deutch Bags.
The outcome of the game was never in doubt after Cale got everyone fired up prior to the game and the Hammocks came out and scored ten runs in the first inning. The game only lasted four innings, but the Hammock did meet Coach's goal of having at least six players bat every inning. The game ended with a walk off single by Coach which put BH up 22-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The biggest highlight of the game came in the second inning when Coach decided to start swinging the bat. After watching two balls and intentionally swinging and missing to force a full count, John Buzzard tried to muscle up on the payoff pitch and nearly fell as he swung and missed. Wyatt Buzzard caused some late inning interest when a bunch of the Deutch Bags collided trying to catch one of his pop ups and Kevin Hall got called out for stepping out of the batter's box while trying to avoid walking. Andy Hahn led the Hammocks with 5 RBIs while Ben and Byrd each chipped in with 4.
PITCHING AND DEFENSE
Apr 16, 2009
Most of the Banana Hammocks forgot to bring their hitting shoes to the park on April 16th when they faced off with Schmidt in the second week of the Spring session.
Schmidt jumped out to a four run lead in the top of the first inning but the Hammocks scored two in the first to keep it close. After that first inning the BH defense stiffened but the bats never got going as the hitters had a tough time being patient and waiting for a strike. The Hammocks took the lead 7-6 after the third inning and although they couldn't stretch it out very much, they did enough to make it stand up for a 10-8 win.
Andy Hahn and Byrd were the brightest spots in the BH lineup. Andy went 4-4 with 3 RBIs and Byrd was 2-2 with a walk. John Buzzard managed to make three trips to the plate without getting an at bat by walking twice and hitting a SAC fly.
The next Banana Hammocks game is April 23rd at 9:00 against Deutch Bags and Cale Sizelove has promised to make an appearance.
MUD BOWL
Apr 13, 2009
The 2009 season got off to a slow start for Dox when they showed up ready to play at 7:00 and found out the schedule had been changed and they had three hours to kill. After downing a complimentary gallon of beer at Midwest the team headed over to Wing N' It to kill the time.
By the time the Dox got back to the field, four games and an entire day of rain had turned the infield into a mud pit which made for some interesting plays. The Dox like a challenge and gave themselves one by falling behind 5-0 after the top of the first inning and the score was still 7-1 heading into the bottom of the third. Seven straight hits to start the third tied the score and ten more runs in the fourth pretty much put the game out of reach. Rich Brown tried to keep the game going by flipping a ball out of play to allow a run to score and avoid the ten run rule in the top of the fifth, but Dox kept scoring and eventually the time ran out after five and a half innings with Dox leading 20-12.
Ben Caruso and Dan Kobold were each 4-4 to start the season. Dan Schuster, Kevin Hall and Chris Korb each had three hits. Chris led the Dox with 4 RBIs and Schuster used the extra at bat that Rich earned him to hit a solo home run to lead off the 5th.
Once they give us a schedule I'll update to website and send out an email to let everyone know what time to show up next week.
OPENING NIGHT
Apr 09, 2009
The Banana Hammocks kicked off 2009 with a matchup against Big Wood on April 9th, 2009.
Things didn't get off to the best start when the Hammocks went down in order in the top of the first inning and then gave up two runs in the bottom half. The second inning went much more smoothly with the bats though as the Hammocks batted around for the first of three times in the game. A six run, two out rally kept Big Wood close through the second inning, but when BH batted around again in the third they stretched the lead to seven runs and it never got closer than four runs the rest of the game as the Hammocks went on to win 21-13.
Wyatt Buzzard was the hitting star with three hits and two walks in five trips to the plate. Kevin Prater was 3-4 with a HR and 4 RBIs. Rich Brown, Andy Hahn, Dan Schuster and Byrd each had three hits to start their season. Andy, Byrd, and John Buzzard each knocked in at least three runs a piece.
The next Banana Hammocks game is April 16th at 8:00 against Schmidt on field #2.
BACK TO BACK AAU NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Sep 13, 2008
BREAKING THE TIE
Sep 12, 2008
The Hammocks prepared for the tiebreaking game against Chef Mike with some beers, dogs, and cheeseburgers in the parking lot. By the time 9:30 rolled around everyone was ready to win a new shirt.
Things started well for the Hammocks when the first two batters of the game scored to take a 2-0 lead after half an inning. Things seesawed through the next few innings with the lead changing hands a couple of times and Chef Mike leading 15-12 heading into what looked to be the 5th and final inning due to the time limit.
After a leadoff out BH ran off five straight hits to tie the game before Chef Mike was able to record a second out. John Buzzard was due up next and crushed a ball to the track that unfortunately bounced over for a double, but did drive in the go ahead run. The next eight BH hitters to come to the plate each got hits including a two run bomb by Kevin Prater and after Austin Hart limped home for the 25th run of the game and 13th run of the inning the Hammocks had a 25-15 lead. The bottom of the inning went quickly and the game ended with Austin fielding a ball, stepping on second, and throwing to first for the double play and a victory. Ben Caruso was 5-5, John Buzzard was 3-3 with a walk, and Kevin Prater was 2-2 with three walks. Seven Hammocks scored three runs in the game.
2008 SEASON DONE
Sep 08, 2008
Dox finished up the 2008 year with a 12-6 forfeit victory on September 8th. Dox first venture into the C league ended with a 2-8 record after going 10-0 in the D league during the spring.
Most people hit well in the final game of the year as Dox played with 9 players for the first time all year. The game was never really in doubt, but things got interesting when Dusty Jones got into a shouting match with someone on the other team following a play at the plate. After both players were thrown out Dox played defense for half an inning with only 8 players before the bitches on the other team quit with 20 minutes left on the clock. Dan Schuster was 3-3 with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs. Chris Korb and Dusty were each 3-3 and Dale Wagner was 2-2 with a walk.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
Sep 05, 2008
The Banana Hammocks entered the final game of the summer season tied at 7-2 with Chef Mike. They needed a win over Shag Our Balls in order to guarantee a tie for first place.
The Hammocks didn't waste any time taking care of business this time. Five runs in each of the first three innings gave BH a 15-4 lead and allowed John Buzzard to rest Rich Brown's arm for the last few innings as BH coasted to a 21-12 victory. Kevin Hall had two inside the park home runs in the game. Ben Caruso and Austin Hart each added one of their own and Kevin Prater hit one of the traditional over the fence home runs. Rich and Andy Hahn each went 4-4 with 3 RBIs.
The win along with a win by Chef Mike forced BH into a tiebreaking playoff game later that night for all of the t-shirts.
WE ARE NOW ENTERING THE NO FLY ZONE
Aug 29, 2008
Banana Hammocks squared off with their newest arch rivals the Old Town Wailers on September 28th. As expected the game featured plenty of talking from both teams and marked the second time Rich Brown got ejected and reinstated during the same game.
The Hammocks struggled most of the game at the plate. Three runs in the top of the third made the score 5-3 but by the top of the seventh the score was 11-3. The Hammocks tried to rally and were able to cut the score to 11-7, but then they entered the "No Fly Zone" and got shut down. After the game Dusty Jones tried to kill one of the Wailer douchebags but he got restrained and nobody died.
The loss drops the Hammocks into a tie for first with Chef Mike heading into the final game of the season September 4th at 6:30 against Shag Our Balls.
ANOTHER LOSS
Aug 25, 2008
Dox lost again on August 25th to drop their record to 1-8. The last game is September 8th at 10:00. Be sure to let coach know if you won't be there because Dan Kobold and Jeff Galka will both be unable to attend.
FIRST PLACE BITCHES!
Aug 22, 2008
Banana Hammocks took over solo possession of first place with a victory over Chef Mike on August 21st. The win moved BH to 7-1 with two games to play and puts them in control of their own destiny.
After the top of the order couldn't get anything going in the first inning, the middle of the order took over in the second inning to grab a 3-2 lead. After the top of the order slowed things down again, the middle once again got hot to give BH a 7-6 lead after three. The entire order finally got things together in the 4th and 5th and built a big lead and BH was able to win 16-10 when the game ended after 5.5 innings due to time. Keven Prater and Kevin Hall were each 4-4 in the game and Bryan West was 3-3.
The next BH game is August 28th at 10:30.
THE LUCKY CROCS AREN'T SO LUCKY
Aug 18, 2008
The lucky crocs couldn' t bring another victory as Dox fell 19 - 10 to Adkins Construction on August 18th.
Highlights of the game appear to be a leadoff HR by Dan Schuster, a solo HR by Mike Poulsen, and Dan Kobold coming back from taking a ground ball in the face to record two hits while covered in blood.
The next Dox game is August 25th at 9:00 on #4.
ANOTHER BIG WIN
Aug 15, 2008
BH got another big win by pouring it on late after a slow start on August 14th.
BH fell behind early but a seven run fourth inning, capped by Kevin Prater's grand slam brought BH within a run. A single run in the fifth tied the score and then four more runs over the next couple innings gave Banana Hammocks a 16 - 12 victory. Rich Brown was 4-4 in the win. Andy Hahn managed only one official AB despite making 5 trips to the plate.
The next game for the Hammocks is August 21st at 9:30 on #4 against Chef Mike who are currently in first place.
DOX WIN! DOX WIN!
Aug 11, 2008
Dox picked up their first regular season win in nearly two months as they defeated Hughes by a score of 14 - 13 on August 11th.
Dox got a rare opportunity to take the field before batting after seemingly being visitors for the entire summer. Two runs in the bottom of the first gave Dox a 2-1 lead before Hughes was able to score five in the second to take a 6-2 lead. The next few inning saw Dox slowly cut into that lead as both teams scored at least two runs each inning. Dox went into the bottom of the sixth trailing by three and Reuben Wilson was able to get things started with a single up the middle. Five hits and a SAC fly later Dox had a 14-13 lead heading into the 7th inning. Hughes came up with the 2, 3, 4 hitters in the lineup and they were able to get the leadoff man on base, but the next three batters went down in order and Dox got the victory. Rich Brown was 3-3 with a HR and 5 RBIs. Ben Caruso and Dan Kobold each had 3 hits as well. In addition to starting the big sixth inning for Dox, Reuben also kicked off a 3 run, two out rally in the fourth which was capped by Rich's home run.
The next Dox game is at 8:00 on August 18th on #1 against Adkins.
CLOSE ONE
Aug 08, 2008
The Banana Hammocks jumped out to a big lead early but had to battle late to get their fifth win of the summer.
After an eight run first inning gave BH a 8-4 lead it seemed like things were going to go smoothly, but the BH bats cooled off and the game was back and forth through the next six innings. BH looked like they were going to win in the bottom of the sixth with a tie score and 2 minutes on the clock, but they were not able to push a run across and the game went to the seventh inning. John Buzzard made a spectacular diving catch and forced a runner out at second in the top of the inning and Andy Hahn followed that up with a nice play to end the inning with the score tied. BH was then able to get some runners on base and Kevin Hall ended things with a SAC fly to drive in the winning run. Ben Caruso was 5-5. 9 of 10 players scored at least one run and 9 of 10 players drove in at least one run.
The next Banana Hammocks game is the 14th at 8:30 on #2.
ASS KICKING
Aug 04, 2008
Dox got destroyed on August 4th against Wards. The game was never close and Dox lost 18 - 3 in five innings. Jeff Galka, Dusty Jones and Jim Vandy were each 2-2.
The next Dox game is August 11th at 7:00 on #6.
DOX CAN'T BEAT COED TEAMS
Jul 28, 2008
Dox suffered their second loss of the year to a team employing 3 or more girls on July 28, 2008. The loss drops Dox to 0-5 in the summer after going 10-0 in the spring.
It was a boring, low scoring game as Dox led 3-2 after 5. Smokin' Bases used a HR to take a 6-4 lead after 6, but Dox put together 5 hits with two down in the 7th to score 3 runs and take a one run lead. As usual Dox couldn't hold the lead and Smokin' Bases were able to force extra innings. After Dox couldn't score in the top of the inning Smokin' Bases has no trouble hitting a SAC fly to win. Nobody batted over .500 so no names get dropped here.
The next Dox game is August 4th at 10:00 on #3.
BIG WIN FOR THE HAMMOCKS
Jul 25, 2008
The Banana Hammocks played late into the night on July 24th to earn their 3rd victory of the season against the Old Town Wailers.
