FUNBUNCH BACK TO .500
Team comes through with must win game
OTTAWA-Could the fun bunch be turning the corner finally? It sure looked that way on Wednesday night when the team fielded their largest roster of the season - six men and six women to do battle with pesky brawlers and managed to scratch out a win. It wasn't a cakewalk by any stretch of the imagination, but the fun bunch dug deep and came up big when they needed to, as they managed to hold off the brawlers 19-12. Sure the usual culprits-- scott "twist in the wind" saunders and clark "pound 'em back" lawlor--were absent once again, but chantal "rum runner" bujold made her first appearance of the season and was rock solid at first base and went 4 for 5 at the plate. Andrew "gazelle 2.0" campbell was invited back after his impressive debut and played great in the outfield and went 4 for 4. Although the fun bunch cougars were once again on the prowl, they were sadly disappointed when jamie "guns out" smith did not receive a call back after his disappointing try out. "I demand a team vote", snarled ex-captain alison "bulldozer" hale, when she found out her prize cub would not be returning to the pride. "Sorry bulldozer, but that's not going to happen on my watch. Now stop growling, grab a bat and get on base", bellowed team captain steve "field marshal" saunders to quell the nascent mutiny in its tracks. The fun bunch scored four runs in the first inning and never relinquished the lead. Team curmudgeon, john "methuselah" devries showed everyone that although he is the oldest player on the team (and quite possibly the whole league) he still knows how to work a bat as he went five for five with four runs scored to lead by example. Sure steve "downtown" saunders crushed a pitch into the stratosphere and blasted another off the center field fence to do his part , but this win was a team effort with some outstanding plays by everyone. Nancy "knock em out of the park" Harris, crunched several pitches deep to the outfield for an impressive batting display before she caught a pop fly nonchalantly for an out at rover. chantal "rum runner" bujold made an unassisted out at first when she snagged a ground ball and outran the base runner, looking like a woman half her age--despite her troublesome back. Heck even richard "wild thing" bujold joined in on the action when he awkwardly fielded a simple ground ball and had to crawdaddy back to second on his hands and knees for the out as "field marshal" looked on unimpressed. Not everything was smooth sailing however as a breakdown in team communication saw paolo "slip 'n slide" daros watch casually as an easy fly ball dropped between first and second. "oh was I supposed to get that?", he asked quizically, genuinely confounded by the basic defensive play. Across the diamond, rowena "scoresheet" sams rolled her eyes in a "you've got to be kidding me" gesture echoing, the sentiments of the rest of her teammates. In another odd play, accountant glen "the wrangler" rankin, who had been up all night cooking the books at some numbered company, seemed dazed and confused as he got picked off first base on a fly ball-- a mistake he never makes. "sorry guys, but CRA has been all over me this week. my mind is elsewhere", he offered up to his team as an explanation for his transgression. Patti "gazoo" Anderson also crunched a couple of big time hits deep to the outfield over second base for an impressive display of power and a couple of long singles. With the fun bunch pulling away from the brawlers, leah "fair play" morrel decided to have a bit of "fun" at their expense. In a well rehearsed display of athletic agility, she fielded a hard grounder down the third base line. But instead of attempting a long throw to first against a speedy base runner, she did the unthinkable. "fair play" smoothly lobbed the ground ball to her partner--twenty-eight time gold glove short stop steve "downtown" saunders. With a playful wink at "fair play", "downtown" fielded her toss, put the base runner in his cross hairs and seemingly defied the laws of physics. As first base woman chantal "rum runner" bujold saw the play unfold, she braced herself for the onslaught. Although she could not see the ball coming towards her--it was coming far too fast for that--she knew that "downtown" would place it square in her glove. Her job was simply to hold on through the mind-numbing pain. A moment later she was in agony as she closed her glove for the out, wisps of smoke coming from her mitt as the ball momentarily seared the leather on her hand due to its velocity. Even the umpire seemed confused by the play -- simply unable to follow the speed of the ball with the unaided eye--and didn't realize the base runner was out until "rum runner" opened her glove and pried the misshapen ball from the burned crust of her glove for the final out of the game.
--------------------------------------------