Tuesday marked an emotional end to the inaugural era of JL Sluggers softball. In what could only be described as a fairy tale evening, the Sluggers swept the double-header in front a record crowd of 12 fans. In a fitting conclusion, manager/shortstop Fragile recorded the final out of the night and in doing so, officially passed the torch on to his managerial successor, Fluffy. An emotional Fragile was not available to the media following the games, however he asked his publicist to release the following statement:
"To all of my teammates and the Slugger faithful, tonight was a special night for me. For the past two years, I have tried to create an atmosphere where players play hard but have fun; an atmosphere where teammates encourage one another no matter the end result; and an atmosphere where friends and co-workers can be proud to support their team and together interact as one. Tonight, all of the peices finally fell into place. I couldn't have asked for a better way to step down as manager. Thank you."
Game One (W 18-2)
For a moment, the Sluggers were on the brink of disaster in the opening inning on Tuesday. Having surrendered back-to-back-to-back hits to open the game, the Sluggers finally managed to get an out, but quickly loaded the bases again on a walk. How quickly things changed. Perhaps it was the electricity from the "immigration wave" being started in the bleachers that sparked the Sluggers defense, but regardless of the source, the gloves came alive. A quick line drive was snared by Legally Blonde to record the second out of the inning and prevented the runners from advancing. One pitch later, Liabilitiy settled under a pop-fly to third base, and the inning was over with only minimal damage suffered.
Trailing 1-0, the Sluggers wasted no time in getting on the board. After a leadoff pop-out by Liability, 11 consecutive sluggers would reach base, before the inning ended the same way that it started, a Liability out. Some of the key hits in the innings were 3-RBI double by G-Man and a 2-RBI single by iNoble. When the inning finally ended, the Sluggers had an 8-1 lead as chants of "We're #1!" began from the Sluggers' bleachers.
It was a quiet 2nd inning in which no runs were scored and the only excitement came when Slapshot managed to stay on his feet while making a catch. The 3rd inning followed with more of the same, although the Sluggers did surrender a home run, which made the score 8-2, but that would be it for the opponents. LawDawg would record back-to-back strikouts in to end the top of the 4th inning and would finish out the game by retiring the final eight batters consecutively.
Offensively, the Sluggers were far from done. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Fragile, Fluffy, Slapshot, Bruiser, LawDawg, G-Man, Newbie, and Mendoza Line all recorded base hits, ballooning the lead to 18-2 before the umpire stepped in and called the game on account of the "Slaughter Rule." Not wanting to rub in their victory, and trying to be as kosher as possible when slaughtering their opponent, the Sluggers offered to share their cooler of Marvel Hero Popsicles as a gesture of kindness.
Sluggers Stats
HR: None
RBI: G-Man (5), Fluffy (2), Liability (2), LawDawg (2), Slapshot (2), MendozaLine (2), iNoble (2), Bruiser (1)
Runs: Fluffy (2), Fragile (2), LawDawg (2), Newbie (2), Bruiser (2), Slapshot (2), Liability (1), Squirt (1), G-Man (1), Legally Blonde (1), iNoble (1), MendozaLine (1)
Strikeouts Pitched: LawDawg (3)
Casualties: Bruiser (Leg)
Video: Pam and Victor start the "immigration wave" from the bleachers
Photos: Slapshot manages to stay on his feet while making a catch; Fragile makes the throw from his knees; Newbie looks exhausted after hustling to second base; the Sluggers join their fans in between games.
Game Two (W 7-5)
Quite possibly rejuvenated and empowered by the popsicles, the second game was a much better contest from both sides, including some phenomenal plays. After an RBI single from Slapshot put the Sluggers on the board first in the top of the first inning, the defense once again showed it came ready to play, recording three consecutive outs in the bottom of the inning. After only Squirt reached base for the Sluggers in the second inning, the game was quickly tied by the opponent in the bottom-half. It appeared that the Sluggers might be in trouble until the play of the year by Bruiser shut the door on the opponent and left them scratching their heads. With a runner on first, a sharp line drive was hit to right field where Newbie chased it down. After a clean throw to the cutoff Fragile, he turned around to see that the runner was rounding third base and heading home. Instinctively, he whipped around and fired a strike to home plate. Perfectly positioned, Bruiser caught the ball on the fly, braced herself for a collision, and then tagged the runner out. It was a play for the ages, but more importantly, it prevented a crucial run from coming across the plate. The inning would end with runners left on base after a pop-fly was reeled in by Squirt at second base.