The 10:30 game didn't get started until about 10:45 and early on the Wailers appeared to be more ready to play as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the top of the first and a 10-4 lead after 3.5 innings. BH picked it up at that point with 5 runs in the bottom of the 4th to get within one and 7 more the next inning to take a 16-10 lead. Both teams scored a run in the 6th and BH held the Wailers to 3 runs in the final inning to win 17-14. Wyatt Buzzard was the star of the night by going 4-4 with four runs scored and one injured hamstring. Austin Hart was also 4-4 and added 5 RBIs.
The next BH game is 7/31 at 6:30.
FOUR IN A ROW
Jul 21, 2008
Dox dropped their fourth straight game on July 21st. The latest loss was delivered by Knuckleheads by the score of 18-7.
The night got off to a bad start when the game was delayed by an hour and didn't really improve once the game did start as Dox fell behind 10-1 through 3.5 innings. They did score a few runs in the 4th and 3 more in the 5th to extend the game, but never really made it close. Mike Poulsen was 4-4 and both Chris Korb and Jeff Galka reached base three times, but they were the only bright spots in the Dox batting order.
The next Dox game is July 28th at 9:00 against Smokin Bases on #6.
NOTHING WORTH SEEING HERE
Jul 18, 2008
Banana Hammocks fell to 2-1 on the season after a loss to Chef Mike on July 17th.
Chef Mike took a 7-1 lead through 3 innings before Banana Hammocks scored 3 runs in the 4th. Unfortunately that was all the offense that the Hammocks could muster with 3 different double plays killing any momentum that tried to build. A 5 run sixth inning sealed the victory for Chef Mike by a score of 14-4.
The next Banana Hammock game is July 24th at 10:30 on #5.
ANOTHER BLOWN LEAD
Jul 14, 2008
Dox dropped their third straight in disappointing fashion to Adkins Construction on July 14th.
Dox fell behind 5-0 after the first inning and was only able to score one run in the first four innings but Adkins stopped scoring which allowed Dox to hang in there down 5-1 heading into the fifth inning. The next 2.5 innings went much better for Dox. They scored 10 runs and built up an 11-6 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th. At that point Adkins found their stroke again and Dox showed off their ability to blow a lead in the bottom of the 7th again as Adkins came back to win 12-11.
The next Dox game is July 21st against Knuckleheads at 8:00 on #1.
MORE WINNING
Jul 11, 2008
Banana Hammocks faced off against Boathouse on July 10th and came away with their second victory of the summer
Banana Hammocks got off to a bad start in the second game of the summer by going down in order in the first. 3 runs by Boathouse in the bottom, 3 more quick outs by BH in the second and another Boathouse run in the second put BH down 4-0. A 4 run, 2 out rally highlighted by a 3 run double by Andy Hahn evened the score at 4-4 through three innings. A couple more slow innings put BH down 8-6 heading into the sixth inning when BH finally got the bats going. Nine out of the first ten Banana Hammocks hitters scored that inning to grab a 15-8 lead which they were able to make stand up en route to a 17-10 victory. Ben Caruso was 3-4 with a walk and 4 runs scored, Rich Brown was also 3-4 with 4 RBIs, Brian West was 3-4 and Andy Hahn added 5 RBIs.
The next Banana Hammocks game is July 17th at 9:30 on field #1 against Chef Mike.
GETTING CLOSER
Jul 07, 2008
Dox lost their second game of the year 12-11 against Hughes on July 7th.
The game started out poorly with Dox only able to score 1 run in the first three innings and Hughes scoring 6 during the same time period. The next few innings picked up and Dox trialed 9-6 heading into the 7th. Dox rallied in the top of the 7th to take an 11-9 lead. Unfortunately, just like in the tournament, Dox was unable to hold a lead and the only out they were able to get was a game winning sac fly. Ben Caruso, Rich Brown, Dan Schuster and New Guy Brandon each had three hits.
The next Dox game is the 14th against Adkins Construction at 7:00 on #4.
WELCOME TO THE BIG SHOW
Jun 30, 2008
After going undefeated during the spring, Dox was forced to make their C league debut on June 30th, 2008.
Although the new home run rule will not favor the Dox, it wasn't a factor on this night. The game was very close throughout, but some costly errors late in the game allowed Ward's to grab a four run lead and hang on for the victory. Rich Brown, Dan Kobold, and Mike Poulsen each had three hits, but the rest of the lineup did not hit well enough to win in the new league.
The next regular season Dox game is July 7th at 10:00 on #2. The city tournament starts July 1st and Dox plays at 7:15.
OFF TO A GOOD START
Jun 27, 2008
The Banana Hammocks got the summer session off to a good start with a 14-10 victory over Crazy Aces on June 26, 2008.
Crazy Aces led for most of the game as they were able to put runs on the board in each of the first four innings while the bottom of the Hammocks struggled to get going. After Crazy Aces failed to push any runs across in the top of the fifth the Banana Hammocks were able to scored four runs to tie things up. Then after falling behind 10-9 in the top of the sixth the Banana Hammocks put together a 5 run, 2 out rally to take a 14-10 lead and then made it stand up in the 7th. Rich Brown was 4-4 with 4 runs scored. Andy Hahn and Austin Hart were each 3-3 and each had 4 or more RBIs.
The next Banana Hammocks game is July 10th at 8:30 against Boathouse.
PERFECTION
Jun 23, 2008
Dox finished up the perfect season with an 11-1 victory over Beer Snobs on June 23, 2008.
Dox started slow thanks to the first two batters in the lineup struggling, but Rich Brown, Dan Schuster, and Chris Korb were each perfect on the night and helped generate the offense in an easy win.
The first game of the summer session is June 30th at 9:00 and the entire schedule has been posted.
CHAMPIONSHIP VIDEO
Jun 21, 2008
CHAMPIONSHIP!
Jun 20, 2008
The Banana Hammocks faced off with Strategic Discontent on June 19th. Free shirts were on the line with both teams sitting at 6-3 and tied for first place.
Strategic jumped out to a 5 run lead in the top of the first and after the Hammocks went down in order in the bottom of the inning things started to get a little tense in the Hammocks dugout. A couple more slow innings for BH put them behind 7-3 heading into the bottom of the 4th. 3 runs in the 4th cut the deficit to one run and Byrd tied the game in the 5th with a SAC fly.
The top of the sixth took an unfortunate turn when an innocent throw back into the infield took a bad hop and caught Austin Hart just above the eye. One of the many Banana Hammock fans was selected to fill in while Austin was being bandaged up and he quickly made an impact by fielding the next ball hit to help keep the game tied heading into the bottom of the 6th.
At that point the Banana Hammock bats finally woke up. While the trainer continued to tend to Austin, the rest of the team started hitting. Banana Hammocks scored 8 runs in the 6th inning including a SAC fly from Austin who came to bat with a fresh bandage on his forehead and one eye missing a contact.
Strategic did get some runners on base in the 7th, but not enough to make up the 8 run deficit. The final score was 15-10 and gave Banana Hammocks solo possession of first place at 7-3.
The summer session starts on June 26th at 7:30 on field #2 against Crazy Aces.
LOSING WHILE WEARING OLD JERSEYS
Jun 19, 2008
Retro night did not go as planned on June 18th. Banana Hammocks came out for their rematch with Bowen wearing the old Juiced shirts and couldn't repeat their performance from the week before.
Bowen took an early lead and increased it to 8-2 after two innings. The Banana Hammocks answered with 9 runs in the 3rd and 4th, but Bowen came right back with 8 more runs to take a 18-13 lead. The Banana Hammocks did close it to 19-17 heading into the 7th inning, but were only able to add one more run which made the final score 19-18. Rich Brown was 5-5 with 6 RBIs and was only a HR shy of a cycle. Andy Hahn had 4 hits and 5 RBIs and was also a HR short of a cycle. Wyatt Buzzard and Austin Hart each added three hits.
The last game of spring is June 19th at 9:00.
CHAMPIONSHIP!
Jun 16, 2008
Dox locked up first place in the Spring season with a 22 - 5 win over Ole Ole on June 16th. The win makes Dox 9-0 in 2008.
Just as in most of the other games so far this year, Dox was never in danger during this game. The only inning where less than 3 runs scored was the 5th and when the first 9 batters of the 3rd inning scored the game was pretty much out of reach. Ben Caruso was 4-4 with a walk, Dan Schuster had 7 RBIs, Chris Korb used the out of the park HR in the first inning, and both Dans (Schuster and Kobold) recorded legit inside the park HRs against the 3 man outfield of Ole Ole.
The final game of the Spring season will be June 23rd at 8:00 on #5.
LATE NIGHT SOFTBALL
Jun 13, 2008
Banana Hammocks faced off with Bowen Engineering in a game that didn't start until 10:30 on June 12th.
Bowen came out swinging in the top of the first inning to grab a 4 run lead, but BH came back with 6 in the bottom of the inning and 6 more in the second inning to take a 12-5 lead. The Hammocks added more runs in the 3rd and 4th and Rich Brown was able to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the 6th with a walk off single. Rich and Bryan West were each 4-4 on the night. Cale Sizelove made a rare appearance and chipped in 4 RBIs.
The next Banana Hammocks game is on Wednesday, June 18th at 9:00 and it is turn back the clock night so don't forget your red Juiced shirts. Banana Hammocks also plays next week on Thursday, June 19th at 9:00.
Jun 07, 2008
HOLDING ON TO FIRST PLACE
Jun 06, 2008
Banana Hammocks held on to at least a share of first place and got revenge for their earlier loss with a 12 - 10 victory over Motor Boat on June 5th.
Banana Hammocks got off to a good start with a 6-2 lead through two innings, but Motor Boat answered in the bottom of the 3rd with 8 runs to take a 10-6 lead. The Hammocks chipped away over the next three innings to take a 12-10 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th and were able to shut down the Motor Boat bats in the last two innings to hold on to the victory. Rich Brown led the team by hitting for the cycle and driving in 6 runs. Byrd was productive in every trip to the plate by going 2-2 with a walk and a SAC.
The schedule has been updated. Note that there is now a game on Wednesday the 18th. The next Banana Hammocks game is June 12th at 10:00 on #3 against Bowen Engineering.
LOSING UGLY
May 30, 2008
Banana Hammocks fell to 4-2 following a loss in the rematch with Free Agents on May 29th.
The Free Agents took an early 3 run lead in the first inning and although the game stayed close for the first three innings, Banana Hammocks were never able to tie or take the lead. A 6 run fifth inning gave Free Agents a 12-3 lead and they were able to coast to the win from there. Ben Caruso, Andy Hahn, and Austin Hart each went 3-4 and each had a triple. Austin also added a 3 run home run in the sixth inning which kept the game from ending early.
The next game is at 9:00 on June 5th on field #4 against Motor Boat.
ROLLING ALONG
May 26, 2008
Another week, another win for Dox. This time it was a 9-3 victory over SDNL which moved Dox to 8-0 and probably clinched first place for the season.
The game started out slow with a 2-2 score through two innings when Dox scored 3 runs in each of the next two innings to make the score 8-2 and put the game out of reach. Dan Schuster was 4-4 and both Dan Kobold and Mike Poulsen added 3 hits.
The next Dox game is on June 9th at 8:00 on #5 against Beer Snobs.
WINNING UGLY
May 23, 2008
Banana Hammocks picked up win #4 on the year despite very few players having a good game at the plate. The game featured the season debut of Justin Burge, Dan Schuster, and Dan Cuesta due to five players being unable to play.
Banana Hammocks came out slow, but still built a 5-0 lead through four innings. In the top of the 5th Slumpbusters took advantage of a few defensive lapses to build a 7-5 lead, but BH tied the score in the bottom of the inning and then batted around in the 6th to build an 8 run lead which held up for a 15-8 win. Dan Schuster was 4-4 with 5 RBIs, Bryan West was 3-3 with a walk, and Burge was 3-4 including a 3 run HR in the sixth to put BH ahead for good.
The schedule says the next game is May 29th at 8:00 on #1 but you may want to confirm with John Buzzard because it hasn't been updated from the last rain out.
