LOONEY TUNES
Fun Bunch beat IWD Loonies to win ninth straight
OTTAWA-On another scorching hot night the Fun Bunch kept their cool and pulled off an efficient 15-5 win over the new-look Loonies who had obviously done some recruiting in the off season and sported a plethora of young talent. With the wind blowing in, long balls to center field were hard to come by but that didn't stop Paolo "slip'n'slide" Daros, Scott "the big hurt" Saunders and Glen "the wrangler" Rankin from belting one each to deep right field and using their blazing speed to dig out in-the-park homers--Paolo's made all the more amazing as he skittered around each base as if running on marbles due to the poor traction of his tennis shoes. The game once again good off to a slow start as Patti "gazoo" anderson, martin "the gazelle" desjardins and paolo "email indifferent" daros all showed up late. Forced to start the game with only seven players, the Fun Bunch got behind the eight ball early as the "hit challenged" loonies loaded the bases in each of the first two innings. Tight defense by the fun bunch limited IWD to only a single run however, just in time for their ranks to be bolstered by their tardy teammates. A rookie mistake in the first inning saw john "hans solo" devries picked off base leaving steve "downtown" saunders stranded in the on-deck circle just as the fun bunch were threatening as his shocked teammates looked on in horror. The fun bunch women lead by team captain alison "bulldozer" hale put on a strong hitting performance with chantal "rum runner" bujold, Kathie "daredevil" Adare and "bulldozer" all crunching hits to the deep outfield. Novice catcher Patti "gazoo" Anderson was quickly indoctrinated at home plate as she filled in for absent player Rowena "throw it home" Sams and found out first hand that playing catcher is no laughing matter as steve "field marshall" saunders barked instructions at her all night long. Martin "the gazelle" Desjardins--the lone member of the team now under 40--had another outstanding game both at the plate and in the field as he glided around as if on wings in the outfield snagging tough hits with ease. With a rare chance to play infield, both "slip'n'slide" and "the wrangler" looked impressive with "the wrangler" snagging two low liners--one for an out and one for a toss to first for an out--to limit the loonies run production. In the third inning however, the wheels seemingly started to "come off the wagon" as a rare disastrous defensive bungling unfolded for the fun bunch allowing the loonies to score three runs. The fun all started with a deep hit by IWD to the outfield. With a runner heading to third and contemplating home, desjardins threw the ball towards home where saunders had rushed to cut off the throw. Once the ball sailed over second, the runner at first took off for second, where saunders quickly tossed a hurried throw - off line somewhat but catchable, that daros mishandled allowing the runner at third to score. When the dust settled, it seemed that every single player on the fun bunch team had handled the ball, yet they had nary a single out to show for their efforts-- "baby elephant walk" seemingly playing in the background. That allowed the loonies to score two runs and make the game close with the fun bunch still leading at 4-3. Worth noting also was a rare defensive miscue by 25 time gold-glover steve "downtown" saunders when he charged a mile-high shallow pop-up in front of home plate. Lunging to make the catch after sprinting at a breathtaking pace his outstretched mitt caught the edge of the ball as it rolled out of his glove while he spit out a mouth full of gravel. Road-rashed and bleeding, he dug the ball out of the back stop to put an end to the rally, while some of his edgier teammates seemed to take delight in his misfortunes with ill-timed taunts. Richard "wild thing" Bujold sat out most of the game nursing a hyper-extended elbow in preparation for the upcoming playoffs.
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