Fall 15 Thursday Coed Recreational Softball @ Garland Park

The season got underway with a little trouble. In the first game, it was TRIUMPH triumphing over DOLLS AND BALLS. JUST A BIT OUTSIDE, then beat ALL ABOUT MY PITCHES. The third game is when it got dark. The lights did not come on in the outfield, which made the playing difficult. But it was HOUTSMA’S HEROS coming through with the big win over DELOITTE.

With no improvement on the light situation, we only got two games played. DELOITTE couldn’t get a team together, so they forfeited to WORLD OF BEER. STICKS AND CHICKS then took down DOLLS AND BALLS.

HOUTSMA’S HEROES built on last week’s performance by taking down STICKS AND CHICKS.
DELOITTE still couldn’t get a team together, so they lost to TRIUMPH. In the last game, JUST A BIT OUTSIDE got back to their winning ways with a doubling up of DOLLS AND BALLS.

HOUTSMA’S HEROES put on another impressive display of softball. They defeated DOLLS AND BALLS for the second week in a row. They are now (5-0) on the year and don’t plan on backing down now. DOLLS AND BALLS drop to (1-5).

HOUTSMA’S HEROES had a double-header, so they took on the surging JUST A BIT OUTSIDE. The game was competitive but the HEROES were too strong, winning 18-6 and improving to (6-0). JABO drops to (4-3).

In the last game, it was STICKS AND CHICKS beating TRIUMPH 20-9. STICKS AND CHICKS improve to (4-2) on the year. TRIUMPH drops to (2-3) on the year.

Make sure to register for the upcoming tournaments. Rainier Whiffleball Tournament on October 11th and the Zombie Kickball Tournament on October 25th.

The playoffs started off with a bang. The fourth seeded TRIUMPH was able to hold off the fifth seeded DOLLS AND BALLS to advance to the semifinal. The game was an offensive duel, coming down to the last inning. TRIUMPH was able to keep the one run victory.

TRIUMPH then took on one seeded HOUTSMA’S HEROES. The heroes had a much better defense and held TRIUMPH to only six runs. Their offense was able to put up 13, so they took the victory pretty handedly. They will be playing in the championship next week!

Hurry up and register for the Zombie Kickball Tournament on October 25, 2015 at Barnum Park. There will be prizes for the best costumes as well as a pig roast at the Classic Tavern after the game.

The long season finished up last night and it was exciting! In the semifinal, it was the number three ranked Sticks and Chicks taking on two seeded Just a Bit Outside. JABO was missing quite a few players, which really put them at a disadvantage. They only had three females, which meant that they would have to take an out for the missing one. They also only had five guys, which meant fielding with 8 players was going to be a gruesome task. Sticks and Chicks took full advantage of the depleted roster. They took their lead in the second inning and wouldn’t look back. Both teams had quick 1, 2, 3, innings that made for a quick game. JABO had a big sixth inning, but it wasn’t going to be anywhere close enough to recover the thirteen runs that they needed. S&C advanced with a 14-7 score.

Houtsma’s Heroes were waiting in the championship. HH won the first inning 4-3. Both teams scored 2 in the second. But it was the top of the third that S&C took off. They strung together some good hits that accumulated for six runs. With one out, they hit the ball to the third baseman. It looked like it was going to be a tag and throw to first for the double play, but the fielder didn’t tag the runner with the ball-only an empty glove. The runner was declared safe at third. HH protested the call, claiming that the runner went out of the base path. Even if the runner did go three feet off her line, never leave it up to the umpire to make a huge judgment call. S&C would go on to score five more runs in the inning to cap off an 11 run third.

But the number one seed wasn’t going to back down that easy. They got a rally of their own going, scoring six in the bottom half and bringing the score to 16-12. S&C would be held scoreless in the fifth.

With the time running out, HH had to have a big inning. They scored four runs and loaded the bases. With two out, the next batter hit a grounder that was thrown a little off first. The first baseman slipped on first base and caught the ball for the third out of the inning. HH didn’t like the call. The game would go into extra innings. Both teams scored 1 run to go into the second extra inning. S&C failed to score any runs. The leadoff batter for HH hit a line drive to left center field. It was pretty evident that it was going to be a walk off in the park homerun, and it was. HH won the game 18-17 to take the championship.

Thanks for the great season!