WE ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE A TEAM
May 19, 2008
May 19th, 2008 marked the first time in the existence of the Indianapolis Dox franchise that every member of the team was wearing a matching uniform top. Even 2/3 of the near sellout crowd was in uniform as Dox extended the winning streak to seven games.
The actual game was nothing out of the ordinary. Dox took an early lead and although Duck Snort did hang in there for a few innings, a six run fourth inning put Dox comfortably in front the rest of the way. The most surprising part of the game was that it marked the second time all season that Dox had to play the field for 21 outs as the bats were not quite hot enough to put the ten run rule into effect. Rich Brown was the hitting star with a 4-4 night which makes him 10-10 over the past two weeks and in firm control of the batting title chase over all three Dans.
Take next week off to enjoy the victory. The next game is June 2nd at 7:00 against SDNL.
BACK TO WINNING
May 16, 2008
Banana Hammocks got back to their winning ways on a cold, rainy May 15th thanks to some hot bats and quality pitching from Rich Brown.
With an opportunity to move into a tie for first place on the line, BH came out walking/hitting in the top of the first to build a 4-0 lead. After that Rich and his quick pitch took over and with some help from his defense he was able to hold the opponents to 2 runs in five innings and a 13-2 victory. Andy Hahn was 3-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs. Ben Caruso and Bryan West were each 2-2 with walks in the rest of their trips to the plate. Cale Sizelove pitched in 3 RBIs without hitting the ball out of the infield and Dusty picked up his second triple of the week.
The next Banana Hammocks game will be on May 22nd and is currently scheduled for 7:00 although that may have changed due to the rain outs so talk to John.
POOKIE WOOKIE'S DEBUT
May 12, 2008
Dox took the field for two games on May 12th. The games marked the first time that long time Dox fan Chrissy Georgiades was able to cheer on Bad Dan (A.C. Nancy Cuesta) in person.
Game one was a matchup with the only team Dox had yet to beat in the 2008 season. Ole Ole jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but Dox scored three of their own in the bottom of the inning to lead 3-2. The score was still 3-2 when Reuben Wilson came up in the second inning and punched a 2 run single through the infield to widen the gap. Dox tacked on a couple more runs every inning while playing mostly good defense and cruised to a 14-4 victory in five innings. The offensive highlight of the game was Dusty Jones' hustle which allowed him to drive himself in (even though the asshole with the book only gave him a triple). Ben Caruso was 4-4 with what should have been probably the first walk off hit of his career until the game wouldn't stop for some reason. Jim Vandy was also perfect at 3-3 and Rich Brown was also 3-3 with 4 RBIs.
Game two was a rematch with Dreyer & Reinbold BMW and once again it wasn't close. Dox did struggle a bit off the bat and only led 2-0 going into the bottom of the third, but the bats came around and Dox cruised again. This time the final score was 13-3 good guys. Mike Poulsen was 4-4 with 5 RBIs including a 2 RBI walk off not quite home run. Rich was also perfect at 3-3 with a walk and 4 RBIs. Jeff Galka recorded two swing and miss strikeouts as well as fielding at least four ground balls in the game.
The wins take the Dox record to 6-0 and confirm that they are certainly in first place now that they have beaten everyone at least one time. Dox are leading a combined 82-18 so far over opponents with the highest opponent output at 5 runs in a game and only 2 out of six games making it past 5 innings. The next game will be at 9:00 on #4 against Duck Snort.
DAMN IT WHEELS!
May 09, 2008
Wheels made his Roger Clemens like return (minus the steroids and all the affairs with 15 year olds) to the Banana Hammocks on May 1st. Unfortunately he ran into a bunch of hard hitting, motor boating sons of bitches in the other dugout and was not able to pick up his first victory of the season.
Motor Boat grabbed an early 4 - 0 lead thanks the three balls to the track in the top of the first. Banana Hammocks came out slower and weren't able to string anything together until the bottom of the 4th when Byrd came through with a big bases loaded triple to make the score 7 - 4. Four more runs in the bottom of the 5th evened the score at nine and got everyone's hopes up, but Motor Boat answered with 3 in the 6th and 1 in the 7th. Banana Hammocks did load the bases in the 6th, but grounded into a double play and they tried to put together a two out rally in the 7th but came up well short and ended up taking the 13 - 10 loss. The loss drops Banana Hammocks to 2 - 1 and I have no idea what the overall standings look like.
Byrd was the BH star of the game with his big triple and a ground ball that he stopped with his throat. Ben Caruso was 4-4 and Cale Sizelove was 3-4 and scored his first two runs of the season.
The next Banana Hammocks game is May 8st at 9:00 against Bowen Engineering on #6.
KEEP ON KEEPING ON
May 05, 2008
Dox posted another easy victory on Cinco de Mayo. The win moves Dox to 4-0 with only unseen opponent left in the division.
Dox jumped out early with 8 runs in the top of the first and 5 more in both the second and third innings. Although the bats cooled in the 4th and 5th innings there was no reason for concern as Dreyer & Reinbold BMW was not capable of putting any offense together and the final score was 18 - 2. Mike Poulsen was the only player with 4 hits, but Dusty Jones and Jim Vandy each drive in four runs.
Dox has a doubleheader on May 12th. The games are at 8:00 and 10:00.
THAT A GIRL NANCY!
Apr 28, 2008
The trend officially became a streak on April 28th as Dox won their third straight game to start the season. The first five batters in the lineup scored and the game was never in doubt as Dox won 13 - 2.
Nancy stayed hot and collected 3 more hits and scored 3 times. Ben Caruso, Dan Kobold and Mike Poulsen each added three hits as well.
The next game is May 5th at 7:00 on #4.
WING'N IT
Apr 25, 2008
Banana Hammocks had some time to kill on April 24th before their dinner plans so they decided to play a little softball against the Free Agents.
Banana Hammocks jumped out to a lead in the top of the first, but some shaky defense allowed Free Agents to build a 10 - 5 lead through 2 innings. BH fought back though and took an 18 - 12 lead through 5 and a half and then were able to hang on to win 19 - 16.
Austin Hart went 3-4 including a grand slam which tied the game in the 3rd inning. Rich Brown was 4-5, Ben Caruso and Wyatt Buzzard were each 3-4 and Andy Hahn pitched in with 5 RBIs. John Buzzard added a diving catch in the outfield and Kevin Hall made a spectacular catch to rob a home run (even though they were out of HRs).
The next time Banana Hammocks take the field will be May 1st at 8:00 against Motor Boat.
WE WON TODAY. THAT'S TWO IN A ROW. IF WE WIN TOMORROW, THAT'S CALLED A WINNING STREAK. IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE.
Apr 21, 2008
Dox stayed perfect in 2008 with a victory over Duck Snort on April 21st. Perhaps sensing that substitute pitcher Rich Brown would need plenty of run support, almost every Dox hitter batted above .500 on the night and Rich was able to cruise to an 18-5 victory in five innings
Dan Kobold was the brightest star with 4 hits. Dan Cuesta, Rich, and Mike Poulsen each added 3 hits. Rich added 4 RBIs and Mike hit a solo shot in the third inning.
The next game is April 28th at 9:00 on #2 against Beer Snobs.
BANANA HAMMOCKS ARE UNDEFEATED
Apr 18, 2008
The Banana Hammocks took the field for the first time in 2008 on April 17th against Slump Busters. The change back to playing at Midwest seemed to work out well as nobody got banned from the complex and the outcome of the game was never in doubt.
BH showed patience at the plate as they took 12 walks in 5 innings against a pitcher who was really struggling. When they weren't walking BH did also have a good deal of success with the bats. Ben Caruso was 4-4 with a walk, John Buzzard and Austin Hart with both 2-2 with 2 walks, and Rich Brown had three hits including 2 triples. A little bit of sloppy play in field during the last inning made the score a little closer than it should have been, but BH still prevailed 17-7 in 5 innings.
The next Banana Hammocks game is April 24th at 7:00 against Free Agents.
WAY TO NOT SUCK A.C.
Apr 14, 2008
Dox got the 2008 season off to a good start on April 14th with a 6-2 victory over SDNL. SDNL did have a brief lead after the top of the first, but Dox erased that with Rich Brown's 2 RBI single in the bottom of the first and Dox would not trail again.
Jeff Galka was already in midseason form on the mound. He may have only allowed 3 hits and he also notched a couple hits of his own at the plate. Chris Korb set a Dox record with approximately 21 put outs while playing RC. While about half the team did struggle at the plate; there were a few offensive stars. A.C. was 3-3 with a couple runs scored, Reuben was 1-1 with a walk and a run scored, and both Rich and Dan Kobold collected two hits in three trips to the plate.
The revised schedule has been posted and it says that the next Dox game is April 21st at 8:00 on field #4 against Duck Snort. The only change to the schedule is the game on June 16th which changed from 9:00 to 8:00.
SCHEDULE IS POSTED!
Apr 01, 2008
GOING OUT ON TOP (OF ONE TEAM ANYWAY)
Oct 29, 2007
Dox ended the season on a one game winning streak by winning the 3rd place game against Outkast in the end of the year tournament on October 29, 2007.
The first game of the night was also against Outkast in a meaningless game after both teams had already been eliminated from the championship game. Dox fell behind and although they made a late charge with 4 runs in the 6th inning, it wasn't enough and Dox fell 9-7. The loss pushed the Dox losing streak to nine games.
Game two saw Dox fall behind again, but a huge 10 run 5th inning gave Dox a 15-12 lead and they were able to hold on to win 15-14 despite some shaky defense in the final inning.
The highlight of the night came when Brad Brown (Rich's long lost cousin from Kentucky) showed up to fill in for Rich. Dox finally found the member of the Brown family that is good at softball as Brad hit two inside the park home runs on the night. Dox also picked up another fill in named Brian who went 6-6 with 6 extra base hits and a walk. James Vandy finished strong with a 6-7 showing on the night.
MORE BAD SOFTBALL
Oct 15, 2007
Dox lost two more games on October 15th and may have set a record for shortest 7 inning game in the process. The Dox are now 1-11 on the season.
Game one started with Dox going 1-2-3 in the top of the first and Ben Caruso crashing straight into the fence when he didn't feel the warning track while trying to catch a ball that barely cleared the wall. Things didn't get much better as the game went on. The lone bright spot was Rich Brown who had 3 hits and 3 runs including an inside the park home run. Despite the overall poor hitting and not great defense, Link Belt stopped hitting after the first 3 innings and the final score was only 10-7.
Game two featured a completely new Dox defensive lineup. Ben, Rich, and Chris Korb moved into the infield and Mike Poulsen, Dan Cuesta and Dale Wagner joined Jim Vandy in the outfield. The result was quite possibly the best defensive game of the season for Juiced. There was only one error in the infield and although the outfield was shaky on a few plays, it was pretty good considering how much more outfield experience Jim has with Dox than the other 3 outfielders combined. Unfortunately the batting order stayed the same and Dox only scored 1 run in a 5-1 loss. Jeff Galka was the only Dox hitter with multiple hits in the second game.
Dox plays the final week of the season on October 22nd at 7:00 and possibly 9:00 against Outkast.
THE LOSING STREAK CONTINUES?
Oct 08, 2007
Dox dropped two more games on October 8 which makes Dox 1-9 on the season.
Neither game was really very close and the second game was the second straight time Dox has gotten blown out by Outkast. The two stars of the night were Chris Korb who went 4-4 in the first game and his BFF Tabatha who joined the team for the second half of the first game and went 2-2. Nobody was able to collect two hits in game two so let's just try to forget about that game.
The next chances for Dox to extend the losing streak will come at 6:00 and 8:00 on October 15th.
TIP: IT WORKS BETTER IF THE TOP OF THE ORDER DOESN'T SUCK
Oct 01, 2007
It seems obvious, but on October 1st the first few batters in the Dox lineup didn't seem to understand the tip in the subject of this post.
Dox was handicapped early when they had to start the first game with only six regulars. Dusty filled in once again and we recruited Mike Dougherty to play even though he hadn't played ball in a couple of years. When Jeff Galka found out he'd be late Dox picked up a random left handed third baseman that wasn't any good to play and Rich Brown had to start on the rubber. Even with all of that Dox still should have won the game except that Ben Caruso, Rich, and Mike Poulsen combined for 2 hits in their first 9 trips to the plate and one of those would really have been scored as an error. Dox ended up as 8-7 losers in game one.
