7/28 Game Thirteen (replay of rained out Game Three) Recap

you know him, you love him - B.Hall


There are times when you cannot draw inspiration on your own. During those arduous moments, you need to draw inspiration from others.
Softball Guy drew overwhelming inspiration from their growing fan base in an emphatic 10-5 victory over TSSA in front of a record crowd of 6 people at the hallowed grounds of Red Run Stadium.

This season saving victory saw the heartwarming returns of Charlie "The Philadelphia Kid" Harris and Alecia "PIB" Corte. This game saw Tracey "The Sure Thing" Rosinski play third base like she always does... with passion, purpose, and a Byzantine whimsy which harkens back to the great Brooks Robinson. This game saw Lisa "True Glove" Shoskey make catches. This game saw Rosinald "Rosie" Rosinski drag his tired arm to the mound once again for a stellar performance. This game saw Michael "The Say Hey Kid" Gregory strategically pound balls up the middle. And this game saw resounding victory.

It appeared Softball Guy might indeed mercy TSSA as the reliable middle lineup delivered with 5 runs in the second inning. Tessmer lead the charge by doing what Tessmer does... getting a hit every time he bats. That was followed by Karen doubling to left and the brother-sister connection set the stage for a flurry of hits to open the floodgates (this sequence made me want to call my sister to say "I love you," it was rather difficult to hold back tears.) Hit, after hit came... Wetzler, Maurer, Corte, Gregory, etc., etc. etc. The damage would've been worse if not for 3 great TSSA defensive plays to retire Hank, Charlie, and Michelle.

The momentum stayed with Softball Guy as T.Rosinski and K.Rosinski both made defensive plays to keep TSSA scoreless. The heartwarming husband and wife display made me want to call "some girl I knew at some point" to ask her to marry me. The defense translated into offense in the third as Softball Guy tacked on 5 more runs to build a commanding 10-0 lead.

The rest of the game went "Archie Bell and the Drells" as TSSA did the "Tighten Up" and cut the lead in half. TSSA's efforts were thwarted by Shoskey's triple (the first non-error triple for Softball Guy on record) and some key defensive plays. When the smoke cleared at the end, Softball Guy upped their record to 4-6 with the 10-5 victory and found themselves in playoff contention (if there are playoffs).

Game #10 MVP: Jeremy Maurer. He's the rock of the potent middle lineup and just flat out hits the ball sharply every time he bats. Maurer has a pre-game ritual where he sits in his car and listens to DX to get pumped up. What he said to TSSA was, "Ya'll gonna make me go 3-and-3, up in here." He does his job game in and game out. I'd liken him to a George Brett type player, very consistent. Plus he was playing the game with a severely scabbed leg (something I forgot to mention last summary). His performance while injured was eerily evocative of Isiah Thomas' 25 points in one quarter on a sprained ankle in Game 6 of the 1988 NBA Finals.

Game #10 Buffalo Wild Wing's Defensive Plays of the Game: The Hall brothers. We have improved a lot throughout the course of the season, and I think our biggest improvement is our defense. We don't really have those team deflating, horrible errors anymore. Now we're actually starting to rob people of hits. K.Hall made a showtime-like sliding catch to rob some TSSA chump of a hit in the 6th. B.Hall made a few nice "socially and athletically awkward" catches in the outfield as well. Those were plays that we didn't make a few weeks ago. Now we're making them and they prove pivotal to victory.

Game #9 Taco Bell Unsung Heroes of the Game: The Rosinski's. Let's start out with Kevin. His arm is more tired than B.Hall summary jokes at this point of the season. But he goes out there and pitches with consistency, purpose, zeal, and passion. The man commands his pitches. And that takes a lot because it is tiring to go out there an pitch 7 innings in 91 degree heat. Tracey is astonishingly consistent at third base. Nothing gets by her. There was one play which epitomized Tracey. In the 5th she reached for a ground ball and made the play. While falling back she made an on-the-spot throw to first. The runner was safe because the catch of the ground ball was so remarkable, but it didn't matter. Those types of efforts (giving the extra inch) was the reason who we were triumphant. Well played, Rosiniski's.

Game #10 "Pure Clubbin" D-B@g of the Game: There was no d-b@gs on this team. Like most teams they were cool. I have to give a shout out to their pitcher who was a great player. That kid could hit and run. Plus he looked like John Uren (for those of you who didn't go to Athens, he looked like a kid from Athens)