In the morning opener, the Riddlers looked to keep their regular season title hopes alive by knocking off the 1st place Skeleton Crew. The game was a rematch from week 3 where the Crew held off a feisty and full Riddlers line up 9-7. Week 12 brought much of the same and an intense battle ensued. The Crew took a 5-run lead into the bottom of the 7th only to see the Riddlers push 3 across the plate with 1 out. Moving a runner to 2nd and bringing the tying run to the plate still with one out, the Riddlers came up empty - stranding the runner and their chances for the regular season title - dropping an 11-9 decision to the Crew. The Riddlers dropped to 10-6 on the year.
The Crew moved on to take on the Canniballs - who gave the Crew all they could handle in late May - playing with only 8 players at that (a 16-12 Crew win). This game took on a different flavor early (and often), but there were still plenty of highlight reel plays made by both teams - some off the bat, some in the field. In the end, the Skeleton Crew walked away with a sound 22-3 win. In doing so, the Skeleton Crew have clinched the Regular Season title and now sit at 14-1 on the year.
In the other late morning start, the Franchise and Marvels took to the field in a key seeding matching as teams gear up and jockey for position for the playoffs. This one though took a turn in one team's favor fairly early (and often) and the Marvels exacted a little revenge from Week 3's 12-10 loss with a crushing 16-1 victory. With the loss, the Franchise fall to 5-9 on the year and sit in 8th.
The Marvels looked to take their two game winning streak and extend on it against the Sexpos. In one of the two non-blowout games of the day, they battled tooth and nail in this one under the scorching sun and dried out infield. All square coming into the bottom of the 7th, the Marvels pushed the winning run across and extended their winning streak to 3 games and leapfrogged the Franchise into 7th place, earning a hard fought 13-12 win.
The afternoon heat continued to wear on teams and the unbalance continued and the Sexpos and Seymour Results battled on the north field, while the Canniballs and Nads toiled on the south field. The Nads mashed out 19 runs, but the Canniballs were feisty and game - but came up on the short end of a 19-10 decision. That drops the Canniballs to 1-15 on the year while the Nads improved to 9-6.
The Sexpos started early against Seymour and didn't take their foot off the gas until it was over. Seymour struggled to mount an offense in the heat while the Sexpos covered off any attempts at a rally that Seymour through up - resulting in a 27-1 win for the Sexpos. With two wins on the day, the Sexpos move their record to 10-6 and sit tied for 3rd with the Riddlers (and they split the season series). Seymour falls to 2-13, good enough for 9th.
The end of days game brought out an interesting betting line - the early line was set at 58.5, but increased to 78.5 by opening pitch. That is not the over/under on the score, but rather the number of challenges, overrullings, complains, gripes arguments, etc. between the two teams combined (all in good fun). In the late day sun and the heat still hovering, the game started off tight, with the Aces stepping out to an early 3-1 lead. At that point the Aces turned it on and pressured the Dawgs into an 11-4 victory and sole possession of 2nd place. The Dawgs fell to 9-6 and currently sit in 5th, ahead of the Nads (also 9-6) due to their 9-7 win over the Nads in week 7. The Aces, now a 11-5, hold a slim 1 game lead (in the loss column) over 4 teams.
Remember - there is no ball this long August weekend. Enjoy yourselves, be safe, and have fun!
See you on the 13th of August. 2 more weeks of the Regular Season left.
Playoffs are scheduled for Aug 26-27th at U-Hill.
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