LAWRENCE FUCKING KICKBALL: DAY 1 TOURNAMENT REVIEW

townieball

(Photo from Roscopoet, pulled off the KVKL Flickr page. Click image to check out our flickr page!)

Hey buddies,

The scores aren’t up yet, so we’ll have to help each other out on everything that went down last night.  I officiated for the 5pm #26 Blue Collar Rockets vs. #7 Slowride game.  The Rockets nearly busted everybody’s bracket by keeping the game extremely close.  The Rockets’ defense was solid throughout the game, and their offense took advantage of every mistake Slowride’s 9-person defense made.  The lead changed a few times, and by the top of the ninth The Rockets were just down by one run, though they were unable to tie it up and get a major upset.  During the 6:30pm game at YSC 3 the #14 Late Fees took on #19 Channel 6.  The Fees and Channel 6 have played three times in the last two years, and we were 1-1 before yesterday’s game. In 2010, Channel 6 fell apart during our Game of the Week match-up, and we fell apart during our first tournament game, thankfully this game felt much more competitive.  The Fees got an early three runs and held onto the lead for the entire game, but Channel 6 kept it close.  I’m not sure of the final score, but it was in the single digits; with the combination of a brand new slightly juiced ball (approved by both captains) and the bump at home plate, both teams popped up the majority of their kicks–to the point where I had to implement a “Push-up for Pop-ups” program, five push-ups for every pop-up.  Over on field 4 at YSC, the #18 Brew Ballers took on the #2 Love Garden team.  Brew Ballers played some great kickball for the first 5 innings, taking advantage of  some very rare Squid errors.  Love Garden started off slow, the top of their line-up didn’t make one run until the sixth inning.  Up until The Squids hit the sixth inning, the No. 2 team in the league could only muster a three point lead, but in a game played by amateur kickballers it only takes one inning to completely change the momentum of a game.  Love Garden hit their stride in the sixth and had a monstrous inning, and the Brew Ballers, despite their best efforts, couldn’t catch-up.  The game ended (I think) 13-2, an impressive score when you think about the official rankings and how Love Garden has handled most mid-level teams over the years.  The 9:30pm game at Field 4 was #14 Liberty Hall Late Fees vs. #3 Sacred Sword.  The game started off offensively slow for the Fees and by the end of the second inning Sacred Sword had a four run lead on us–two of the runs were scored off a kick that went over our heads and nearly flew over the 200′ fence.  Though, despite some unfortunate calls and Josh Hunt’s trash talking, we kept our shit together and played some of the best defense I’ve seen all year. Other than the second inning, we held The Sword scoreless, and worked our asses off to make a few runs.  At the top of the ninth it was 3-4, and we were feeling good, but Sacred Sword held us off and the Late Fees’ season ended.  I think everyone was surprised by how close the game was, the refs, players, and people in the stands, but I’ve always known The Fees had the talent and experience to hang with the best, it’s just unfortunate our season ended right when we finally figured our defense out and started playing great kickball. It was a hell of a game, and I couldn’t have been happier with the way we played… well, I guess I’d be happier if we won.  The Fees had a great time with both Channel 6 and Sacred Sword (The Sword vs. Fees game actually pitted a newly engaged couple against each other), those teams have some of my favorite players in the league, and though our season is over I’m just glad we ended on such a positive game.

I know twenty-six other games were played yesterday, please fill us in on how your Sunday night went!

Love,

Coach Billy Gay Cyrus

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For those who entered the Bracketology/Kickatology contest, please be patient as I organize the entries and wait for the official scores each week. Thanks!