Column

Local teams claim mixed results in softball action

By DJ Dave Hoffenberg 

One versus two squared off and as a result, someone dropped to three. Killington Resort battled McGrath’s Sushi in what is the leading candidate for Game of the Year and Comeback of the Year. If you did not stick around for the end, you would be shocked to learn M.S. lost after holding a nine run lead.

But let me back up and tell you how it all went down.

M.S. batted through their order in the top of the fist scoring six runs. Zach “Cookie” Cook had a bases-clearing triple for three of those and Big Josh Tarleton hit a two-run dinger. Coach and pitcher Matt Kinsman put K.R. on the board with a two-run bomb of his own. They had a chance for more but Evan Anderson struck out for a big “Cold Beer K.” Cookie drove in another in the second and K.R. had no answer to make it 7-2. The bottom half of the order shone for M.S. in the third when Cliff Melendy and Nate Mispel  both scored to stretch the lead 9-2. K.R. put two on base but left them stranded. Big Josh was at it again in the fourth, driving in another two runs, this time with a single to make it 11-2. K.R. had no answer and went down 1-2-3. K.R’s defense finally woke up and they stopped M.S. for the first time all game. Their next at-bat, Matt Peters drove in a run to cut it to eight. The bats cooled off for M.S. and they went down 1-2-3 in the sixth. K.R. put two on base in the bottom of the sixth but left them standing there as Kyle “Famous” Amos ended the inning with a “CBK.” Kinsman was on fire in the seventh delivering two “CBKs” to clutch hitters, Bus Bob Schaffner and Owen Murphy to keep M.S. off the scoreboard. At the bottom of the seventh M.S. had a strong eight-run lead. Dave Beckwith led with a single but pitcher Jeremy “New Ace” Prior delivered a big “CBK” to Chandler “Not The King of Summer” Burgess and got Peters to fly out. Still holding a seven-run lead, M.S. was one out away from handing K.R. their first loss of the season. The hardest out of the game never came for M.S. K.R. put on a hit parade and all M.S. could do was wave and watch it go by. Every player but Burgess and Peters scored and Amos made up for his “CBK” big time with a three-run home run to win the game 12-11.

The next game had all the excitement of the first when the Wobbly Barn battled the OmyaRamas. This game started with a home run, had a grand slam in the middle and ended with a winning sac fly.

The Wobbly was seeking their first win of the season and it was in their grasp but a few players made it slip out. The score went back and forth like a ball in a tennis match. Both teams held a lead and lost a lead. The Wobbly scored first but the O.R’s scored last. Players were really giving it their all like O.R’s John Gatto who just missed robbing a home run as he fell over the fence. The Wobbly’s Chris “Free Agent” Kielbiowski showed why he’s in demand with a powerful grand slam in the fourth that put the Wobbly back on top. In the end though, Coach Bailey Peters had a nice looking sac to score Max Pockette to win the game for OmyaRamas.

Over at the Killington field things were really heating up and it wasn’t the temperature. The three teams were fired up and both games were explosive. Max Team had a doubleheader and first up was Clearly Moguls who they just played last and lost 13-10. This game was a lot closer and much more intense. The Terrific Tylers, Mello and Lysakowski, put Max Team on top first 2-0. Ronzoni Hacker delivered his first “CBK” of the game to Braden Kietzman. C.M. had no answer and started the game going down 1-2-3. They had some good defense in the second and shut down Max Team 1-2-3 to return the favor and then tied it up in the bottom, 2-2. M.T. pitcher Johnny Sharpe was able to deliver a “CBK” to Jackie Blue Livesey. Lysakowski scored again, in the third, to put his team on top once again (3-2). C.M. called up Matt “What Up Cuz” Grev from the Mahwah Maulers to see some playing time in the big leagues. They did not like what they saw as Grev suffered a “CBK” to lead-off the bottom of the third. The team followed suit and could not get anything going to stay down one run. Ronzoni was on fire in the fourth with back-to-back put outs at third base to stop the leading runner and keep the deficit at one. Judd “Home Run King” Washburn quickly erased that and put his team on top 4-3 with a deep home run to right but the inning also saw Tucker “Road Runner” Zink suffer a “CBK”. That lead quickly evaporated when Chris Major hit a two-run double to put his team back on top 5-4 but Kietzman suffered his second “CBK” of the game. This time “Ronzoni” did it with his bat and drove in Russell “The Love Muscle” Dalglish to tie it 5-5 in the fifth. The see-saw battle continued in the sixth with M.T. regaining the lead 7-5 but did see another player go down swinging for a “CBK.” This lucky recipient was Sam Budusky. Tall Tom Gilligan got one of those runs back and then Zink showed his speed with a bases clearing triple to give his team a 9-7 lead. It then turned into a coaches’ battle, playing the game “Who Scored the Book Correct?”. After a long debate it quickly turned into a “Who Cares?” as Clearly Moguls shut them down 1-2-3 to win the game. Kietzman was one of those outs with yet another “CBK” for his third of the game.

Max Team rebounded in the second game of the doubleheader, a 16-12 win over Outback Pizza. This game too went back and forth and the Outback held a late three run lead. It seemed to be going their way and even more so when it appeared that catcher Rob “Rambo” Ranberg made a great stance at home plate, tagging the runner out to end the inning. But, the umpire saw things differently than most. This turned the game around and Max Team went on to win.

Schedule:

Wednesday July 12, 2017

Outback Pizza vs McGrath’s Sushi at Killington 5:50 p.m.

Wobbly Barn vs Clearly Moguls at Killington 7 p.m.

Omyaramas vs Max Team at  Bridgewater 5:50 p.m.

Killington Resort vs Max Team at Bridgewater 7 p.m.

There will be a post-game party at McGrath’s Irish Pub from 8-11 p.m..

Monday July 17, 2017

Clearly Moguls vs Killington Resort at Killington 5:50 p.m.

McGrath’s Sushi vs Killington Resort at Killington 7 p.m.

Outback Pizza vs Wobbly Barn at Bridgewater 5:50 p.m.

Max Team vs Omyaramas at Bridgewater 7 p.m.

There will be a post game party at Rutland Bowlerama 9 – 11 p.m.

Wednesday July 19, 2017

Clearly Moguls vs McGrath’s Sushi at Killington 5:50 p.m.

Outback Pizza vs Max Team at Killington 7 p.m.

Omyaramas vs Killington Resort at Bridgewater 5:50 p.m.

Wobbly Barn vs Omyaramas at Bridgewater 7 p.m.

There will be a post-game party at Outback Pizza from 8-11 p.m.

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