Week 14 Game Results

The Doghairs took a 17-13 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Mudcats then staged a five run rally to edge the Doghairs 18-17. Bill Sullivan was Mr. Clutch coming through with the base hit that drove in the winning run.

Dave Sullivan, Kevin Riley and John Eveland each had four hits. John had five RBI. Donnie Young homered to start off our seventh inning rally. Donnie also tripled and drove in four. 

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CATS' COMEBACK SCRATCHES OUT 18-17 WIN VS DOGS

    The game was a hard fought contest between the Mudcats and the Doghair Blues, with neither team giving an inch, but in the end the Mudcats showed why they are the hottest team in the league, finishing the season on a five game win streak, while the Blues were heading in the other direction, ending their season on a three game losing streak. 

The Doghairs started off slowly, scoring a lone run in the top of the first on a leadoff double by Art Abiera and an rbi single by Nick James. The Cat bats came out scoring 4 runs after two were out on run producing doubles by Kevin Riley and John ? to take the lead 4-1 after one. The Dogs came back in the top of the second plating five runs to take a 6-4 lead on hits by Chris (CAP) Capistron, John Peterson, Manager Gabe Delgado, a double by Mike Hamlett, a sac fly by Abiera, and a hit by James that could have been an homerun, but was credited only with a single because it produced the fifth run. The Cats produced five unearned runs after two were out again, aided by a Blues fielding miscue that would have ended the inning, on successive hits by Dave Sullivan, Donnie Young, Matt Riley, Clint Logsdon, and Kevin Riley to regain the lead 9-6 after two innings.

The lead changed hands again in the top of the third with the Dogs scoring four runs on a double by Eric Swanson, Vince Aguino, and a 3-run blast by CAP for the fourth lead change with the Dogs up 10-9 after 2 ½ innings.  The fifth lead change came in the bottom of the inning when the Cats scored three times to go up 12-10 after three innings on hits by Peter Mc Kay, Octavio Aguirre, Rob Dunn, Young, and Matt Riley.  The Doghairs tied the score at 12 all in the top of the fourth on hits by Abiera, Cristian Brady , and a two run double by Swanson.  The Cats regained the lead by plating a lone run in the bottom of the fourth to go up 13-12 on hits by Kevin Riley, John (who ?), and a double by Bill Sullivan.

The determined Dogs plated five runs in the top of the fifth to go up 17-14 after 4 ½ innings.  After a great play by Matt Riley and an even better pick by the Cats' agile first basemen Logsdon produced the first out, and a nice running catch in left center by Young produced the second out,  the Dogs rallied to plate their 5 runs on a hit by Delgado, a two run HR by Hamlett who was so exhausted that he almost collapsed between 3rd and home, but just barely beat the throw home. Hits by super sub Byron Hoch, Abiera, and a double by James and a long, bases clearing single (should have been a homerun) to deep left center by Brady scored the final three runs.  Peterson shut out the Mudcats in the bottom of the fifth, aided by some stellar outfield fly ball catches by Hoch, Hamlett and Abiera. Neither team scored in the sixth inning, and this set the stage for a dramatic 7th inning. 

Cats pitcher Ed Sullivan dug deep and shut out the Dogs again in the top of the seventh, aided by some slick fielding by SS Kevin Riley.  Down 17-13 the never-say-die Cats staged their epic comeback. After one out, Young pumped his teams hopes with a monster solo home run to another zip code in deep left. This inspired teammates Matt Riley, Logsdon, John? , which scored the first three runs, and left runners at the corners. McKay hit a well-placed single to right center, and the tying run scored. The ageless Bill Sullivan then hit a sinking liner to left center just out of the reach of a charging Brady to score the winning run and give the Mudcats the well earned win 18-17.