Game two was against everybody's favorite team: Outkast. Dox has played a bunch of games against Outkast this year and all of them have been close except for the first one. Unfortunately this one was not close at all. Outkast hit the ball pretty well and Dox didn't play very well in the field or hit very well. Dox was losing so bad that Dox actually batted two innings in a row without playing the field in between. This caused some confusion on the bases when Rob didn't realize that it was a new inning and a 2 RBI SAC fly for Rich turned into a 0 RBI fly out after Ben passed Rob as Rob was running back to third from home. All in all it probably wasn't that a big deal and Dox lost the game 15-4.
Jeff did his best to make up for his late arrival by going 4-4 on the night. There weren't really many other highlights other than the crappy third base fill in possibly groping a girl during the first game and Jim Vandy making a little contact with a different girl at the plate during the second game as he was thrown out trying for an inside the park HR. No word on whether either of them got any digits. And I almost forgot that someone tagged up and scored on a popup to shortstop in game one. I can't remember who was playing shortstop for that play. Some guy that looked like he didn't have enough power to hit a home run...
Dox plays at 7:00 and 9:00 on October 8th.
LOTS OF SOFTBALL, LOTS OF MOSQUITOES
Sep 24, 2007
Dox dropped two more games on September 24, 2007 and now sit at 1-5 in the fall session. That record is somewhat deceiving though as Dox has been in 5 out of the 6 games including the most recent games.
The first game pit Dox against Outkast and they proved to be as annoying as ever. It was a defensive struggle early until Dox came alive at the plate late in the game and built a seven run lead heading into the top of the 7th inning. Suddenly the Outkast hitters developed an amazing eye at the plate and were able to draw numerous walks along with some timely hits and take a one run lead. An inside the park HR tied the game in the bottom of the inning, but Dox was unable to do any more damage and the game went to extra innings. Both teams struggled to score more than one run an inning in the extra frames and Outkast was finally able to win 21-20 in 11 innings. Ben Caruso was 5-6 with a walk and a HR and Brian Scott was 4-5 with 2 walks in game one.
Game two was against Link Belt Bearings and it got off to a bad start with Dox falling behind by 6 through two innings. Dox was able to close the gap through the middle innings, but Link Belt stretched it back out near the end and Dox was not able to come from 7 runs down in the last inning. Dan Cuesta was 4-4 while Rich Brown and Mike Poulsen each collected 3 hits.
Dox plays at 6:00 and 8:00 on October 1st.
THIS DUSTY GUY ISN'T BAD?
Sep 17, 2007
With Rich out of action due to his honeymoon and Jeff missing due to work problems, Dox had to bring in Dusty from the Juiced family to fill in on September 17, 2007. After a spectacular debut it's safe to say that it won't be the last time Dusty is handling the first base duties for Dox.
Despite the addition of Dusty and the return of Chris Korb from his broken hand, Dox still only had nine players once again. In game one Dox was up against Link Belt Bearings who were 2-0 on the young season. Dox had major issues even getting enough players there by the 6:00 start time and they started slow once everyone was there, but the bats woke up during the 4th inning and Dox was able to make a game out of it. Dox scored 6 in the 4th and 3 in the 5th to take a lead. After two more runs in the top of the 7th, Dox took a three run lead into the bottom of the inning. Unfortunately Link Belt was able to continue hitting the ball hard and were able to keep the ball in the park to avoid dead ball outs and they ended up rallying for the win. Dusty went 5-5 in the first game with 4 RBIs. Mike Poulsen was 4-4 with 0 HRs.
Game two was a rematch with a Knuckleheads team that had easily beaten Dox 19-1 the previous week thanks to an error filled 11 run first inning. Dox took a one run lead in the top of the first and then scored the first 6 batters of the second inning to retake the lead after Knuckleheads had scored about 5 in the bottom of the first. Dox played pretty solid defense for the most part in this game and continued to add a run or two in almost every inning to maintain the lead. Three runs in the top of the 7th gave Dox a 7 run cushion. Knuckleheads tried to make a comeback, but Dan Cuesta and Brian Scott each made nice catches in the outfield and Dox was able to end things without allowing the tying run to reach the plate. Dusty was once again 5-5 with 3 RBIs in game two.
Dox will play next on September 24th at 7:00 and 9:00 against Outkast and Link Belt Bearings.
MIKE LETS THE DOX FAMILY DOWN
Sep 10, 2007
Dox started off the fall session on September 10, 2007 with games against Knuckleheads and Outkast. Seeing as it was the first two games of a session everyone expected Mike Poulsen to hit his customary HRs, but there were none on this night and Dox paid the price for Mike's lack of power.
Dox scored first in game one when the put together four hits in the first inning, but that was the end of the offense for that game. Dox did record 5 more hits during the next 4 innings, but couldn't score again and Knuckleheads had no trouble scoring against a shaky Dox infield. The final score of game one was 19-1 which included 11 runs that Knuckleheads were able to push across in the first. Ben Caruso was 3-3 and Mike did go 3-3 as well despite showing no power at all.
In game two Outkast hitters took much more advantage of the fact that Dox were playing with only 9 guys. Many of the Outkast hitters tried to dink balls down the right field line and if Dox tried to cover that they went ahead and blasted the ball through the gaps or over the outfielders heads. The good news was that the Dox bats finally woke up after an extended slumber and Dox were able to hang in the game by scoring in each of the first four innings. Dox actually took a one run lead after batting around in the 5th and scoring 6 more runs. Unfortunately Outkast put up five runs in the top of what would turn out to be the last inning and Dox was unable to bring the tying run to the plate before the clock ran out which gave Outkast a 19 - 15 win in 6 innings. Ben was 4-5 in the loss and Mike took the lead in the SAC fly department. Brian Scott, Dale Wagner, and Reuben Wilson are all battling it out for the Fall walks title after each picking up 2 free passes in game two.
Dox plays next at 6:00 and 8:00 on September 17th. Hopefully we will have a couple additional players for that game.
GOING DOWN IN A BLAZE OF GLORY
Sep 07, 2007
Juiced finished off the year with their sixth consecutive loss on September 6, 2007. As if you would expect anything different, Juiced's final game was full of controversy.
The game began with the clock running for about 7 minutes before the first pitch while Juiced's opponents waited for enough players to be legal. After all of that things went smoothly with Juiced making errors, not hitting, and falling behind big heading into the third inning. Then just as the 3rd inning was about to begin, someone invented a new rule and said that Juiced was starting the inning with one out because they only had 9 players. Despite pointing out that the rule was made up and that if they were going to enforce it then the out should actually have ended the previous inning and Ben should have been batting with no outs instead of Rich batting with one out. Somehow the end result was Ben batting for the second time in a row with an automatic out in between. There was plenty of yelling during all of this and Rich became the first person to be thrown out of a game and then reinstated at the insistence of the opposing team.
After that things went back to normal for the rest of the game and Juiced of course lost. Following the game John's dad showed up in his soccer referee outfit and there was much more yelling and arguing. John's dad ended up throwing Rich out of the game that was already over, the league that was already over, and the park which Rich had no plans of returning to anyway.
Some good news did come out of the game for Juiced though. After the game Cale informed everyone that he finally found his swing again during his last two at bats. And everyone got to watch the Colts game instead of putting up with that shitty place for any longer. We'll see everyone next year when the league turns into the Mr. Rachel Michele Williams Softball League.
4TH PLACE
Sep 03, 2007
Dox finished off the Summer session with their third straight loss on September 3rd, 2007. Once again Dox struggled to score runs. The five runs against Indy City only gave Dox 12 runs scored during the three game losing streak.
The game was fairly close at 6-4 through three innings, but when Dox made 9 outs in a series of 10 batters Indy City built a big lead and eventually won 15-5 in 6 innings. Rich Brown was 3-3 again and Dan Kobold and Gary Szeszycki each had two hits and 2 RBIs in the loss.
MORE LOSING!
Aug 31, 2007
Juiced ended the Fall regular season with two more losses on August 30, 2007. Fepco didn't have to break a sweat as the beat Juiced by the ten rule two straight times in 5 innings.
Dusty was the brightest spot in two dim box scores as Juiced lost 13-3 and 14-3. Dusty was 2-2 in game one and 2-3 in game two. Wyatt Buzzard and Andy Hahn each had a triple.
The last week of the year is next week when the Fall tournament will be held. Juiced plays at 6:20 and if they win they could potentially play at 8:20 and 9:20.
FALL SCHEDULE POSTED
Aug 28, 2007
The Fall schedule has been posted.
THE SLIDE CONTINUES
Aug 27, 2007
Dox met up with TKB on August 27th with a chance to secure a spot in the championship game. Unfortunately Dox did not hit and fell 8-3.
The last Dox game of the Summer is on September 3rd at 10:00 against Indy City.
CALE COSTS JUICED TWO MORE GAMES
Aug 24, 2007
Juices had a rough night at the ball park on August 23, 2007. They were scheduled to play The Firm, but according to the jerseys they actually took on the Spring league champions D&K Services.
Juiced did have a lead in the first inning after the first three batters recorded hits, but it was mostly downhill from there. Everything can basically be traced back to a line drive that Cale Sizelove was unable to handle. After that the entire team appeared to be mentally beaten and D&K easily won 21-3 in 4 innings and 15-10 in 6 innings.
In game one Ben, Dusty and Wheels were each 2-2. Andy and Wyatt led the team at the plate in game two. Each of them went 3-4 and scored two runs.
The next Juiced games are at 6:20 and 7:20 on August 30th against Fepco.
A COUPLE DIMES
Aug 17, 2007
Juiced and Hawgs squared off on August 16th, 2007 in a pair of rare games for Juiced under the lights.
Game one was never really in doubt. Juiced started a little slow but still scored in every inning. The knockout blow came in the 5th inning when the first 8 batters of the inning scored and Juiced scored 9 total runs to make the score 17-2. Juiced would end up winning game one by a score of 17-3. Andy Hahn was 4-4 with a triple, Rich Brown was 3-4 with another inside the park home run, and each of the first three hitters in the order scored 3 times.
After winning by 14 runs in game one you'd think game two would be a cake walk, but Hawgs came out hitting to start game two and Juiced forgot out to use that leather thing they carry around when they try to play defense. A 4 run first and an 8 run second put Juiced behind big from the start. Juiced trailed 22-6 heading into the bottom of the 5th when they finally got the bats going. Needing 7 runs to keep the game going, Juiced was able to get 6 runs in with a runner on first before the rally died and Hawgs came away with a 22-12 win. Kevin Prater and John Buzzard were each 3-3 in game two.
We don't know what time the next Juiced game will be, but it will be on August 23rd and Juiced will be playing on the North field for the first time.
ONE THAT GOT AWAY
Aug 13, 2007
Dox and Damagesoftball.com met on August 13, 2007 in a rematch of a game Dox won 10-9 earlier in the Summer. Dox was forced to play with 9 players after Jim Vandy and Gary Szeszycki were unable to make it to the game.
Despite Ben Caruso finally winning a coin toss that he actually called the game got off to a rough start when Damage scored three runs in the top of the first inning. Dox fought back though with a two out, two RBI single by Reuben Wilson in the 2nd inning and a two RBI single by Mike Poulsen in the bottom of the 3rd inning which tied the game at 4-4. Unfortunately after loading the bases with no outs and Mike following with a single, Dox was unable to score another run in the inning when the next three batters were retired. Dox got two runners on base in each of the last four innings, but never managed to score another run and the two runs Damage managed to score in the 5th inning were enough to give them a 6-4 victory.
Ben, Rich Brown and Brian Scott did a good job minimizing the damage that Damage was able to do with all the extra room in the outfield. Brian Scott provided the defensive highlight when he gunned down a Damage runner who was lollygagging his way from 2nd to 3rd late in the game. Other than the two hits that drove in runs, the only noteworthy performance at the plate was Ben with 2 hits and 2 walks in his 4 trips to the plate.
The next Dox game is on August 20th at 7:00 on #1 against TKB. A win should get Dox a rematch with Damagesoftball.com on August 27th in the 1st place vs. 2nd place battle for the free shirts.
