Saturday - North Diamond
Things got underway early with the Sexpos and Canniballs matched up in the opener - and bats were hot for an early morning game. The Sexpos managed to pull away and take the W with a sound 22-13 win.
Next in line were the Marvels and Riddlers, two teams much more evenly matched than their records would indicate. As expected, a tight match was played and resulted in W for the Marvels during the "upset time slot", edging the Riddlers 11-10.
The nooner brought together the division's top and bottom seeds, with the Aces unrelentingly hammering away and taking down the Canniballs 16-0.
The early afternoon game paired the Sexpos and Marvels, who split their season series 1-1. This time, the Marvels got the edge, managing a tight 9-7 victory. With the loss, the Sexpos finished the day 1-1.
Up next were the Aces and Riddler, who also split their regular season series 1-1. The Aces held together and fought off the Riddlers, taking it 12-6 - finishing the day 2-0. The Riddlers finished the day 0-2.
The finale on the north diamond paired the Canniballs and the Marvels. It was a valiant effort on behalf of the Canniballs as they started out with a 5-spot. Unfortunately, the game was called as an injury took place requiring medical attention and the delay simply forced the Canniballs into a position where they couldnt' finish the game. As a result, the Marvels were awarded a 15-0 victory, finishing the day 3-0 - while the Canniballs finished up at 0-3.
Saturday - South Diamond
Seymour Results and the Dawgs got things started on the south field on Saturday, pairing the #6 and #9 seeds. The result - a 15-9 win by the Dawgs after Seymour held a lead up until the end of the 4th.
The defending playoff champions were up next, facing off against the eager and dangerous Franchise squad. The Nads knew they had to bring their A game to get the win, but it appears the Franchise brought their A+ game and they upset the defending champs 12-8 (Note: Upset Time Slot).
The regular season champs took the field next versus Seymour during the nooner. The result was a sound 20-3 win for the Skeleton Crew.
The 1p start saw the #6 and #8 seeds lock horns, as the Dawgs and Franchise were both looking to add a second win to their start. Unfortunately for the Franchise, they ran into a buzz saw that resulted in a resounding 29-11 win for the Dawgs. The Dawgs finished the day at 2-0.
The Crew and the Nads squared off in the next contest. The Nads were one of two teams to knock off the Crew in the regular season and looked to rebound from their upset at the hands of the Franchise. As expected, a close contest took place and the Nads edged the Crew for the second time in a row, 11-10 in extra innings. The Nads finished the day 1-1 as did the Skeleton Crew.
The twi-light match on the south field paired off the Franchise and Seymour Results. With sound defense, a hope for the semi-finals and a few long balls, the Franchise pulled out a 15-0 win to end the day 2-1, sitting in 2nd place. Seymour finished up at 0-3.
Sunday - North Diamond
The Sexpos and the Riddlers kicked things off Sunday morning in a must win for the Riddlers. Defense was the name of the game as the two teams combined for 9 total runs in 7 innings - resulting in a 5-4 win by the Sexpos, eliminating the Riddlers from the semi-finals.
The 3-0 Marvels looked to continue their hot streak (8 game winning steak including regular season) against the division's top seed, the Aces. Another close contest that could have gone either way and of course, had it's own controversy - but the end result was the Marvels edging the Aces 10-9, locking up top spot in the South division at 4-0. The Aces fell to 2-1.
The Canniballs and Riddlers hooked up in a "fun match", with both teams already eliminated. Balls were flying everywhere and the Riddlers picked up their first win, taking it 20-10 and finishing 4th with a 1-3 record. The Canniballs finished 1st in enthusiasm,but unfortunately 5th in the division at 0-4.
The final game of the South division's round robin had a "winner moves on, loser is out" aspect with the Sexpos (2-1) coming in against the 2-1 Aces. A hot contested game, the Aces managed to pull away and take the game 10-7, finishing up 2nd with a 3-1 record while the Sexpos fell to 2-2 and 3rd place.
Sunday - South Diamond
Sunday morning started with makings of a beaut, as the league leaders in Runs Against (Dawgs) matched up against the leaders in Runs For (Nads). This time, is proved that defense wins in the playoffs as the Dawgs jumped to 3-0 with a 4-2 win, leaving the defending champs at 1-2 officially eliminated from the semi-finals. The Dawgs clinched their spot in the semis with the win.
The Skeleton Crew and Franchise hooked up next with the winner moving onto the semi-finals. It was a battle with a few long bombs smashed over the fence by both sides, but in the end, the Crew had too much that game and finished the Franchise off with a 17-7, eliminating them from the semi-finals with a 2-2 record.
In a fun game, the Nads and Seymour Results played a little sandlot baseball and both sides took shots at the homer fence. With a little depth in power, the Nads took the game 29-11, finishing up at 2-2 and in 4th spot. Seymour Results finished up at 0-4 and in 5th.
In the finale, it was a case of winner takes 1st and loser matches up against the ultra hot Marvels, winners of the South Division. The Crew took a solid lead early on and held on as the Dawgs welcomed back their fearless leader prior to the game - ending up in a 14-11 Crew win. The Crew finished in 1st with a 3-1 record as the Dawgs, also 3-1, finished 2nd.
Semi-Finals
As the official scores were never formally submitted, the recap can only show the outcome:
Marvels over the Dawgs
Skeleton Crew over the Aces
Finals
In the finals, it was a case of two halves. The first 4 innings resulted in the Marvels and Crew in a deadlocked 5-5 game. What transpired after that was sheer dominance. With the appearance of no effort, the Marvels rattled off 17 runs in the next 3 innings, outscoring the Crew 17-1 in that span, including a 9-run open-inning 7th. While the sun's bright glare played a role in some very tough defensive plays on both sides, the end result was a hitting clinic put on by the Marvels as they won 22-6 and took home their second playoff title in 3 years.
Congrats to the Marvels, the Skeleton Crew and all the teams for a great weekend.
Special thanks to our concessions staff (G, Olivia, Sascha) for their time and effort.
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