Donnie Young led the Mudcats 24 hits attack with 3 hits including a triple and a home run.  Dave Sullivan, Kevin Riley, and John (who?) had 3 hits, while Rob Dunn, Matt Riley, Clint Logsdon, Peter McKay, and Octavio Aguirre each chipped in with 2 hits.  The Dog bats were led by Mike Hamlett 3-4 (HR and 2B), Erik Swanson 3-4 (2B), Chris (CAP) 3-4 (HR and 2B), Art Abiera 3-4 (2B), Gabe Delgado 3-4, and Nick James 3-5 (2B and an almost HR). Cristian Brady 2-3 (with an almost HR) and John Peterson 2-4 rounded out the Doghair Blues' attack.

The Sliders managed to not let another one slip away in a game that seemed to be tied all the time, and as usual came down to the last inning with The Sliders holding a precarious 2 run lead. Here's how we got there.

After Rob Lazott single-handedly retired the Silverbacks in order with 2 popups and 1 grounder, [the first one was a doozy of a catch!] we roared out of the box with a 5-spot. Of course the Gorillas answered back with 5 of their own to deflate the Sliders a bit but even with that we rolled another 5 to keep the lead. Unfortunately, the Large Monkeys weren't happy about that and proceeded to run up another 5 to tie the game after 2 1/2 innings and then they shut us out to keep the game tied at 10 after 3.

Again, in the 4th, the Sliders shut the Orangutangs out and added 4 runs of our own only to have them come back with another 5'er to take a 1 run lead followed by 2 Slider runs to retake the slim lead after 5. The 6th was another high scoring inning with the Howlers ringing up 4 more runs followed by the Sliders scoring 5 to make it a 2 run lead. 

All we had to do was hold the Simians in check and we would pass them in the standings finally pulling ourselves out of last place. After the Primates plated 1 run and had the tying run on 2nd, we finally logged the 3rd out and the sigh of relief the Sliders let out collectively was probably heard all the way over on field 1. Not only did we move out of 8th with our victory, but the Sandmen lost movng us all the way up to 6th place. Good job Sliders. Great game Silverbacks.

Notable Slider Bats - Going Perfect for the Evening : Kevin Sutton and Dave Lazott [4-4 w/ 7 RBI's] and Dale Olson [3-3 w/ a BB] Almost Perfect Sliders : Rob Lazott [3-4 w/ 3 RBI's] Craig Rowe [2-3 w/ a BB & 4 RBI's] Anthony Gallagher and JoJo Cuevas [2-3] and me [1-2 w/ a BB... but my 1 hit was a weak infield dribbler that I barely beat out].

The Sliders would like to welcome JoJo back who broke his face mid-season. Fortunately the mustache was not damaged. On to the playoffs and the Hated Doghairs in round #1! Good luck Gabe.

Season Finale Heat Check

Red Rockets rolled into Stoned Willy’s hometown like a traveling circus of aging talent and questionable hamstrings. From the first pitch, it was a straight-up slugfest—good swings, shaky defense, and enough chaos to make both dugouts wonder if anyone actually practiced this week.

The turning point came in the 6th. Red dropped a clean five-spot, while Willy’s… didn’t. That goose egg was the difference, and you could feel their side of the field deflate like a cheap pool float.

Defensively, Red actually flashed some beauty out there.

• Tom made a smooth running catch.

• JC and Jesse stole away a couple infield hits

• Alan, as usual, was everywhere—including snagging the game winner like it was routine.

• And Ray? Dude pitched gems all night and stuffed a couple shots up the middle that should’ve been base hits. Big-league stuff.

On offense, Red finally remembered the secret to softball: hit your home runs when people are on base.

• Jorge smashed not one but two three-run homers, casually.

• Alan dropped a glorious grand slam.

• Coach decided to get in on the fun and sent a 3-run bomb to the moon.

Dave had himself a night—3 hits, 4 RBIs, and clutch moments all over the place.

Jesse, Jim, and Guillermo all joined the 3-hit club.

And then there was Ray, who absolutely tattooed a ball to left, only to have that rotten apple Scottie G steal it and rob him of at least a triple. Crime scene. No arrest made.

In the end, it was a banger of a game—competitive from start to finish—but Red walked out of Stoned Willy’s house with a 24–20 win and the season finale crown.