JUICED WINS ONE FOR CALE
Aug 10, 2007
Juiced took on HC Nobletucks on August 9th, 2007 in one of the most exhausting softball doubleheaders in history. With thoughts of Cale Sizelove's kidney stones in their heads, the nine remaining Juiced players took the field in 90 degree weather looking to add a couple of games to the win column.
Game one started with HC playing shorthanded as well, but Juiced didn't really take advantage when they only scored 2 runs in the first two innings. A six run 3rd inning gave Juiced an 8-7 lead, but multiple errors helped HC score 10 of the first 11 batters that came to the plate in the 4th inning and Juiced trailed 17-8 heading into the bottom of the 4th. Once again Juiced was able to rally for six runs in the bottom of the inning, but then the bats stopped working and Juiced was unable to score again in the final three innings. Juiced actually hit into 9 straight outs after the first two batters reached in the bottom of the fifth. The final score of game one was 18-14 in favor of HC.
Game two started better as Juiced recorded 5 straight singles to start the game and the first four batters came around to score. Juiced couldn't score anything in the second inning, but then proceeded to score at least one run in every inning after that and ended up with a 14-5 win which was never really in doubt. Juiced recorded 4 triples in the second game alone.
Wyatt looked a little tired and struggled in his first game back after the honeymoon, but he pulled it together in the second game when he went 4-5 with 3 runs scored and one of those previously mentioned triples. Dusty was a star in game one when he went 4-5 with a double. Ben Caruso was 7-9 on the night, Wheels went 6-10 with one of those triples in what he said afterwards was his best night of the year, and Kevin Prater was 7-9 with a triple in each game.
The next Juiced game is at 8:20 and 9:20 on August 16th against Hawgs.
SWEET REVENGE
Aug 06, 2007
Dox faced off with Westpoint Financial on August 6th, 2007 in a rematch of the session opener. Perhaps inspired by a surprise visit from the injured Chris Korb, Dox were finally able score some runs after the first two innings and ended up with a 12-6 victory.
Dox took advantage of a new pitcher in the first inning when they walked 5 times and scored 5 runs. After that it looked as if they were done scoring until Reuben Wilson was able to start a rally in the 4th which gave Dox a 4 run lead that they would not relinquish. Mike Poulsen was 3-4 and Reuben was 2-2 with a walk.
The next Dox game is a rematch with Damagesoftball.com on August 13th at 9:00 on #6.
JUICED SOFTBALL IS FINALLY BACK
Aug 03, 2007
After a very unnecessary 5 week break, league games are finally being played again at Morse Beach and Juiced is back in action once again.
Week one of the fall session saw Juiced take on Bad News Bears on August 2nd. Juiced was sporting some new players due to the loss of Max and West along with Wyatt Buzzard being away on his honeymoon (pictures can be posted if anyone that had a camera at the wedding wants to send them to me). Cameron made his debut with the big club in right field and Mike Poulsen and Mike Bortone were called in to sure up the infield defense up the middle.
Juiced looked rusty at the plate most of the night. After putting up 7 runs in the first two innings of game one they went 2-16 with a walk in the final 5 innings and were unable to add any additional runs. Fortunately Bad News Bears struggled as well and the Juiced defense looked solid for a change which led to a 7-2 win in about 40 minutes.
The bats started off cold again in game two as Juiced went scoreless in the first three innings. Bad News Bears weren't very hot either, but a series of errors by the Juiced defense helped them jump out to a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 4th. Things finally picked up a little bit as the middle and bottom of the order picked up three runs in the 4th and then the top picked up 2 in the fifth to tie the game at 5. The game was still tied 5-5 heading into the bottom of the 7th, but when the top of the order went down in order the game headed to extras. Neither team was able to push across more than one run in the 8th despite starting with a runner on second and Juiced actually needed an error on what would have been the final out of the game just to advance to the 9th inning. After BNB only put up one run again in the 9th Dusty led off the bottom of the inning with a hit and Andy Hahn followed with another hit which tied the game again. After a flyout and a fielder's choice Juiced had runners on first and third with two outs and the score tied at 7. Rich Brown was able to come through with his 6th hit of the evening and drive in the winning run. The only other impressive hitting night belonged to Andy who went 5-6 with a walk.
ANOTHER WIN
Jul 30, 2007
Dox moved their record to 4-2 on July 30th against Indy City.
After watching Indy City win the previous game by 20 runs, Dox came charging out of the gates once again to start the game. Dox scored 5 runs in each of the first two innings while holding Indy City scoreless to grab an early 10 run lead. Once again the Dox bats stopped working for the most part after that, but Dox was able to hang on to win 14-10.
Reuben Wilson made the defensive play of the game with yet another tagged out at the plate. Reuben caught the ball and then caught the entire body of the opposing pitcher as decided to plow him over. Jim Vandy led the hitters by going 4-4 with 5 RBIs. Mike Poulsen, Brian Scott, and Gary Szeszycki each provided three hits of their own.
The next Dox game is a rematch of the game Dox lost to start the season in the famous game that ended early because of the clock and inspired Rich to teach everyone some new words. The rematch will be held at 7:00 on August 6th against Westpoint Financial on #6.
AT LEAST THE DOX MANAGER CAN READ THE SCHEDULE
Jul 23, 2007
Dox may not have been able to defeat Scrumpers on July 16th, but they were able to laugh when Scrumpers showed up an hour early for their game on July 23rd and had to watch Dox take on Olays before they got a chance to take the field.
Just like the week before, Dox got out to a quick start in the first inning when the first 6 batters of the game scored. Unlike the previous week Dox was able to continue scoring runs for one more inning before the bats fell asleep which gave them a 10-2 lead and they were able to hold on to win 13-7. Brian Scott was 3-3 with a SAC and Gary Szeszycki came back from vacation just as hot as when he left and went 2-2 with a walk and 3 RBI.
The next Dox game is at 8:00 on July 30th against Indy City on #4.
OUCH
Jul 19, 2007
Breaking news out of Indianapolis on July 19, 2007. Chris Korb has learned that he suffered a broken hand on Monday July 16th while attempting to catch a fly ball against Scrumpers. Chris expects to miss at least six weeks of play which would cost him the rest of the summer session.
REUBEN NEEDS SOME HELP PEOPLE
Jul 16, 2007
Dox matched up with Scrumpers on July 16th in the last 10:00 game of summer. Dox was without the services of Dan and Gary, but figured to have a good chance against a team that had struggled in the Spring.
Dox scored six runs in the top of the first inning while the opposing pitcher struggled to find the strike zone. It appeared that the game may have been about to turn into a blowout until Scrumpers came back with 5 in the bottom of the inning and Dox lost the ability to drive runners in. After Scrumpers took a 7-6 lead in the 4th inning Dox was finally able to put together a 4 run two out rally to get the lead back. The bats went back to sleep though and Scrumpers was able to tie the game at 10 in the bottom of the 7th. A clutch throw from Jim Vandy and block of the plate by Rueben Wilson kept the game tied and sent it to extra innings.
After Dox was only able to score one run in the top of the 8th, Reuben made another excellent play at the plate to temporarily save the game in the bottom of the inning. Unfortunately Dan's replacement at third was not able to make as nice a play on a ground ball from the next batter that would have sent the game to the 9th inning and Scrumpers was able to score the winning run from third base on the play.
Mike Poulsen went 3-4 with a walk and Reuben went 2-3 with a walk. Nobody was able to collect more than 3 hits and the top 3 in the order didn't carry their share of the load by going 5-13 with 2 walks. Dox left 15 runners on base in the game including three innings that ended with two runners on base and two innings that ended with the bases loaded.
The next Dox game is at 9:00 on July 23rd against Olays on #6.
DAMAGE SOFTBALL GOES DOWN
Jul 09, 2007
Dox picked up a big win on July 9th when they knocked off Damagesoftball.com 10-9. DS had defeated Dox by the ten run rule earlier in the Spring season when they won the league easily.
Dox jumped out to a lead in the bottom of the first inning when they put together a four run rally after the first two batters were retired. A three run rally in the second increased the lead to 7-3. The offense cooled off for the next few innings and DS was able to take the lead 9-7 heading into the bottom of the sixth. The bottom half of the order was able to string together four hits in five at bats to tie the game and then Reuben Wilson was able to drive in the go ahead run on a ground out to send Dox into the final inning with a 10-9 lead. Jeff Galka held DS scoreless in the final inning when Rich Brown recorded the final out with the fourth or fifth ball of the night that he was able to track down on the edge of the warning track.
Other highlights of the game were Dan Kobold with two hits and 3 RBIs, Jeff with a hit, 2 walks and three runs, and a big double over the left fielder's head by Dale Wagner to tie the game in the sixth inning. Jim Vandy became the first catcher I've seen that had to push an umpire out of the way to catch a popup. The newest Dox player, Brian Scott, showed off his cannon by nailing a runner at the plate with a great throw and Reuben also made a nice play to block that runner from the plate.
The next Dox game is at 10:00 on July 16th against Scrumpers on #6.
DOX CAN BEAT A COED TEAM
Jun 25, 2007
Dox showed up for the second game of the summer session and were surprised to find themselves up against a coed team on June 25th.
Despite being a coed team, Magix did play some solid defense against Dox which led to a pretty close game. Dox was only leading 7-6 heading into the seventh inning when they finally strung a few hits together and padded the lead to 12-6 which held up to give Dox the win. Rich Brown was 3-3. Mike Poulsen had 3 hits including a HR and 4 RBIs and Gary Szeszycki had 3 hits as well. Reuben Wilson went 2-3 including a hit which started a three run, two out rally in the third inning.
There are no games during the week of July 2nd. The next Dox game is July 9th at 8:00 on #5. The schedule page has been updated slightly based on the new schedule they posted on June 25th.
SUMMER 2007
Jun 19, 2007
The summer schedule has been posted. I've got game times now for the whole season. Field assignments have changed since the schedule that I sent out in email so you can ignore that thing. Wyatt Buzzard and Jeff Reklau have decided to move on to greener pastures, but Jeff Galka is going to continue to pitch for Dox so that gives us 11 regulars. If your name isn't Gary or Reuben then I need $46 from you for the summer. If your name is Rich then I need $40 more for what is left of your spring fee.
LATE NIGHT LOSS
Jun 18, 2007
Dox met up with Westpoint Financial on June 18th to open the summer season. The game started with players being frustrated by a 10:15 start and ended with the Dox frustrated by a 20 - 13 loss which ended when time dreaded time limit ran out in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Things started off poorly for Dox as they failed to score in the first two innings and fell behind 5-0. Things got better in the 3rd when Dox batted around to take the lead and again in the top of the 4th when they stretched the lead to 10-5. Dox led 12-8 going into the bottom of the 5th, but things fell apart a little bit during that inning and Dox trailed 16-12 after 5. After failing to tie it in the top of the 6th Dox tried to hustle out and get three quick outs, but came up short when Westpoint was able to get more hits and score a few more runs to run out the clock.
Rich Brown and Julian Greco each collected three hits in the game. Dale Wagner had a bases loaded triple in the 3rd inning and an RBI single in the 5th. Jim Vandy confused everyone with his base running and eventually got his leg all scraped up when he had to slide because of it. Rich preformed an impressive impression of a statue while playing the outfield in the fifth inning.
The next game for Dox is on June 25th at 10:00 against Magix.
PRETTY AVERAGE
Jun 15, 2007
Juiced met up with D&K Services on June 14th with a chance to sweep and secure a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Things did not turn out that way though as Juiced was swept and their record fell to 5-5, which is probably good for 3rd place.
Highlights were few and far between with Juiced only scoring 9 runs in two games. Cale was 4-5 on the night, but nobody else collected more than 3 hits.
The next game for Juiced will be on June 21st and the time is TBD.
SPRING SEASON FINALE
Jun 11, 2007
Dox wrapped up the 2007 Spring season by taking on Touch Em All in the 3rd place game. This was the first meeting between the two teams due to the strange schedule this year. The game was close all the way through and was a treat for all who were lucky enough to witness it.
The game started off rough for new Dox pitcher Jeff Galka who was a victim of some players looking to walk and an umpire with a tight strike zone. He was able to battle back that inning and the rest of the game though and limit the damage that the walks could have caused. The game was 6-5 in favor of Touch Em All heading into the bottom of the fourth when Dox were able to put together the first of two big rallies.
