As no one has posted any game reports from September 12's games, here's how I imagine they went:
Cougars v. Shaskys The Shaskys gave the ball to Donnie Ball, who had a ball throwing the ball. For the first three innings, he stood there tall throwing that ball by the Cougar cats' bats. So Frank Montagano, like a seasoned sage, huddled his club of the 45 age. The frustrated bunch stood their cryin' with lots of accusations flyin'. But the steadfast coach knew just the approach: "Hey, fellas, this ain't Nolan Ryan. See the ball, hit the ball!" was his advice. It sounded so nice, he said it twice. So in the next inning, with new thoughts of winning, Rob Currier to the mound strode apace and punched Donnie Ball square in the face. At first, so upset by Currier's stroke, Ball couldn't think of a single joke, 'til someone mentioned game two on approach, and Ball perked right up, saying "Give me the ball, Coach!" Meanwhile, Currier got tossed and the Cougars lost. Shaskys 17, Cougars 5.
Warriors v. Black Sox The Black Sox screamed out of the gate, scoring 7 runs in the first inning, the last on a bases loaded walk to Don Wixon. But then one of Niskayuna's Finest arrived with a surprising piece of paper. It turns out Wix is only 44 years old, and the officer had just been faxed his birth certificate from Puerto Rico to prove it. Don had to hand over his AARP card and the Warriors were awarded a win by forfeit.
Yankees v. Braves Things started well for the Yanks. Joe Careccia singled up the middle, stole second on the next pitch, stole third on the next pitch, and stole home on the next pitch. But he got tossed from the game for arguing with the umpire who wouldn't let him steal first on the next pitch. That left the Yankees with eight players in the field the rest of the way and the Braves' Jim Bonaparte lined a ball into the empty centerfield each time up, even almost stretching one of those hits into a double. Braves 10, Yankees 9.
Cyclones v. Marlins The Cyclones took a first inning lead when, with a runner on, Dave "Boomer" Hartman boomed one over the right field fence for a 2-run HR. Both members of the crowd chanted "BOO-MER! BOO-MER! BOO-MER!" until they decided to check email on their phones instead. But it took so long for Hartman to round the bases that Marlins' skipper John Reel realized that he had forgotten to wind up his pitcher. He called time out, went to the mound, inserted the wind up key, turned it several times, and returned to right field. Jerry Solomon struck out the next 21 batters. Marlins 4, Cyclones 2.
Warriors v. Shaskys The Warriors were fresh, having won their game without scoring a run, while the Shaskys were weary from having circled the bases so many times against the Cougars. It was a tight game throughout, but the Warriors committed a fatal mistake. With 2-outs and the winning run on third and Tim Burns at the plate, the Warriors shifted three infielders to the left side of second base. Their scouting reports, after all, showed Burns pulling the ball 88% of the time against left-handed pitchers in the sixth inning or later. It seemed a no-brainer. But Jameson's mistake was not noticing that it was Tim P. Burns that pulled the ball in late innings. So when Tim (minus the P) Burns hit a routine grounder toward right field, there was no one there to field it. Shaskys 4, Warriors 3.
Cougars v. Black Sox With the Cougars resembling the Bad News Bears, and the Black Sox reeling from their latest scandal, the fellas left took the field with their tournament life at stake. They proceeded to play a very nice, error-free, walk-free, strikeout-free game, won by the Black Sox in the 7th inning when Frank Owens singled up the middle, was sacrificed to second by Brian Musella, advanced to third on a ground out to the right side by Earl Mitchell, and scored on a long home run to dead center by Joe Hauser. Black Sox 2, Cougars 0.
Braves v. Marlins Greg Witalec was scheduled to start on the mound for the Braves, but he was delayed en route to the game when he stopped to save an elderly woman, a newborn baby, a 3-legged dog, and a ferret from a burning building. So Jim Bonaparte threw instead, but he was still tired from trying to leg out a double in the earlier game. Noticing this, the Marlins' Scott Ross led off with a bunt single. He proceeded to steal second, then third, then home. He thought about trying to steal first, but his Marlins teammates, with their collective 900 years of baseball experience, convinced him it was not a good strategic move. Witalec arrived, brushed off a few embers, and matched Solomon's earlier 21-strikeout performance. Braves 5, Marlins 1.
Cyclones v. Yankees Rich Robertson hit for the cycle, which he pointed out was inevitable because it was embedded in the name "Cyclones," but it wasn't enough as every member of the Yankees lineup doubled (Careccia's would have been a triple, but his teammates had put ankle weights on him after the morning game). John Kalinski threw the first 3 innings for the Yankees, but came out with a tired arm, having drawn so many brackets by hand the preceding week. So Don Dunham closed things out before everyone piled into his van to go play in an umpires-only golf tournament. Yankees 8, Cyclones 3.
Curt Tucker 9-13-2015
-- Edited by ctucker on Sunday 13th of September 2015 12:14:52 PM
Curt - It's like you were there! But this is what really happened for the Shaskys.
In game one, the Cougars showed up with just eight able-bodied players. Clark Smith who was one game short of playoff eligibility was in the Cougars dugout to cheer for his team. And, despite recent hernia surgery, Mick (last name?) showed up in uniform so that the Cougars would not forfeit. He stepped on the field for one pitch and the game was on. Inspired by their teammates' commitment, the Cougars came out battling. And I was on the mound. In the top of the first Tino walked on four pitches, Currier hit a solid single to left and an infield single gave the cats a 2 - 0 lead. The Shaskys answered with two in their half of the first. Aided by an automatic out in the 9th spot, Shaskys enjoyed a quick 2nd inning. But the Cougars came out swinging again in the 3rd and a long triple by Tino and doubles by Currier and Dennis Newell gave the purple gang a 5 - 2 lead. The Shaskys kept our composure and were finally able to take advantage of the Cougars' two-man outfield and put a up some big numbers in the bottom of the 3rd to turn the tide. Dennis Lane came in to relieve me and shut the Cougars down to secure the victory.
We took a quick ride over to Blatnick Park where we were greeted by some real playoff atmosphere. Music coming from the booth, scoreboard lit and ready and announcers doing the play-by-play. Judging by the crowd noise, we were about 250 people short of a sell out! We were not short of quality baseball. The Warriors Brian (last name ?) and our Dennis Lane locked up in a strong pitchers' duel The Warriors took an early lead. Lane answered with a 3 -run jack inside the right field fair pole. The Warriors continued to put men on base but Jimmy Tesereiro playing in unfamiliar center field ran down two long fly balls to kill scoring opportunities. Trailing 4 -2 in the top of the 7th, the Warriors loaded the bases with two outs. A solid single to center plated run #3. As the Warriors bench cheered for the runner from 2nd to score, Jimmy T. threw a strike to catcher Jon Briccetti who chased and tagged the runner out to end the game.
