CARLINGTON COMEBACK
Fun Bunch down 12-4 score 16 runs in last two innings to win 20-12
OTTAWA-Playing their third game of the day against the winless Aquabats, with a perfect 2-0 record and the stands packed with family, friends and alumni, the fun bunch looked destined to cruise to a rare saturday sweep. Alas, the Aquabats were not willing to roll over and play dead just yet as they took an early 7-2 lead. After scoring only two runs in the first inning with runners left on base, the fun bunch bats once again went into the doldrums as they were shut out the next three innings--a habit that has become very disconcerting. The stands went deathly quiet as the fans packed into the bleachers sat on their hands as they stared astonished at what was unfolding before them on the ball diamond. In the fifth inning the fun bunch started to show some promise but scored only two runs as a nascent rally was extinguished quickly once again with three untimely outs. Making a small dent in the Aquabat lead--now standing at 7-4--the fun bunch felt they were at least within striking distance of the win. Sadly, what happened next completely deflated the partially unfurled sails of the fun bunch rally drive. The Aquabats went on to score five runs with nary a single out as the fun bunch fell completely apart in a shockingly horrific error-fest to put the game seemingly out-of-reach 12-4. Staring up at the tear-filled eyes of the fans--several of who had come all the way from kinburn to watch the game--and who were beginning to pack up their belongings and take down their banners to beat the traffic out of the parking lot, steve "field marshal" saunders decided then and there that the game was not going to end in a travesty--not on his watch, not while he still had a breath in his body. Taking a deep breath he strode over to the dugout with determination as his teammates quickly caught sight of him and braced for the onslaught. Knocking a water bottle out of Paolo "slip-n-slide's" hand with a firm backhand, he looked him straight in the eye and growled, "what are you smirking about. We're down 12-4 no thanks to you and your pop-out last inning". Panning the entire dugout he resumed his tirade, " You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Look up in those stands at our beloved fans. We have failed them. They came here to celebrate and we have embarrassed them. Shame on all of you". The team collectively lowered their heads and stared at their shoes. They knew--as always--that field marshal was right. "Stop feeling sorry for yourselves. The good news is it's not too late. We have two innings left and I know this team can rise to the occasion as I have seen it happen time and time again. So let's keep it really simple. Make sure you keep the ball down, run hard, get on base and be aggressive on the base path. We need five runs this inning to put the fear of god in them and then we have our unlimited run seventh to finish them off--any questions"? Apart from the crickets chirping you could hear a pin drop. The team knew they had let down their fans and knew what had to be done. Nancy "knock em out of the park" Harris started the ball rolling with a solid single to be quickly advanced to second by Martin "the gazelle" Desjardins. Glen "the wrangler" Rankin then delivered another hit to load the bases for Chantal "rum runner" Bujold who promptly hit one to the outfield to score a couple of runs. Steve "downtown" Saunders then strode to the plate and moved quickly to calm Richard "wild thing" Bujold on the pitcher's mound. "Ok 'wild thing', take three steps closer and lob it up in the air", he calmly advised "wild thing". One swing later, the ball sailed into Carlington diamond #1 for a three run shot to deliver the fifth run of the inning and make the score 12-9 as the Aquabats nervously skittered off the field. Coming to bat in the bottom of the sixth, the Aquabats were quickly shut out and the Fun Bunch came to bat in the endless seventh inning, needing three runs to tie. What happened next will go down in the annals of Fun Bunch history as the team proceeded to "bat around" and score eleven runs including two clutch home runs from Glen "the wrangler" Rankin and Martin "the gazelle" Desjardins , with the entire rally ignited by Rowena "scoresheet" Sams who got the first hit of the inning using her precision base hitting skills. The Aquabats came to bat in the bottom of the inning a defeated team. The fight had gone entirely out of them as they realized they had squandered a 12-4 lead and managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The Fun Bunch finished them off 1-2-3 mercifully to end their misery as the fans exploded with jubilation in the stands, finally given something to cheer about.
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