Julian Greco, Jim Vandy and Dale Wagner started off the inning by loading the bases and Reuben Wilson followed with a line drive into center which scored Julian and got the top of the order up to the plate with no outs. The top stalled out a bit, but Dan came through with a big two out hit to drive in Reuben and Ben Caruso and give Dox a 10-6 lead heading into the 5th.
The second rally came with two outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the sixth. Ben reached with a single and Mike Poulsen and Rich Brown followed with RBI doubles. Dan came up next and delivered yet another RBI single to give Dox a 5 run lead heading into the 7th which would prove to be enough thanks to a very nice catch by Rich on the warning track to end the game.
The biggest highlights of the game went to Reuben who probably had the best inning of the Dox season in the 4th when he tagged a runner out at the plate to keep the game close and then drove in the tying run in the bottom of the inning and scored the 9th run of the game in a game that finished with Dox allowing 8 runs. Ben was 3-3 with a walk and 4 runs scored, Dan was 3-3 with a SAC and 6 RBIs, Rich was a HR shy of the cycle, and two of the hottest players in the lineup Wyatt Buzzard and Gary Szeszycki stayed hot and each went 2-3 on the night.
BACK TO OUR WINNING WAYS
Jun 08, 2007
Juiced took advantage of a matchup against the last place team who only had 9 guys and were able to put up two wins on June 7th to move their record to 5-3. Both teams had to deal with some extreme winds blowing sand all over the place and the usual questionable calls from the umpire, although the calls seemed to be going in Juiced's favor on this day.
The first game was never in doubt after Juiced batted around in the second inning. Ben Caruso, Brian West and Dusty all scored 3 runs in game one. Rich Brown and Brian each added three RBIs and Wheels helped his own cause with 3 hits and 5 RBIs.
Game two was a little bit closer as Juiced never really put together a bunch of hits. A couple pretty questionable call at first late in the game had the boys of Extreme Concrete a little heated in a close game and Juiced wasn't quite sure how to handle not being the ones yelling at the umpire. Ben had 4 hits at the top of the order and Rich chased him around the bases with inside the park HRs in each of the first two innings on the way to 5 of the 10 RBIs in the game. Wheels picked up his second complete game victory of his softball career with the victory.
Juiced takes on the first place team of D&K Services at 6:20 and 7:20 on June 14th in the final games of the regular season.
A RAINY NIGHT IN INDIANAPOLIS
Jun 04, 2007
On June 4th, 2007 Dox and Error Crew got together for a rematch of the game early in the season when Error Crew prevailed by one run. The game featured a slow start by Dox, multiple lead changes and multiple key inside the park home runs.
Dox actually appeared like they would start out well when 3 of the first 4 batter reached base, but with only one walk and one hit in the next 10 batters, Dox trailed 6-1 heading into the bottom of the 4th. After closing the gap to 6-4 Jim Vandy came to the plate with two runners on base and two outs in the 6th looking to break out of his slump. He delivered with a line drive to left center which got by the fielder and led to an inside the park home run to put Dox up 7-6 heading into the 7th. Things didn't go very well in the top of the inning though and Dox trailed 14-7 going into the last hacks. Reuben sparked a rally by getting a hit to leadoff the inning and the next 5 batters followed suit to cut the deficit to 3 runs with two on and no outs. Unfortunately all the Dox were able to muster after that was a sac fly, fielder's choice and a fly out with ended the game with the tying run at the plate.
The 14 - 12 loss drops the Dox to 5-4 on the season with one game remaining at 8:00 on June 11th. Dan Kobold showed why we struggle when he's not there as he went 4-4 with three runs scored. Ben Caruso, Rich Brown and Wyatt Buzzard were each on base three times and Wyatt also had 3 RBIs.
THE WRONG END OF THE BROOM
May 25, 2007
Juiced's chances of a league title took a serious hit on May 24th when they were swept in a doubleheader against Lucky Strike Lanes. Juiced falls to 3-3 which is 2 games behind Lucky Strike with 4 games to play.
The first game was pretty discouraging from the start as Juiced fell behind 7-0 after the first and didn't get any better on the way to a 13-2 loss in 5 innings. Bright spots at the plate were the late arriving Rich Brown who went 2-2 from the 10 spot and Wyatt Buzzard who went 2-2 to continue his personal hitting streak which reached 16 straight Abs with a hit before it ended on a FC on his second AB of game two.
Game two was much more competitive, with the score close for virtually the entire game. Juiced did fall behind by 6 runs heading into the bottom of the 7th, but put together a rally and got the tying run on first base with one out. Unfortunately, the next two batters were not able to find a hole and the rally fell short. Rich, Wyatt, and Cale Sizelove were the stars in the middle of the order for Juiced in game two by combining to go 11-12 with 8 runs scored and 4 RBIs.
Juiced is off on May 31st. The next games are June 7th at 6:20 and 7:20 against Extreme Concrete.
JIM'S POSTGAME RECAP
May 21, 2007
Dox picked up their third win in a row on the turf Monday night beating the Cheese Wezals 16-8.
Mike Poulsen busted out with 2 doubles, 2 triples, and 5 runs batted in. (sounds like something you would get from Wendy's). Wyatt Buzzard also continued his power streak by going 4 for 4 with 2 triples and 4 runs scored. It was over in the 4th inning when the first 8 batters for DOX scored. In summary, good hitting and average fielding led to a quality win, besides me dropping the ball again?
There is no game next week. The next game for Dox is on the 4th of June at 7:00 against Error Crew.
DOING THE SPLITS
May 18, 2007
Juiced split a doubleheader with The Misfits on May 17, 2007. The split takes Juiced's record to 3-1 on the season.
The first game started very poorly with Juiced failing to score in the first three innings and making quite a few errors in the field to help a hot hitting Misfits team jump out to a 12-0 lead. Juiced was able to put some runs on the board in the 4th and 5th innings, but it wasn't enough as The Misfits took the opener 19-9 in 6 innings. Highlights of the first game included the first straight steal in Juiced history by Andy Hahn and Wyatt Buzzard going 3-3 and falling a HR short of the cycle.
The second game started better with Juiced hanging close for the first couple innings before falling behind 10-3 heading into the bottom of the fourth. The 4th was when it all came together though as the first 12 batters scored on 10 hits and 2 walks including an inside the park HR by Wyatt to cap it off. The Misfits did close the gap a little, but Juiced put up 4 more in the 5th to go ahead by five and when the game was strangely called due to the time limit even though there were four minutes left on the clock Juice took the second game 19-15. Highlights of the second game included Ben Caruso stealing home twice and giving Max Felts and Kevin Prater the easiest RBIs of their lives and Wyatt staying hot by going 4-4 and completing his cycle for the night with the previously mentioned HR.
The next Juiced games are on May 24th at 6:20 and 7:20 against Lucky Strike Lanes.
RICH HAS MASTERED PITCHING
May 14, 2007
Dox picked up their first win in almost a month with a 13-12 victory over Pearson Education on May 14th. The game was one of the more exciting games in the history of the Indianapolis Dox franchise.
Dox got off to a terrible start in the top of the first with tons of errors leading to a five run deficit. That was quickly erased in the bottom of the inning though as Dox batted around and took an 8-5 lead after a first inning which took 20 minutes off the clock. Dox bats cooled after that and they fell behind again 11-9 heading into the bottom of the fifth.
The middle and bottom of the order came up big to start the bottom of the fifth though, when the 5-10 hitters in the lineup were able to start the inning with five straight hits though and pushed Dox out to a 2 run lead heading into the sixth. The lead held until the top of the seventh when Pearson pushed one run across and loaded the bases with two outs. Rich Brown was able to force the final batter to hit a shallow fly ball down the right field line which Jim Vandy had all the way for the final out.
Ben Caruso was 4-4 at the top of the order and Dan Kobold, Gary Szeszycki and Chris Korb each added three hits from the middle of the order to pick up some of the guys who struggled at the plate. Gary also scored three times and both he and Chris knocked in three runs.
The next Dox game is on May 21st at 9:00 on field #2 against Cheese Wezals.
"MY BUTT HURTS." - JIM VANDY
May 07, 2007
Dox fell to 3-3 with a 17 - 6 loss to Damagesoftball.com on May 7. After grabbing a one run lead in the top of the first, Dox were never seriously in contention. Rich Brown and Jim Vandy tried to do their parts to keep it close by collecting 3 hits each, but it was not enough. Rich fell a double shy of the cycle when he wasn't able to get a 4th AB. The final play of the game featured Wyatt Buzzard crushing a ground ball that Jim wasn't able to get out of the way of.
The next Dox game is on May 14th at 8:00 on field #2 against Pearson Education.
OPENING NIGHT 2007
May 04, 2007
Juiced opened up the 2007 season with two wins over The Firm on May 3rd. Juiced struggled to string hits together for the first few innings, but they pulled it together in the 6th and 7th innings to win the first game 15-3. Highlights included Rich Brown going 4-4 with a walk, Wyatt Buzzard ending 4 out of the 7 innings played, and Andy Hahn picking up the first HR of the year with an inside the park HR in the 7th. Game two started out with some shaky defense and Juiced fell behind 2-0 after the top of the first. By the end of the first Juiced was leading again and The Firm never scored again. Max Felts was 4-4 and Rich was 3-3 with the second inside the park HR of the year. Ben Caruso had the ugliest swinging strikeout you'll ever see in softball, but thanks to the new rules Andy and John Buzzard were able to pick up the first two stolen bases in Juiced history on the play. Wyatt gets featured player status since I actually have a picture of him. Maybe I'll remember the camera next time.
The next Juiced games are on May 17th at 8:20 and 9:20 against The Misfits.
2007 JUICED SOFTBALL
May 01, 2007
The 2007 softball season gets underway for Juiced on May 3rd at 6:20 and 7:20 at Morse Beach Park. You can find a map of the new park in the Fields section. You can also find the entire Spring schedule by clicking the link to the left.
LEARNING THE RULES
May 01, 2007
I did a web search for baseball rules rather than trying to find the rules in one of the different softball rule books that I have since the situation to end the game was a general rule which would apply to both. Rule 7.09 (m) says is the rule that says Jim was out for being hit with a batted ball while off the base before it passed a fielder other than the pitcher. Rule 10.05 (e) says: A base hit shall be scored when a fair ball which has not been touched by a fielder touches a runner or an umpire.
Beckman Coulter decided not to show their faces on April 30th. At least they let the league know so we knew that we didn't need to show up and waste $3 plus gas money. Dale will continue to hold onto the featured player position for an unprecedented third straight week.
The next Dox game is on May 7th at 10:00 on field #3 against Damagesoftball.com.
NOT SO PRETTY
Apr 23, 2007
The Dox fell to 2-2 on the year with a 17-7 loss to Cheese Wezals on Monday, April 23rd. The Dox learned the hard way that poor managing, poor fielding, poor hitting and poor base running surprisingly do not make for winning softball. A new starting lineup for the Dox that featured Rich Brown moving to RC and Ben Caruso to 3B did not pay off and Cheese Wezals took an 11-2 lead after the first inning. Things never really got much closer than that with both offenses looking pretty weak the rest of the way. No hitters really did anything worth mentioning so Dale will retain Featured Player status by going 1-1 with a walk and a run scored.
The next Dox game is on April 30th at 8:00 on field #4 against Beckman Coulter.
UPDATED SCHEDULE
Apr 15, 2007
An updated schedule has been posted. They added 2 more teams to our league for some reason so we don't actually play everyone twice anymore. We don't even play one of the teams at all which is really strange. All of the game times are the same though so it shouldn't matter too much to anyone.
