My expectation for Week 5 of KVKL kickball did not go unrewarded. Simply put, it was an amazing week of kickball. Looking at all of the box scores, I can’t remember a week with a lineup of so many competitive games and all-around close games as this week was. I mean, come on, 11 of the 17 games played were won by 5 runs or less, and three of those were one run games. Unbelievable! If we had the ability to keep that up we might get a little ESPN2 love. Alright, that might be a stretch.
As advertised, the heat was completely through the roof. I’m not sure if any of you have looked at the forecast for the week to come, but if you have you’ve seen that the triple digit weather is not letting up anytime soon. Personally, I felt like a zombie all day on Monday from being in the heat from 4:00 PM until the sun went down, but of course it was all completely worth it.
I don’t even know where to begin with all of the crazy games that took place this weekend. Unfortunately my plutonium guy was under the weather suffering from acute radiation syndrome and the Mr. Fusion I ordered off ebay doesn’t ship out until Wednesday. Too many Back To the Future references for you? My bad. I digress. Hopefully many of you can reply with comments to fill me (and everyone else) in on what went down on the playground in some of these close games. I heard the Das Boot v. Sacred Sword game was particularly interesting, and I’d love to hear plenty more about the Red Lyon v. Love Garden, Dirty Mike v. Slowride, and Tellerdactyls v. Free State games, plus a few others.
As for our game, it was a back and forth battle just about the way I expected it to be. It was also a relief to play our first game as the home team. We had been the visitor for four consecutive weeks and it was a relief to finally be in the strategic drivers seat.
The Screamers get better and better every year and will be a difficult opponent for whomever they face from this point on. They are currently tied for third in our division but would only have one loss had they not forfeited their very first game against the Hurtz Donut D-Holes in week 1. Look out for this kickball team if and when they bring all of their big guns to the showdown.
The Screamers came out of the gate firing on all cylinders. I’m pretty sure they scored two runs before we ever got an out. Their first few batters are very quick and capable kickballers and pose a threat for every single team in our league. In the bottom of the 1st we were able to put up three runs of our own. We held onto a slim lead for the majority of the early goings until we had a disastrous defensive inning with several errors allowing the Screamers to score four runs and claim a two or three run lead. We battled back and the game was tied going into the bottom of the 7th inning, 7-7. In the bottom of the 7th we scored four runs of our own to take an 11-7 lead. In the bottom of the 8th we added one more insurance run to make it 12-7. The top of the 9th inning was the last chance from the Screamers but they didn’t go down without a fight. We got two quick outs but then they got back to the top of their order and bunted on a couple of base runners, who would eventually score on the same play that ended the game – a deep flyball struck well into the gap. The kicker was tagged out trying to make a little too much happen between 2nd and 3rd and the game was over.
Overall it was a fun, competitive game. I’ve always loved playing the Screamers because I’ve known many of their players for so long – we go way back like car seats – and competing with friends is about as good as it gets. I tip my cap to them for showing up in full force and giving us their all. We brought out the grill and meats (sorry veg heads) and they provided a pony keg for a little post game fiesta. What a hell of a Sunday.
Lastly, I want to take a minute to congratulate the teams who grabbed their first victories of the season: The Rockets, Corksuckers, and Gang Green. Keep up the good work and stay focused for the remainder of divisional play and on into pool play games which will certainly provide closer games, hopefully give you some momentum heading into the post season.
Also, Hurtz Donut sneaks into second place in our division. Dover, you slick son of a bitch. Can we get an internal investigation team to look into his recruiting methods and possible improper benefits packages? Well done sirs and madams.
Keep kickin’ it like Bruce Lee,
KM