The third inning proved to be a big inning offensively for the Sluggers. After iNoble and Liability reached base safely, Fragile smacked a 3-run HR to right field to put the Sluggers on top 4-1.
In the fourth inning, with the score too close for comfort, LawDawg decided to take things into his own hands. After reaching base safely on a single, LawDawg hustled out a play at second base, narrowly beating the throw. Without hesitation, he saw that the ball had gotten about three feet away from the fielder and sprinted toward third base. The opponents quickly threw the ball over to third, but the ball was booted as LawDawg was approaching third base, so he headed for home. With no play at the plate, LawDawg had managed to hustle his way around the bases, scoring all the way from first base on a ground ball and putting another important run on the board. The score was 5-3 Sluggers.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, it was defense once again that saved the da
y. After the first two runners of the inning reached on singles, the Sluggers caught a break as Fragile fielded a sharply hit ground ball at short. He turned and tagged runners advancing from second and first base, and nearly had a delayed triple play except that the umpire refused to grant the third out after the runner vacated first base. That play gave the Sluggers room to breathe, but back-to-back hits once again put the Sluggers in a tough spot. With just a one-run lead and runners on second and third base, the opponent's clean-up hitter walloped a ball up the middle and over the head of LawDawg. It looked to be a sure hit up the middle, but Squirt snatched the ball out of the air, ending the inning, saving two runs from scoring, and protecting the Sluggers' lead. The crowd went wild!
After extending their lead with a 2-RBI double from Fluffy in the sixth inning, the Sluggers held a 7-4 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th. Three runs would mean extra innings, and four runs would mean a loss. With run already across the plate, and the bases loaded, LawDawg stood on the mound. A base hit would likely mean a tie game. An out would mean a win. A walk would result in two runs and the bases still being loaded. The pressure was immense. The tension was growing. The pitch was in the air...
Ping! The ball was hit in the air between the shortstop and the outfield. Would anyone get to it? Fragile got a good jump on the ball but it was hit directly over his head, making it awkward to position himself under it. The ball floated...
Okay, so it wasn't quite as dramatic as that. Fragile sprinted back, got under the ball and made the catch. The bases were left loaded to end the game, and the Sluggers had won again. It was the perfect ending to a memorable evening.
The game officially ended the managing career of Wicked Hittah/Fragile, who started his career without recording an official non-forfeited win until his 10th game, finished his two seasons with a respectable combined record of 17-17. The interim manager, Fluffy, whose career record is 0-2, will lead the team into their final week of the season in hopes of securing a .500 record and ending the season on a high note. Although Fragile will not be coaching in the finale, he has left the door open for a return depending on how his law school plans unfold over the next week. Fragile could not comment on whether Fluffy would remain manager for the 2010 season, or whether there would even be a 2010 season, but he had nothing but praise for his teammate and potential successor: "Fluffy will do fine as manager. Anyone who can hit triples and home runs after stuffing his stomach full of taco bell is iconic in my mind. Now if only he could keep
from striking out so much, then you'd have hall of fame material."
Sluggers Stats
HR: Fragile (1)
RBI: Fragile (3), Fluffy (2), Slapshot (1), G-Man (1)
Runs: Liability (2), Fragile (2), LawDawg (1), iNoble (1), Nebraska (1)
Strikeouts Pitched: None
Casualties: Liability (Leg)
Photos: G-Man shows his flexibility at first base; Fragile hits his third home run of the season; Newbie throws the ball back to LawDawg; Legally Blonde shows off her cannon as she fires the ball back in from the outfield; the Sluggers present Fragile with a going away present.