"LOOK WHAT I FOUND!" - DALE WAGNER
Apr 14, 2007
The Dox split a doubleheader against Error Crew and Hitmen on Monday, April 16th. The loss was the first the Dox have suffered in almost 10 months. After jumping out to a 6-3 lead on a grand slam by Mike Poulsen in the second inning, the Dox suffered a little bit of a pitching and defense letdown and allowed Error Crew to grab the lead with a 4 run inning. The Dox were then down 3 in the top of the sixth when they scored 6 runs with 2 outs to take a 3 run lead only to give up 4 more runs in the bottom of the inning. The Dox were unable to push across a run in the top of the seventh and lost the game 13-12. The second game started well with the first three Dox scoring in the top of the first and Dale Wagner flashing the leather at second in the bottom of the inning. The amazing play started with a ground ball hit a couple feet away from Dale and finished with Dale turning his head away, closing his eyes, sticking out his glove as far as he could and the ball somehow running into the glove. After that amazing play Hitmen were able to put up 6 runs the next inning, but it wasn't enough as the Dox were steady throughout and used a seven run sixth inning to give Chris Korb a 17-7 win in his first start of the year. Mike and Rich Brown each had four hits in the second game, but both lacked the power to hit one over the fence. Dale added a 2 RBI ground ball to the third baseman in the sixth inning which kept the rest of the team from getting to bat again.
The next Dox game is on April 23rd at 7:00 on field #1 against Cheese Wezals who looked like they were playing a close game against Error Crew.
UNDEFEATED
Apr 08, 2007
The Dox still haven't lost a softball game since June 19th, 2006. They extended the winning streak to 10 by opening the season with a 14-4 win over Beckman Coulter in 5 innings. Beckman Coulter did not have enough players to field a team so they picked up 5 players who helped them keep the game fairly close until the 5th inning when 7 of the first 8 Dox to bat crossed the plate. Mike Poulsen hit a home run that actually counted for a change and newcomers Julian Greco and Wyatt Buzzard each shined at the plate by combining to go 5-5 with 4 doubles and 5 RBIs.
The next Dox games are on April 16th at 9:00 and 10:00 on the back fields against Hitmen and Cheese Wezals.
2007 DOX SOFTBALL
Apr 01, 2007
The 2007 season will start on April 9th at 8:00 when Dox take on Beckman Coulter on field #1.
If you want to update any of your profile information or if you have a picture for me to put up just email it to me.
SOFTBALL IS OVER FOR 2006
Oct 20, 2006
Juiced finished up the 2006 year with a win in the first game of the night for the first time in the entire fall session. Juiced played with players and managed to defeat a team of 9 players by the ten run rule in five innings. Burge got his usual four hits and Woody added three including a three run HR in the second inning. Andy followed up his first career HR (and first career HR for an out) from last week with 3 more hits in the final game. Mike was not able to hit a HR for an out for the third straight week. Juiced also played error free softball for the first time in a long time which was pretty important when playing with only 8 players. Stats should be complete now for all games that I have stats on as well. Standings probably won't be updated because last time I checked they were messed up on the complex website.
FALL LEAGUE: WEEK FIVE
Oct 13, 2006
Juiced finished off the regular season portion of the fall session on October 12 with another loss in game one followed by a win in game two. Juiced is now 4-6 in the fall session with every win coming by at least 13 runs in 5 innings. Highlights of the night included Burge going yard in both games, Mike managing to make an out for stepping out of the box while swinging and an out hitting a home run after the home run was gone in the same game, Wyatt dropping a wedge shot down the 3B line that somehow stayed fair, and Study showing off his "finesse game" by putting on a swinging bunt clinic.
There is some sort of tournament starting October 19th and Juiced is expected to play at 7:00 and 9:00 unless John tells us differently.
FALL LEAGUE: WEEK THREE
Oct 06, 2006
Juiced lost both games in week three of the fall session. Juiced put up 21 runs in the first game, but didn't play any defense and lost 23-21. In game two Juiced took a 10-8 lead into the bottom of the 7th against Bleacher Bums, but couldn't hold the lead as they fell 11-10. Juiced is now 2-4 on the session and tied for 4th place. Schedules and standings are now updated.
Week four game times are 7:00 and 9:00 against Bleacher Bums and Scared Hitless.
FALL LEAGUE: WEEK TWO
Sep 30, 2006
Juiced split a doubleheader in week two of the fall session. They are now 2-2. Wyatt had 4 RBIs in each game. Juiced put together two streaks where 6 consecutive batters got hits during the second game which they won big with the help of 3 subs.
Week three game times are 8:00 and 10:00. I think one of the games is against our friends the Bleacher Bums.
WEBSITE PARTIALLY UPDATED
Aug 20, 2006
Midwest doesn't have Fall schedules or results from our last few games up so I can't really put everything up yet. I entered stats from all of our games except for the tie/win in the summer which I can't seem to find. I may have to change the website code up a little bit to accommodate the Fall session so we'll see when I get motivated to do that.
FEELING CHARITABLE
Aug 18, 2006
Juiced struggled at the plate on August 17th and gave Aces Wild their first win on the season. The game never really felt that close as Aces Wild jumped out to a 3 run lead in the bottom of the first and maintained a lead for the entire game. The final score was 9-4.
The next Juiced game is August 24th at 7:30 against Those Guys on #3. This is a must win if Juiced want to have any prayer at winning the league.
MORE WINNING
Aug 14, 2006
The Dox won their seventh straight game on August 14th against Integral Tech. The Dox are now 7-1 on the season and at least one game up in the standings with 2 games to go. After allowing two runs in the top of the first, the first seven Dox players in the lineup scored as the Dox put up 11 runs in the bottom of the frame. Things slowed down after that, but the Dox did win 16-5 in 5 innings. Chris Korb made his pitching debut in the last inning and struck the last batter of the game out. Nick Longworth led the Dox at the plate by going 4-4.
The next Dox game is August 21th at 8:00 on field #4 against Sluggin Boosiers.
THE JB AND BURGE SHOW
Aug 11, 2006
Juiced matched up with ETA Tickets.com on August 10th in the 5th game of the Summer session. JB pitched very well and got some good defense behind him as Juiced won 9-2 and improved to 4-1 on the session. While Juiced never broke out with any really big innings, the game was never in doubt thanks to some solid defense, especially Burge at shortstop. Burge was involved in almost half of the outs while Juiced was in the field and made a few especially nice plays and throws on tough balls. The most impressive defensive play was a double play started by John Buzzard, turned by Burge and finished off by Wyatt Buzzard at first. As usual, Burge was also one of the hitting stars with 3 hits and 2 RBIs. Max Felts was also 3-4 including a 3 run HR in the 6th. Chip was 2-3 at the plate in addition to calling a great game behind the plate.
The next Juiced game is August 17th at 6:30 against Aces Wild on #5.
LET'S WIN TWO
Aug 07, 2006
The Dox swept a doubleheader against the Swamp Donkeys to take over solo possession of first place on Monday, August 7th. The Dox are now 6-1 and are riding a 6 game winning streak. A better game summary will go up sometime later this week, but stats for the games are available now.
The next Dox game is August 14th at 7:00on field #1 against Integral Tech.
WHAT A BUNCH OF DEUETSCH BAGS
Jul 31, 2006
The Dox made it four wins in a row with a win in the rematch with the Deuetsch Bags on July 31st. The win means that the Dox were actually 4-0 during the month of July. The Dox were able to be patient starting in the third inning with the struggling Deuetsch Bag pitcher and take their walks which led to a six run burst that inning which gave the Dox a lead that they would never give back in a 13-12 win. Mike Poulsen didn't take any of the walks, but he did go 4-5 which was pretty good. Rich Brown was 3-4 with a 2 RBI SAC in the top of the 7th which scored the winning run. The most interesting play of the game came late in the game with the Dox protecting a small lead. The play started with Rich warning all the outfielders not to let anything get over their heads, followed by the batter hitting a ball that went right over Rich's head and landed in front of the warning track, and ended with Mike taking the throw from Rich and hurling the ball at his girlfriend in the stands. Amazingly Mike's throw is still only the second worst throw in the short history of Dox South thanks to Rich's infamous relay far over the backstop during the Spring session.
The next Dox games are August 7th at 10:00 and 11:00 on field #5 against Swamp Donkeys. It is looking like these games could decide who wins the league.
LONG TIME, NO UPDATES
Jul 30, 2006
After being lazy for a couple weeks, the website is back up to date as of July 29th. Stats have been added for the blowout win over Aces Wild, the 12-6 loss to Those Guys 1, and the recent 11-9 win over Bleacher Bums in 8 innings.
The next Juiced games are August 3rd at 8:30 and 10:30 against Boat House Grill and Bleacher Bums.
EXTRA INNINGS
Jul 24, 2006
Dox and Douglas Company / Team 21 needed an extra inning to settle things on July 24th The rematch of two teams who split the spring session started out with the Dox having to make up for only having 9 players. Gary Szeszycki, Rich Brown, and Jon Palmer were able to do a good job patrolling the outfield and limiting the number of extra base hits. After an unusual ejection to a Team 21 player for throwing the bat cost them at least one run in the top of the 6th, Dox batted around in the bottom of the inning to take an 8-3 lead into the 7th. The Dox were unable to hold the lead though as Team 21 was able to string together a bunch of hits and tie the score in the bottom of the 7th. After the Dox were retired in order in the 7th the game went into extra innings. The Dox were able to hold Team 21 scoreless in the 8th even with a runner starting on second base and had a golden opportunity in the bottom of the 8th. With the runner on second to start the inning, Mike Poulsen ended the drama early with a walk off double on the first pitch to win the game 9-8 in front of his huge fan club who were in the stands for the game. Ben Caruso and Jeff Reklau each did their parts to turn the order over during the early innings by combining to go 6-6 with a walk and 3 RBIs during the first 6 innings. Dan Kobold managed to keep his cup off the ground during the game.
The next Dox game is July 31st at 9:00on field #3 against Deuetsch Bags.
WOODEN BAT MANDATORY
Jul 18, 2006
The Dox are on a rare winning streak after winning by the mercy rule for the second straight week. Although the Dox won 14-1 in 6 innings the game was not really as close as the score would indicate. After jumping out to the big lead the Dox stranded quite a few runners to keep the score down. Making the wooden bat mandatory in the last inning and Rich's version of "hustle" helped to keep the score down as well. Chris Korb was the hitting star after going 4-4 and missing the cycle by a home run. He was also the only player to score 3 times. Dan Kobold became the first Dox player ever to have his cup fall out of his shorts while running the bases. I'm not sure exactly what happened there, but it looks like that youth large cup may have been a little too big even despite the "natural male enhancement" supplement he's been taking. Rafael Palmeiro says a switch to Viagra may help prevent this situation in the future.
The next Dox game is July 24th at 8:00on field #4 against Douglas Company - Team 21.
HAVE MERCY
Jul 11, 2006
A couple new Dox made their successful debut on Monday July 11 against Integral Tech. Mike Poulsen and Dan Kobold give the Dox some much needed infield depth and helped lead the Dox to an 18-1 victory in their first game. Although the outcome was never really in doubt, a ten run fifth helped the Dox finish the game early and get home to watch the home run derby that they no doubt recorded while they were playing. Mike went 4-4 and does not figure to spend much more time hitting ninth in the order. Nick was also perfect at 3-3 with a walk. Craig, Rich, Jon and JB each had three hits of their own.
The next Dox game is July 17th at 7:00on field #2 against Sluggin Boosiers. This is the field with the artificial turf infield.
OPENING NIGHT: PART 2
Jun 19, 2006
Dox showed up for the first game of the Summer session on June 19th and found a bunch of Deuetsch Bags warming up on the field. After some worry about whether there would be enough Dox to play, Rich Brown showed up to make 9. Dox fell behind by two runs in the top of the first, but started out strong at the plate when the first 5 batters reached base. A poor base running decision and a couple other outs killed the rally though and Dox were only able to score 4 in the first which would prove costly. Dox were only able to plate 3 more runs the rest of the game, while the Deuetsch Bags were able to get a couple each inning and ended up winning 10-7. Rich was 4-4 with 2 runs, a double and a triple and Ben Caruso was 3-4 with 2 runs and a double.
The next Dox game is June 26th at 9:00on field #2 against Swamp Donkeys. This is the field with the artificial turf infield. Let me know ASAP whether you will be there or not because I know we are missing quite a few people.
SUMMER SESSION
Jun 16, 2006
Juiced got the summer session off to a good start by winning game one 12-11. Juiced was up 10-9 with two outs in the top of the seventh and managed to get some key insurance runs. The winning run was on base when the final out of the game was recorded. Rich Brown went 4-5 while Justin Burge and John Buzzard each recorded three hits in the game. Andy Hahn also crushed a two RBI triple in the fifth inning. Wyatt Buzzard scored only his first run of the year in his tenth game. Burge also made a couple of very nice plays at short which saved the game.
