FANTASTIC FOUR-IN-A-ROW
Red Hot Fun Bunch claim another victim in seven inning game
OTTAWA-Playing their second game in two nights for the first time this season, the fun bunch were showing their age when they limped into the ball park for their pre-game warm up. Gobbling advil by the fistful, as if they were smarties, the team threw some soft tosses as the medication slowly kicked in and sent a glowing warmth down their spine, finally allowing them a modest degree of flexibility. With only three guys on the field at game time, the team was finding it difficult to shake their tardy habit that had bedeviled them all season. Beseeching the other team for "ten more minutes", captain steve "field marshal" saunders was greeted with disdain from "Bass Line Station". "Get your act together buddy", came one of the cat-calls from the bleachers. "What kind of a mickey mouse team do you run", rang down another, anonymously from the rafters. Begrudgingly, they agreed to the extended curfew as "field marshal" walked back to his dugout, seething with rage. Just as the curfew was about to end, glen "the wrangler" rankin pulled wildly into the parking lot side swiping three parked cars in the process. With the engine still running, he ran--still clad in his hockey gear--to the fun bunch dugout. "The game started twenty minutes ago", bellowed "field marshal" at his winded fielder. "I told you I had a hockey game in kanata and that I'd be late. I came straight here from the ice, I didn't even change for crying out loud", replied "the wrangler" haughtily, as he hastily removed his skates and laced up his baseball cleats. "whoops I forgot", replied "field marshal" sheepishly. "good job soldier", he offered up in solace to his teammate. With paolo "slip-n-slide" daros still nowhere in sight (in his defense he said he would be fifteen minutes late, but it was now thirty minutes after official game time), the team took to the field with only four guys. They were playing "Bass Line Station", the champions from the tournament last year, so expected to have their hands full with a tough team. In the first inning, the fun bunch stuck to "field marshal's" game plan and took a 5-0 lead with some stellar defense and five runs without using up a homer. One of the outs resulted from one of "the wranger's" trademark catches. Running full tilt he tracked the ball down, then dove--glove outstretched to snag the ball--as he did a barrel roll and dug up three feet of sod. Holding his glove aloft with the ball firmly ensnared he spit out a mouthful of dirt and proclaimed "one out". After the first inning, however, Bass Line Station started to turn the thumb screws as they scored 3-5-5 runs in their next three innings including two triples by one woman on the team who smashed the ball over both clark "pound 'em back" lawlor and glen "the wrangler" rankin. With the fun bunch short one fielder, the outfield resembled a large piece of swiss cheese as Bass Line Station dropped in hits hither and yon into the plentiful gaps. Down 8-7 now going into the bottom of the third inning, the fun bunch were coming to bat. "Look team our winning streak is on the line. I need you all to dig deep and get on base. Singles will do - just keep the ball out of the air", said "downtown" ,firmly, reminding his crew of the battle plan. Two innings later, the fun bunch had scored ten runs and had taken a 17-13 lead including yet another home run for steve "downtown" saunders, keeping his season long consecutive game home run streak alive. This one resembled a saturn V rocket taking off from cape canaveral as it rose higher and higher into the stratosphere eventually becoming a pin-prick in the sky, destined to join the myriad of other inter-planetary debris in space. Despite the new-look team, Bass Line Station clearly wasn't about to roll over and play dead as they continued to get hits and score runs, exacerbated by some defensive gaffes of the fun bunch. In what turned out to be a see-saw affair, the fun bunch answered the challenge by matching or besting Bass Line Station offensive output in each inning. Richard "wild thing" Bujold lead the team, going four for four, with every player scoring at least one run and "daredevil" and "downtown" scoring three each. Some "home town" calls by the fun bunch ref helped immensely, contributing to a five run rally with two out in the fourth. With the score 17-13 for the fun bunch going into the fifth inning the game was still up for grabs. Unfortunately the fun bunch offense faltered at this point, scoring only a single run in the next two innings by chasing far too many bad pitches ("pound 'em back" pitching) resulting in a score of 18-15 and a slim three run lead for the fun bunch going into the seventh and final inning. Desperately wanting to get out of this game with a win to extend their winning streak, the team dug deep to come up with a tidy three-up three-down defensive gem to end the game and avoid having to play the bottom of the inning to win 18-15.
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