TRIPLE THREAT
Fun Bunch rack up three triples to squeak out their second win in a row
OTTAWA - The Fun Bunch had three triples last night. Nancy "knock 'em out of the park" Harris started things off when she crushed a ball into the gap that rolled all the way to the fence on a dry and hard outfield. Showcasing her newly honed running skills, she flew around the bases and seemed intent on an in-the-park home run but was asked to jam on the brakes by steve "field marshal" saunders from the pitching mound to avoid a close play at home. She begrudgingly obliged but cast him a menacing glance to express her displeasure. In fact "knock 'em out of the park", was the first star of the game as she went five for five , scored a run and drove in three runs to cap her night off. Rising to the challenge, Leah "roadrunner" Morrel smacked a hard liner as well that was misplayed by the outfield, and rolled all the way to the fence. Digging in, she cruised around the bases for a stand-up triple. Not to be out-done, Andrew "the gazelle" Campbell drilled a pitch over the head of yet another outfielder and came two thirds of the way home before trotting back to third for the third triple of the game. That was the good news. The bad news was that the Fun Bunch offense sputtered and had trouble cashing in runners, stranding many potential runs all night long. In addition they hit into three double plays, all of them extinguishing rallies, sapping momentum and leaving runners on base. Defense was stellar however. Both Andrew "the gazelle" Campbell and Elliotte "fearless" Fernandes made some spectacular catches on difficult plays, robbing the Rebels of extra base hits and keeping them to only four runs scored til the top of the eighth inning. Taylor "the terror" Albert, showed up two innings into the game (she had gone to the wrong diamond) and went to bat almost immediately. She crushed the first pitch into the gap and began racing around the bases easily reaching second base. Looking to join the night's "triple club", she didn't stop there, but turned the corner and headed for third. About half way there, she had a change of heart as she realized that she was going to be tagged out so she attempted to reverse gears. Sporting only a pair of tennis shoes, she quickly found out that "no tread" means "no traction", as she landed in a heap, stirring up a cloud of dust that completely enveloped her bright neon yellow baseball jacket. Stuck in no-man's land, she attempted to crawl on her elbows back to second base but was tagged out by the rebel's second base man. Not to be deterred, she returned to the dugout and hastily borrowed a pair of cleats just in time to make two spectacular catches in the outfield in the next inning. With six guys on the roster tonight, steve "field marshal" saunders, platooned the older guys in the infield and left the "youngsters" to play the whole game in the outfield. Steve "downtown" Saunders, Scott "boom boom" Saunders and Richard "wild thing" Bujold shared shortstop and second base duties all night long. "Listen, I wanted to let the youngsters get some more innings under their belt. I've seen plenty of action in my decades as the go-to shut-down shortstop of this storied franchise, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to let the kids play. Plus I couldn't very well bench "wild thing" for the whole game--although the thought crossed my mind", steve "field marshal" saunders said as he explained his strategy. That platoon strategy lead to a couple of entertaining moments, as the nascent second base men--Scott "boom boom" Saunders and Richard "wild thing" Bujold -- struggled to keep up with the standard set by the gold-glove, future hall-of-fame steve "field marshal" saunders. First there was the hard grounder fielded smoothly by "field marshal" who made a syrupy smooth hard toss into "wild things" glove as he stood planted on second base. The ball landed hard in the palm of "wild things" dusty glove, but before he could ensnare the projectile, it bounced out, careened of his forehead and landed on the ground behind his back. For what seemed like an eternity, "wild thing" frantically searched for the ball, kicking it farther and farther away with every futile turn of his body, as "field marshal" could only watch in horror as the base runner slowly waddled safely into second while "wild thing" continued to kick up plumes of dust. On another play, a hard grounder was hit towards second base for a tailor-made double play. "field marshal" quickly pounced on the grounder, but with wisdom beyond his years, quickly realized that the only chance they had at the double play would be if "boom boom" playing second, grabbed the ball, touched the base, and threw to first. "You take this", he instructed "boom boom" as he backed off the play. The crystal-clear advice seemed to confound "boom boom" who stumbled and stutter-stepped, unable to make the simple play leaving the Rebels with runners on first and second and none out. "Chalk it up to inexperience", Leah "roadrunner" Morrel consoled "field marshal" as he returned to his shortstop position. Unable to string together consecutive hits, the fun bunch finally hit their stride in the fifth, where they finally scored five runs to give themselves a bit of breathing room 9-3. For the first time this year, the fun bunch (and particularly the "bash brothers") were unable to hit a single home run. "It wasn't for lack of trying", noted league home run leader steve "downtown" saunders. "Sometimes, things just don't go your way. And remember, you have to have good pitching to hit a home run. It's not like me to throw anyone under the bus, but clearly my little brother was struggling a bit on the mound tonight. That comes part and parcel with missing so many games during the season, but hey I'm not going to mention any names", he continued. The game got a little more interesting when the rebels scored five runs of their own in the eighth inning. With "field marshal" sitting in the bleachers that inning, he could only wring his hands in disbelief as he watched the defense come unglued without his steady hand on the tiller. Things took a wrong turn when a seemingly innocuous throw from the outfield came in to "wild thing" playing second base. At the last minute, he put his glove in front of his eyes and cowered allowing the ball to sail out of play allowing all the base runners to advance. "this isn't going to end well", thought alison "bulldozer" hale as she watched the sordid play unfold from the relatively safety of home plate. As if on queue the next batter smashed a grand slam home run allowing the rebels to score five runs and narrow the game to 13-9 heading into the ninth inning. After a leadoff double by "wild thing" in the ninth, the fun bunch continued with their batting woes as three of the next four batters grounded out allowing the fun bunch to score only a single run. The rebels hit a three run shot with two out to close the gap to 14-12, but that was as close as they got as the next batter popped out.
--------------------------------------------