The next Juiced game is July 13th. I don't have a schedule and I don't know what time the game is.
DOX SOFTBALL SUMMER SESSION
Jun 13, 2006
Dox has been signed up for the Summer session which starts at 8:00 on Monday June 19, 2006 on field #6. Try to bring a check for $60 made out to Ben Caruso. If you don?t have a jersey and you'd like to buy one they are $24.
OUR LAST SHOT
Jun 12, 2006
Dox closed the summer session by taking on the first place squad of Adkins Construction on Monday June 12, 2006. Dox only had three runs through four innings, but Adkins stranded many runners each inning and trailed 3-1 heading into the 5th inning. Adkins exploded for 7 in the 5th and posted a few more insurance runs in each of the last innings. Dox tried to rally in the 7th and got the tying run on deck with 1 out, but were unable to get any closer and ended up losing 11-7. Ben Caruso and Rich Brown each reached base 3 times. All three of Rich's hits went for extra bases. Chris Korb made the Dox Web Gem of the Spring with a diving catch in center field.
CHAMPIONS
Jun 09, 2006
Juiced squared off with Bleacher Bums in a winner take all championship game on June 8, 2006. Juiced was looking to break out of a short two game losing streak and get some revenge on Bleacher Bums who had beaten them the previous week. Bleacher Bums came out swinging and took an early 5-0 lead in the top of the first. Juiced scored three in the bottom of the inning, but then gave a couple back in the second before each team stopped scoring for a couple innings. After Bleacher Seats scored another run to go up 8-3 in the 5th, Juiced scored 4 in the 5th and then won the 6th inning 4-1 to take the lead for the first time at 11-9. JB started off the 7th by striking the first hitter out looking and the game was soon over. While Juiced didn't score a ton of runs, they were able to string hits together in three innings and scored 3 or 4 runs in each of those innings. Every Juiced player had at least one hit including Cale who was 3-3. Shirts featuring the champions logo were distributed by John after the game and there is a plaque being engraved to commemorate this historic accomplishment. Expect a call from John about next session and about a tournament on July 3rd, 5th, and 6th.
ANOTHER LOSS
Jun 02, 2006
Juiced dropped a second consecutive game on June 1. In a matchup with the other first place team, Juiced fell apart defensively for a couple innings and was not able to get the sticks going to make up for it. Juiced fell behind 6-0 early after making many mistakes in the field during the second inning. They were able to gain the lead briefly at 7-6 during the 5th inning, but the Bleacher Bums got more runs in the 5th and 6th to take a 10-7 lead heading into the last inning. Juiced had the tying run at the plate with one out, but were unable to complete the comeback and ended up losing 10-8. Burge led offense with 4 hits and Max scored three times.
The next game for Juiced is June 8 at 8:00 against Bleacher Bums. This is the last game of the session as the Bums did not want to show up for the makeup game and have decided to make this game the championship game.
WE'RE GONNA NEED A NEW CLIPBOARD
May 22, 2006
After many years of faithful service, the official Dox clipboard was destroyed during the last out the Dox game on May 22nd as Team 21 managed to win a game for the first time all season. Dox was forced to play with only 9 players after someone backed out on short notice. Dox fell behind early, but came back to lead most of the game until errors in the 6th and 7th gave Team 21 the lead. The bottom of the order tried to rally in the bottom of the 7th, but left the tying run on second in the 11-10 loss. Rich Brown and Andy Hahn were each 4-5 on the night.
The next Dox game is June 5th at 8:00on field #4 against TKB.
WE NEED CHIP
May 19, 2006
Juiced struggled in the rubber match against Mystery Machine on May 18th. It looked like Chip's absence caused many of the Juiced players to press and try to make up for his absence on their own. This led to many errors in the field and not many hits at the plate, which resulted in a 9-3 loss. Cale Sizelove provided the lone bright spot for Juiced with a two run home run in the fifth inning, but Juiced was not able to get anything else going.
The next game for Juiced is on May 25 at 10:00 at Midwest Sports Complex on field #3. Juiced faces Bleacher Bums who are currently tied with Juiced for first place.
THE GREATEST RALLY EVER SEEN
May 15, 2006
The Dox split a doubleheader on May 15 against Renegades and Slow Pitch Sluggers. The first game against Renegades was full of defensive mistakes by Dox and did not feature many hits on offense. Renegades led the entire way and ended up winning 14-10. John Buzzard was pretty much the only bright spot on offense with 3 hits including his first home run. Game two was a rematch with Slow Pitch Sluggers, who had dimed the Dox just a week earlier. This game started off about the same with SPS jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the top of the first. Then with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the second Dale Wagner took a walk and the world proceeded to turn upside down. The next 13 Dox hitters got hits and the Dox put together a 13 run two out rally. After the first 3 batters in the third inning recorded hits, the Dox had reached safely in 17 out of 18 plate appearances. Amazingly there were no more runs scored after that point and the game ended with the Dox winning 15-7. Rich Brown and John were each 3-4 in the second game. Jeff Reklau was 4-6 in the doubleheader.
The next Dox game is May 22nd at 7:00on field #3 against Team 21 who the Dox beat on Opening Night.
PAYBACK TIME
May 12, 2006
Juiced got some revenge on Mystery Machine on May 11th. Five weeks after Mystery Machine handed Juiced an opening night loss, the teams squared off again and this game was not close. Juiced scored 3 or less runs in every inning, but still won the game 14-4 in five innings. The defense was solid for the entire game this time which was the biggest change from the first game when the defense fell apart in the last two innings. The hitting stars were Chip, Rich Brown and Kevin who all were perfect on the night. Each of them had at least one extra base hit and Rich had extra bases on all three of his hits.
The next game for Juiced is the rubber match against Mystery Machine on May 18 at 9:00 at Midwest Sports Complex on field #1.
ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER LOSS
May 08, 2006
The Dox lost their third straight game on May 8st against Slow Pitch Sluggers. The game began as something of a pitcher's duel and ended as a 12-2 blowout in 5 innings as the SPS started to hit with runners in scoring position late and the Dox contributed with a few untimely errors in the outfield. Rich Brown made his debut at pitcher and managed to piss off every member of the SPS team with his pitching style (Although they seemed to hit the ball just fine anyway). Obviously since the Dox only scored 2 runs, there were no outstanding performances at the plate. 5 hitters failed to get a hit in the game. Only John Buzzard and Mike Bortone recorded more than one hit.
The next Dox games is May 15th at 9:00 and 10:00 against Renegades followed by a rematch with Slow Pitch Sluggers. The first game is on field #5 and the second game is on field #6. Let me know whether or not you can make it.
WINNING STREAK CONTINUES
May 04, 2006
Juiced continued their winning ways by defeating Centex Homes for the third time this season on May 4th at Midwest Sports Complex. Juiced overcame the challenge of only having 9 players and an early 2-0 deficit to win 12-2 in 5 innings. Rich Brown, Max and Andy Hahn were able to battle a pretty decent wind and cover lots of ground to hold Centex scoreless for the last four innings. Kevin continued his hot streak at the plate by going 3-3 with two doubles, a SAC fly and 3 RBIs. He also made the defensive play of the game with an over the shoulder catch as he was running out towards left field. Ben Caruso, Burge, and Bryan each had 3 hits as well.
The next game for Juiced is May 11 at 8:00 at Midwest Sports Complex on field #1 against Mystery Machine.
NEW JUICED WEBSITE
May 01, 2006
The website for Juiced Softball is officially up and running. The stats have been entered for the first four games as accurately as possible based on the scorebook for those games.
If you want to help the website look better, send me an email with your first and last name, nickname if you have one, uniform number if you have one, throwing hand, what side you bat from and a short profile if you'd like. You can also send me a picture if you have one, but we will try to get some pictures of people at the games.
The Dox lost their second straight game on May 1st against Adkins Construction. The game started out fairly close, but an eight run explosion in the fourth inning gave Adkins a big lead and they went on to close it out 15-5 in five innings. There were not many hitting highlights although every Dox player did have at least one hit. John Buzzard had the biggest hit, a two RBI triple in the third inning. Many players played different positions than normal because of a shortage of players. Rich Brown made his shortstop debut and made one of the most amazing plays ever seen at Midwest Sports Complex. Rich took a throw from the outfield and proceeded to throw his relay over the backstop from the second base area.
The next Dox game is May 8th at 8:00on field #3 against Slow Pitch Sluggers.
WALK THIS WAY
Apr 24, 2006
The Dox lost what appears to have been an exciting game to TKB on April 24th to drop their record to 2-1. The Dox were tied 11-11 in the bottom of the 7th after a leadoff single followed by an RBI triple. After TKB intentionally walked the bases loaded, Dox was unable to push the winning run across the plate and were forced to play extra innings. TKB exploded for about 17 in extra innings to win the game approximately 28-17. Exact totals are uncertain since the book wasn't kept perfectly due to extra innings only being one pitch per batter and things moved too quickly for Chris. The hitting stars of the game certainly appear to be the guys from Juiced who filled in at the bottom of the order and went a combined 11-13 with 7 walks. I don't know what the manager was thinking when he wrote out the batting order. Kevin was the star of that group, including hitting for the cycle, hitting a grand slam, and collecting a total of 8 RBIs. Other impressive feats were JB walking 4 times in one game and possibly 6 straight batters walking in the 8th inning. Dale Wagner, Craig Martin, Jeff Reklau, and JB combined to set a Dox record for four strikeouts in one slow pitch softball game. Craig's and Jeff's strikeouts were back to back in the second inning.
The next Dox game is May 1st at 10:00on field #6 against Adkins Construction.
THE BATS WOKE UP
Apr 17, 2006
The Dox moved to 2-0 on the young season with a 16-9 victory over Renegades on April 17th. Possibly the most important decision of the day was made by Craig Martin when he suggested dropping Chris Korb in the order prior to the game. Chris responded with a 4-4 effort including 2 triples, 3 runs, 5 RBIs and a walk. Other hitting highlights included Ben Caruso going 5-5 and another 3 run HR by Mike Bortone. All other hitters in the Dox lineup collected at least 2 hits and scored at least once. On defense the Dox were a little bit rough in the infield, but the outfield picked them up with a few nice plays. Gary Szeszycki filled in out in left field and had a couple nice catches.
The next Dox game is April 24th at 9:00on field #1 against TKB. Let me know your status as soon as possible because we are very tight on players now.
GAME ONE IN THE BOOKS
Apr 10, 2006
The Dox got the season off to a good start with an 8-5 win over Team 21 on April 10th. The team was surprisingly successful on defense led by a couple of very nice catches in the outfield by Craig Martin and Rich Brown. Rich and Cale Sizelove also teamed up for a double play on a fly ball and a throw to third to end the game. Luke Collier and Craig also did a great job calling pitches behind the plate which lead to a handful of strikeouts. The hitting star was Mike Bortone who was 4-4 including a big 3 run home run in the 5th to put the Dox up 5-4. Ben Caruso, Rich, and Craig each reached base 3 times and Cale chipped in for a couple RBIs. Big thanks to Luke and Cale for filling in on short notice. We wouldn't have won without either of them.
The next Dox game is April 17th on field #5 against Renegades. I'll probably send out an email to find out who can be there, but if you know in advance about any games you can't make it to then let me know ASAP so I can get subs.
2006 SPRING SCHEDULE RELEASED
Mar 28, 2006
The schedule for the Spring season was released on March 28. The first game for the Dox will be April 10th at 7:00 at Midwest Sports Complex. There are only 4 teams registered so far, but the schedule is setup for 6 teams because the league is hoping to add a couple more teams before the first week.
The uniforms are also done and I have started to distribute them. The fee will be $84 based on 10 players paying. That includes paying for the uniform which you own and the league fees. If anyone knows one more decent player, I would not have a problem with adding one more person. That would cut the price down to $79 and make it less likely that we'll have to scramble to find subs at some point. I believe that about $100 of the league fees is a once a year thing, so that means the summer session will likely cost only about $50 per person for people that already have a jersey.
You can pay with checks or cash. Checks should be made out to Ben Caruso. I'd like to try to get the money collected by the start of the season because I've already paid about $500 so far for the uniforms and deposit on the league fee.
